Stairs to the south of the Envoys, the four chambers were designed for apartment royal guests. In this part of the palace have been preserved Renaissance larch beams, and two halls of the original paint color wall friezes. Particular attention will turn a Gothic-Renaissance portals, the work of a master Benedict. Room comes from the Renaissance, these are northern European and Italian works, including tapestries pejzażowo-animal and grotesque King Sigismund Augustus. In the last two rooms are distinguished by the Italian paintings from the former collection Lanckoronski. More than 60 paintings from this collection creates studiolo in the hall of the Gothic tower called Jordanka.

In the north east corner of the castle, with its Gothic rooms, there is a charming, mysterious Kurza foot, the tower was once Łokietkowej bedroom Sigismund the Old, and not far from the cabinet in the tower of Sigismund III, with rich stucco decoration from the time around 1600. Between the twentieth century in this part of the palace are decorated private apartment of President Ignacy Moscicki, which reminds reconstructed presidential bedroom in the tower Danish. In the northern wing of the palace are two rooms with exhibits from the reign of the Wettin dynasty in Poland, including an interesting collection of Meissen porcelain, silverware and carpets court. The last two rooms, including a career Column, are decorated in classical style.

Meeting 6a, 6b
Two intimate rooms in the Gothic, from the fourteenth century, converted in the Renaissance and the twentieth century corner tower, once part of the castle known as the Hen’s Foot. From the windows overlooking the expansive view of the old Krakow. There is no known primary purpose of these interiors. You probably spent the kings of single moments, deep in reflection on important issues. Portals with the emblem of the Vasa and the fireplace are from the time around 1600. Between the twentieth century made the current ceiling with ceiling painted by Zygmunt Waliszewski, and lined the walls of the eighteenth-century kurdybanem. Renaissance paintings, mainly French.

Hall 18
Enlarge – Bedroom royal guests

Chamber with the original roof and larch, the Renaissance, with 1 half of the sixteenth century, painted a colorful frieze wall, with the image of human heads. Arras, Brussels from the middle of the device. the sixteenth century, presents Elijah before Ahab king, among the paintings from the collection of valuable works Lanckoronski Simone Martini, Bernardo Daddiego and Jacopo del Sellaio. To the original destination refers Late Renaissance hall of the English bed. The impressive tile stove in the eighteenth century comes from a castle in Wiśniowiec in Volhynia.

Hall 12

In the sixteenth century silverware stored here, in the eighteenth century, inserting columns, transformed into a hall representative. Today, the interior is decorated in the spirit of Classicism. Portraits of Polish personalities from the reign of Stanislaw August Poniatowski, including his likeness, created in the studio of Marcel Bacciarelli. Team classical furniture.

Second floor of the palace in the north and the east wing houses classrooms representation. The original floors were destroyed in the fire of the castle in 1702 and during the Austrian occupation, the early nineteenth century. In three rooms, stairs to the south of the Envoys, preserved in large parts of the Renaissance friezes wall (completed before World War II), and the great hall ceiling Deputies called an astonishing 30 carved human heads. The most valuable part of the Renaissance exhibition rooms, the only remaining from their original design, are tapestries, woven in Brussels in order of Sigismund Augustus in 3 quarter of the sixteenth century, with biblical themes, motifs, or the grotesque and the coats of arms of Polish and Lithuanian. There are also high artistic value, images, and Italian furniture, mostly Tuscan, from the sixteenth century and portraits of Polish monarchs.

Interior in the north wing, after a fire in 1595, were renewed at the request of Sigismund III Vasa by the architect and painter John Trevano Tommaso Dolabella. Senators escaped the fire hall, the largest in the castle, now completely hung arrasami. In other interiors preserved marble portals and found fire in the early Roman Baroque style, and stucco vaulting, including in the royal chapel. Pseudobarokowe ceilings, from the interwar period, ceilings are filled with well-known and highly regarded contemporary Polish painters – colorists, and walls covered cordovans of the eighteenth century, from the castle of King Augustus III in Moritzburg near Dresden. The tower, called. Sigismund III, is known. Dutch Cabinet, with paintings of Dutch schools. The equipment of this part of the castle is dominated by portraits of Polish kings and their family members and Polish historical paintings.

Preserved to this day Renaissance building, with a beautiful arcaded courtyard, impressive momentum assumption, brightly lit interior spaciousness and splendor is not known yet on Polish soil, through the use of architectural forms derived from ancient art, has caused a breakthrough in the development of architecture in Poland. In the sixteenth century the castle was the venue of the Diet. Deliberations were held in the Chamber of Deputies, while the Senate gathered in the hall named for this reason the Senators.

Following a fire in 1595 the northern wing of the castle, Sigismund III Vasa renewed it in early Baroque style, employing Italian artists: the architect and painter John Trevano Tommaso Dolabella. Since around 1610 when the royal court and settled in Warsaw, monarchs visited the Wawel only periodically, mostly weddings, coronations and funerals-made with great parade. In the year 1702, during the occupation by the Swedes Castle building was once again threatening fire. Renewed later, never failed to reach its original splendor.

When Poland lost its independence, the castle took the Austrians in 1796, bringing it to the needs of the military garrison. In the early nineteenth century, including walled cloisters. After the dedication Castle Poles and left the hill in 1911 by the Austrian army occupying them, proceeded to the multi-going half-century renewal of the royal office, restoring her to a large extent its original appearance. Action directed first architect Zygmunt Hendel, from 1916 to World War II, Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz, and later mainly Alfred Majewski. The interiors of a museum and exhibition has become the backbone of tapestries Sigismund Augustus, recovered from Russia. Between the castle he was also the residence of head of state. In the last decade of the last century building, which was hosted by the Museum Wawel Royal Castle – State Art Collection, has undergone a thorough re-preservation.

