Wawel Castle, Krakow

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The third photo here shows a statue in the Wawel Castle grounds and whenever we see a statue we check to see just who this person is, and here concerning the statue of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, it totally caught me by surprise. This Polish guy with a statue in Wawel Castle in Krakow is actually an AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE WAR HERO.....
Take a look at -
http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/classroom/kosciuszko/military.html

In the fourth photo we also saw a very unusual square/round tower in the castle grounds with stepped alcoves, have never seen this type of construction before.
Also for more information on the castle itself -
http://www.krakow-info.com/castle.htm

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Wawel Castle, smack dab in the middle of the old center of Krakow gives you many things, not least among them a great view over the river Vistula, since it sits on a knoll several dozen meters above its surroundings. Beautiful red brick and mortar walls surround it on all sides and loom over you on several sides. The entrance gate is covered in a brilliant green climbing ivy that has turned this gate into a "natural" setting instead of the sentinal it once was. If you take a close look behind the castle walls you will see wildly different architectures side by side.
If you would like to know more, take a look at the castle web site -
http://www.wawel.krakow.pl/en/

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Here for six centuries lived three Polish dynasties, the Piast , Jagiellonian and Waza
It has a large patio with three galleries with columns and arches and it is decorated with frescoes by Hans Dürer
On the first floor was the "planta nobile" where are the king's chambers and the most sumptuous rooms.
The interior of the palace can be visited and are remarkable the Royal Apartments, the State Halls , and the Chamber of Deputies
You can also visit the Treasure and Armoury Rooms
The architects tried to make Italian-style building, but adapting to the climate of Poland, we can see the beautiful sloping roofs , with a high inclination in order that snow does not accumulate and on the terraces and balconies intended to maximize the light

Aquí vivieron durante seis siglos tres dinastías Polacas , los Piast , Jagellones y los Waza
Tiene un gran patio con tres galerías con columnas y arcos que están decoradas con frescos de Hans Durero
En el primer piso estaba la planta noble donde estaban los aposentos del rey y las salas más suntuosas .
El interior del palacio se puede visitar y allí destacan los aposentos reales , las Salas de Estado , y la Sala de los Diputados
También se puede visitar La Sala del Tesoro y la Armería
Los arquitectos pretendieron hacer un edificio de estilo Italiano pero adaptándolo al clima de Polonia , lo que podemos ver en los preciosos tejados con inclinación suficiente para para que la nieve no se acumule y en las terrazas y balcones que pretenden aprovechar al máximo la luz

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The Cathedral of St. Wenceslas and St. Stanislaus is a three halls Gothic church which was added 18 funeral chapels of Renaissance style , the most remarkable is that of Sigismund I and from the outside you can see its golden dome where is the considered the world's largest bell (Zygmunt)
Here are buried most of the kings of Poland, including Jan Sobieski III, which is one of my "favourites" who at the late seventeenth century, won a great battle to liberate Vienna , at the head of the Polish hussars and so he stopped the advance in Europe of Muslims and Turks . He never was grateful enough.
They are also buried the greatest national heroes (Poniatowski, Tadeusz Kosciuszko ...), poets (Adam Mickiewcz ...), saints, bishops ...
Recently it has been buried President Lech Kaczynski who died in a plane crash
Here celebrated his first Mass a young priest named Wojtyla

La Catedral de San Wenceslao y San Estanislao es una iglesia gótica de tres naves a la que se le añadieron 18 capillas funerarias laterales de estilo renacentista , entre las que destaca la de Segismundo I y desde el exterior se puede ver su cúpula dorada donde está la que se puede considerar la mayor campana del mundo (Zygmunt )
Aquí están enterrados la mayor parte de los reyes de Polonia , entre ellos Jan Sobieski III , que es uno mis "favoritos" ya que a finales del siglo XVII ganó la gran batalla para liberar Viena al frente de los húsares polacos y así frenó el avance turco y musulmán sobre Europa , lo cual nunca le fue agradecido bastante .
También están enterrados los más grandes héroes nacionales ( Poniatowski , Tadeus Kosciuszko ... ) , poetas ( Adam Mickiewcz...) , santos , obispos ...
Recientemente ha sido enterrado el presidente Lech Kaczynski que falleció en un accidente aereo
aquí celebró su primera misa un jóven seminarista llamado Wojtyla

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This hill is situated near the Vistula and since the eleventh century is the social and political center of Poland as here are a Christian church, the Cathedral and the Royal Castle until 1596 when King Sigismund Vasa decided to change the capital of Poland to Warsaw
For 500 years the kings of Poland were born here, were baptised, lived and were crowned and buried
On the hill there are two curious things:
- The dragon's cave where legend said that a dragon lived here and that the king promised half his kingdom and his daughter who killed him. A young shoemaker asked a very large sheep , he filled it with sulphur and tar. The dragon swallowed it , became very thirsty and went down to the Vistula river to drink . He drank so much that exploded.
- Long ago, Shiva threw seven magic stones, into seven parts of the world that began to radiate energy, and one of them landed in Krakow
Krakow's chakra, associated with Jupiter, is in the Northwest corner of the courtyard of the royal castle in the chancel of the Church of St. Gereon (You can not visit)
Legend says that this chakra produce energy, protect the city and revives the forces that give life
Although officially it does not exist , many people come to visit experience this phenomenon

