Wawel Hill – a Jurassic limestone rock, a dominant feature in the landscape of Cracow (about 228 m above see level) was formed about 150 million years ago. Situated on the bank of the Vistula river, surrounded by waters and marshes, the hill provided a safe haven for people who have settled here since the Paleolithic Age. It is supposed that the Slav people started living on Wawel hill as early as the 7th century.
Early medieval legends tell stories about a dreadful dragon that lived in a cave on Wawel Hill, about his slayer Krakus, and about the latter’s daughter Wanda, who drowned herself in the Vistula rather than marry a German knight.
Wawel Hill is accessible daily from 6:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m.
The arcaded courtyard closes half an hour before the gates of the hill.
Permanent exhibitions
- in the Wawel Royal Castle Cathedral
- State Rooms (2nd floor of the Castle) Cathedral
- Royal Private Apartments (1st floor of the Castle) Royal Tombs
- Crown Treasury and Armoury Bell “Sigismund”
- Exhibition Oriental Art Cathedral Museum
- Exhibition The Lost Wawel
- The Royal Garden Tour
- Dragon’s Den
tickets to individual visitors unaccompanied by a guide are issued at the ticket offices
for specific entrance hours
for conservation reasons there are daily limits to the number of visitors
last entry 1 hour before exhibitions close
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