At the end of the first millennium n.e. Big Ben began to play the role of the center of political power. In the village IX was the main stronghold of the tribe Wislanie. The first historical ruler, Mieszko I, the Polish Piast dynasty (about 965-992), as well as his successor: Boleslaw the Brave (992-1025) and Mieszko II (1025-1034) chose Wawel Hill as one of their residences. During this period, Wawel became one of the most important Polish centers of Christianity. On the hill, the first pre-Romanesque and Romanesque buildings of worship, among them, with the creation in 1000 the bishopric of Cracow, a stone cathedral. Significant political and administrative center Wawel became a state during the reign of Casimir the Restorer (1034-1058). His son, Boleslaw the Bold (1058-1079), began construction of a second of the Romanesque cathedral, which was finished Wrymouth Boleslaw (1102-1138). This prince, in his will of 1138, divided Poland into districts, appointed to the seat of Krakow senior prince. In 1291 Krakow from Wawel temporarily fell under Czech rule, and Wenceslaus II of the Premysl dynasty was crowned in Wawel Cathedral on King.

In 1306 the prince arrived at Wawel Kuyavia Ladislaus the Short (1306-1333), who in 1320 crowned King of Poland in the Cathedral. This was the first historically recorded coronation of Polish ruler on Wawel Hill. During this time, thanks to the Short, began construction of the third place, the Gothic cathedral, the castle was expanded, wooden and earthen fortifications were replaced by brick. Tomb of the cathedral started in the Short necropolis of Polish kings in Krakow. The last of the Piast dynasty, Casimir the Great (1333-1370) led the Big Ben of unprecedented splendor. The gothic castle was expanded in 1364 the marriage of Casimir’s granddaughter Elizabeth to Charles IV. On this occasion, was a famous convention of kings and princes, followed by a rich burgher Wierzynek.

Introduction to the throne in 1385 the house of the Hungarian Jadwiga Angevin, and her marriage to a Lithuanian prince Wladyslaw Jagiello (1386-1434) initiated another period of Wawel. The royal court employed local and western artists, including painters Rus. During the reign of Casimir (1447-1492) was enriched by the silhouette of the hill high brick towers: Tower, Sandomierz and Senators. At the court of the ruler to act first in Poland, humanists, teachers, his sons, historian Jan Dlugosz and Italy Filip Callimachus.

The Italian Renaissance arrived at Wawel in the early sixteenth century. King Alexander (1501-1506) and his brother Sigismund I the Old (1506-1548) erected on the place of the Gothic mansion new palace was completed about 1540, an impressive large courtyard with arcades. Sigismund’s patronage is also permanently in the cathedral, the ancestral chapel hill, called. Today Sigismund, the work of Florence, Bartolomeo Berrecci and various foundations, including large bell, named in honor of King Zygmunt. Close artistic and cultural relations with Italy has strengthened the king’s marriage Bona Sforza in 1518. Apart from Italian artists worked for the king, German architects, woodcarver, painters and metal. The last of the Jagiello, Sigismund II Augustus (1548-1572) enriched the castle’s interiors with a magnificent collection of tapestries woven in Brussels. The “Golden Age” of Polish culture Wawel became one of the main centers of humanism in Europe. Clearly also in the history of Castle marked by the reign of Sigismund III Vasa (1587-1632). After a fire in the castle in 1595 the king rebuilt the burned wing of the building in early Baroque style. Transfer of the royal court in Warsaw led to a slow but steady deterioration in the condition of the castle. The monarchs were in Cracow only occasionally. Attempted to remedy the neglect taking the repair time of John III Sobieski, and Stanislas Augustus Wettin.

When Poland lost its independence in 1795, the troops of occupying powers: Russia, Prussia and Austria, subsequently occupied Wawel Castle, which finally passed into the hands of the Austrians. The new owners converted the castle and some other secular buildings at a military hospital, and some buildings, including churches, were demolished. After the period of the Free City of Cracow (1815-1846) Austrian troops re-took the landmark Big Ben, turning it into a citadel dominating the city. Resolution of the Sejm of Galicia in 1880, the castle as the residence of Emperor Franz Joseph I, Austrian troops left the hill in the years 1905-1911. At the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries made a thorough restoration of the cathedral, and shortly afterwards began which lasted several decades, the maintenance of the royal castle.

The revived in 1918, the castle served as the official residence of the Head of State and the museum of historic interiors. During the Nazi occupation, Polish Wawel lived Nazi Governor-General Hans Frank. Valuable objects, including tapestries and the coronation sword “Szczerbiec Poles managed to export to Canada, where they returned as late as 1959-1961. Currently, the hosts of the hill are the Wawel Royal Castle – National Art Collection and the Board of the Metropolitan Basilica Castle.

• Preservation of the historic Castle of the substance of the highest rank as a monument of history, cultural and religious traditions of the Polish nation and the world heritage item,
• Ideological reproduction of the past Wawel Castle in its many aspects,
• A broad inclusion of these values in the circulation of national culture.

Castle pursues these objectives by:

1. collection and effective preservation of carefully selected works of art and historical memorabilia,
2. subjecting the preservation of its historic buildings and collections in order to maintain their in the best possible condition,
3. dissemination in the country and abroad, its treasures and knowledge of the Castle
in a manner conducive to the full the accepted values,
4. organizing and conducting research,
5. publishing activities, education and information,
6. maintaining the proper state remaining on the board of the buildings along
with the environment and use them as intended.

The name, image and logo are registered in the Castle Polish Patent Office.