Wawel Castle and Cathedral Guided Tour

Embark on a captivating journey through Polish history with a guided tour of Wawel Castle and Cathedral in Krakow. Nestled atop Wawel Hill, these architectural treasures stand as enduring symbols of the country's rich heritage and cultural legacy.

The results of archaeological research, the first settlements, come from the Paleolithic period, approximately 100,000 years ago. pour. BC As a settler placed at the crossroads of rapidly developing routes. Wawel was probably one of the representatives of the authorities of the Vistula tribe, which was organized at the turn of the 8th and 9th centuries. About their legendary rulers Krak and Wanda, living in the 7th and 8th centuries, the resistant 13th-century chronicler Wincenty Kadłubek. In the 10th century, the lands of the Vistula people, including Krakow, were part of the emerging Polish state.

In pre- and early Piast times, in place of later churches of St. George and St. Michael (the so-called Jerzycko-Michal settlement unit), there was probably a place of worship of pagan Slavs on the hill. In 1000, the Krakow bishopric was established, which resulted in the construction of a cathedral - the bishop's seat. However, due to the ongoing fighting with the empire, construction probably began only after the peace in Bautzen, i.e. around the 1120s. Due to the very sparse remains of the first cathedral, sometimes called "Chrobrowska", and despite long-lasting archaeological research, it has not been possible to reconstruct its appearance.

Until the 1980s, the relics of the church of St. Gereon were identified with the first cathedral, but this thesis, put forward by Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz, was rejected by more recent research. There is also no consensus regarding the moment of destruction of the cathedral - it is believed that it could have happened during the invasion of Prince Bretislav I in the 1140s or during a fire in the 1980s.

Apart from the cathedral, there were also other buildings on the hill. The first found remains of wooden buildings come from the 9th century, and stone ones from the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries.

Wawel has many secrets that are not visible at first glance, just listen and you will never look at this castle in the same way again. Start the tour on one of the oldest streets in Krakow, see Wawel, what the kings did there, what the Austrians did during the partitions, what the Nazis did during the war... The castle was built in the 11th century and its history is almost as interesting in every period of its existence!

Don't belive me?
Go for yourself and find out!