Welcome to my fairy tale about Krakow. I’m Krakusek the Dragon, the great...great...great grandson of the Wawel’s Dragon. I’ll show you my city, but pay attention! Do the quiz and get some tasty awards! Authors: Filip Fryczek, Artur Lech, class 4A Rys. M.M

Monuments

Photo: Kamila Kaczorowska class 4A This is the place where the famous sheep eater lived. As you know, he was killed by a cracovian shoemaker, named Dratewka. Now you can see only the figure of the fire- spitting monster standing near his cave. The figure was made by Bronisław Chromy. The Dragon’s Liar – a place where my great...great grandfather lived.

The Wawel’s Hill The Hill was originally surrounded by numerous inflows of the Vistula River.The first colonies were settled around the Wawel Castle. The King, his family and his courtiers lived here more then 500 year ago. The name of the Castle derives form an old polish word wąwel, meaning „a hill among the marshy ground”.

The Cathedral The Cathedral was built by King Wladyslaw the Short. The top of the tallest tower is decorated with four statues of the patron saints of the Kingdom of Poland (Waclaw, Adalbert, Stanislaw and Casimir). The basilica is exceptional not only for the unique works of art held there, but also because it bore witness to many historical events such as coronations, royal weddings and funerals. The Cathedral is also a house for tombs and sarcophagus of Polish kings, distinguished Poles and national heroes. The lower tower is called Sigmund Tower, after the King Sigmund I. There is the Sigmund Bell in the tower made in 1520, the largest in Poland. It weights 11 tones and it’s heart kilos. We can hear its clear and strong sound only on special occasions. You need 12 people (11 men and 1 woman) to move the bell, and it is a great honor to be a bell-ringer.

The Royal Castle From the Medieval times the castle was a royal residence, a place of kings’ births, royal weddings, knights’ competitions. It was a place of successes and victories of Poland. Wawel was and still is the heart of Poland. The Castle was touched by many fires and plunders, so it was rebuilt a few times. This is why it has so many architectural styles. The worst time for the Castle was during the World War I and II. It was then restored returning to its Renaissance and baroque style. Now Wawel consists of 71 rooms and there are 8 museum expositions. On the ground floor there is the Crown Treasury and Armoury. There you can find the coronation sword of the Polish kings, the royal insignia, jewels, royal service, knights’ armour and contemporary weapon. There is nothing more precious than the masterpiece tapestries made of silk, gold and silver fibers. The collection contains 360 tapestries. The Castle was built in 14 th century by King Casimir the Great.

Market Square Market Square is the heart of Cracow. It used to be a trade center of the city. Here we can find Cloth Hall, Town Hall Tower, the Statue of Adam Mickiewicz – polish most famous poet, and the most impressive of polish churches – the Church of St. Mary. Cloth Hall was originally a covered market, where you could buy absolutely everything: art, food, animals, herbs. Today you can find here stalls with souvenirs from Cracow and other characteristic places in Poland (e.g. traditional folk clothes from Zakopane – polish mountain resort, or amber – a precious stone from the Baltic Sea). Photo:Jarosław Ćwierz Photo:Nadia Tabaszewska

St. Mary’s Church is a gothic basilica with two unequal towers, the higher is 82 meters high, the lower measures 69 meters. From the higher tower every hour a bugle call is played. The trumpet melody is played from each of the four windows of the tower – to four sides of the world. There are four entrances to the Church. Inside the church there are many outstanding works of art, like altars, tombs of rich families and other sacral art. But the most precious is the high altar made by Veit Stoss, one of the greatest wood-carvers of the late Gothic Age. Did you know that he was working on the altar for 12 years!? St. Mary’s Church Photo: Natalia Lebiest

Veit Stoss’ Altar Photo: Natalka Lebiest

Barbican It’s a round bastion, the best preserved in Europe. It’s function was to protect the city walls from the enemies. The Barbican was originally surrounded by a moat to make it harder to enter the city; and it was linked by a corridor with St.Florian’s Gate. It has 7 little towers and 130 loop-holes. Nowadays the Barbican is a part of Cracow’s Historic Museum. Photo: Martyna Marcinkowska

Source: Photos: Jarosław Ćwierz The Wawel Castle The Slowacki’s Theatre The Cloth Hall Barbican