Esta colina que está situada a orillas del vístula , fue desde el siglo XI el centro político y social de Polonia ya que en ella conviven un templo cristiano , la Catedral y un Castillo Real hasta que en 1596 el Rey Segismundo Vasa se llevó la capital de Polonia a Varsovia
Durante 500 años los reyes de Polonia nacieron aquí , se bautizaron , vivieron y fueron coronados y enterrados
En la colina hay dos cosas curiosas :
- La cueva del dragón donde la leyenda cuenta que vivía un dragón y que el rey prometió la mitad de su reino y a su hija a aquel que lo matara . Un jóven zapatero pidió una oveja muy grande que la llenó de azufre y alquitrán . El dragón se lo tragó , le entró mucha sed y bajó al Vistula a beber agua donde bebió tanta que explotó .
- Hace mucho tiempo, Shiva lanzó siete piedras mágicas , hacia siete partes del mundo , que comenzaron a irradiar energía , y una de ellas aterrizó en Cracovia
El chakra de Cracovia , asociado con Júpiter , está en la esquina noroeste del patio del castillo real , en el presbiterio de la Iglesia de San Gereón ( No se puede visitar )
cuenta la leyenda que este chakra a parte de producir energía , protege a la ciudad y hace renacer las fuerzas que dan la vida
A pesar de que oficialmente esto no existe hay mucha gente que acude a vivir este fenómeno

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The impressing edifice we can see today is the third church on the same spot, built between 1320 and 1364. The first one was built by the first Polish king, Boleslaw Chrobry, in around 1020. It was replaced by a larger Romanesque church in the 12th century. The only remnant of this one is the St. Leonard's Crypt. You can reach it through the Cathedral, just remember that the exit is outside so better finish off your church visit by this.
In the nave there is a mausoleum of St. Stanislaus. The silver coffin was made in ~1670, the baldachin in 1625 - 30.
There are some 18 chapels surrounding the church, the most famous being the Sigismund Chapel, but also the Chapel of the Holy Cross, to the right just inside the entrance, is famous due to its 1470 frescoes and the marble sarchophagus made in 1492 by Veit Stoss (the creator of the altar in St. Mary's Church). When I visited there was a TV program recorded by the national TV company, TVP Polonia, on this chapel, so I could'n see the sarchophagus because it was too crovded. When I left the chapel I was told that we were not allowed to take photos inside the church, so these are the only pictures I have to show.

There are lots to see in the church, but it takes much too far to write about it all here when I can't refer to any pictures. Instead I post some links (in Polish) where you can 1) see a plan of the cathedral and 2) get the visiting hours.

Plan of cathedral.
Visiting hours.

In the latter page "Dla turystów indywidualnych" means individual tourists.
"Kwiecien – Wrzesien" means April - Sept, "Padziernik – Marzec" means October - March.
"Pon. - Sob." are abbrevations for Mon - Sat, "Niedz." is for Sunday.

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My trip to Krakow was motivated by the famous tapestry collection of King Sigismund II Augustus on display in the State Rooms as well as the historical interiors, royal portraits, Italian Renaissance furniture, Italian and Dutch paintings of the 14th to 17th century of this part of the castle.
Only guided visits are possible with booking well in advance so that I'm grateful to the VT members organizing the Euromeet giving me the opportunity to participate to this visit with an excellent guide.

From the original 350 tapestries commissioned by the King at best Brussels weavers "lissiers" 137 survived of which about 30 are shown in the Royal Chambers. There are three types of subjects: biblical scenes, landscapes with animals called "verdures" and smaller ones showing arms and grotesques .

I must say that my visit was a bit of a deception. The largest tapestries with biblical scenes have somewhat faded colors but the "verdures" are beautiful. I especially admired a "verdure" made not in Brussels but in Oudenaerde .
Irritating was the fact that our guide was pushed by some head supervisor of the museum to make it short. It was Friday afternoon and the supervisors wanted to take their week-end ! Those who participated to the visit will remember that women with a red jacket telling our guide "only 5 minutes left" .

Furthermore no photos are allowed inside the castle and I found nowhere an illustrated catalogue of the tapestries. So if you want to admire medieval tapestries better go to the Cluny museum in Paris where you can take all your time and make all photos you want .
The Royal Chambers were the only negative part of my visit of Krakow and my deception was amply compensated by the many marvels of art I saw in the many churches of Krakow .
Price: normal 18 Pln, reduced 11 Pln.

The bad photo of a "verdure" from Brussels is from the internet.

Inside the Cathedral, as inside the Castle, there is a strict interdiction of taking photographs. It seemed to me that the management of this historical site shows some signs of "photophobia" in their way of chasing any tentative to take a picture as souvenir from the visit.
Consequently I have no visual marks to remember me what I liked on my visit of the Cathedral.

When entering the Cathedral I saw immediately that there were not only crowds of visitors, often groups, but that this church is really overcrowded with monuments of all kinds. As soon as you enter you face at a short distance the imposing mausoleum (1630) of St. Stanislav, Poland's saint patron, the 11th-century Krakow bishop murdered by King Boleslav II. The silver coffin is just amazing but this monument blocks any perspective on the remaining part of the nave.

And that is only the start. There are nearly one hundred tombs - often real treasures of art - of saints, kings, prelates. Not one square meter is left free. Most remarkable is the tall Black Christ's Crucifix from Queen-Saint Jadwiga. There are also 18 side chapels full of treasures.

The visit of the Cathedral took me more than one hour, nearly two hours with Crypts, Bell and Museum.

The Cathedral is open from 9h -17h, Sunday and holidays 12.30h - 16h. (Cathedral museum is closed on Sunday).
Admission price to the Cathedral together with the Zygmunt bell, Royal Tombs and Cathedral museum: normal 12 zlotys, reduced 7 zlotys. The ticket office is across from the Cathedral entrance.
I strongly recommend hiring an audio guide (7 languages on choice) at a price of 7 PLN (+ deposit of 50 PLN) to have a full explanation on the most remarkable items to be seen.