The rocky hill above city of Kraków (Cracow), the Wawel Hill, has always been a symbol of Polish statehood. For Poles, it is like the Acropolis in Athens. The first castle and the first cathedral were built here around AD 1000. It was the time when the Wawel Hill became the seat of secular and religious authorities.
During the last Piast kings and the reign of the Jagiellonian dynasty, Wawel Royal Castle experienced its golden age. King Sigismund II Augustus transformed the medieval castle into an Italian Renaissance palace. However, architectural design contained some Polish accents. For example, the last floor of the multi-story arcades in the courtyard of the palace has arcades higher than those below, a feature unknown in Italy.
When the Capital of Poland was moved to Warszawa (Warsaw), Wawel lost its significance as the seat of the royal court, but was still the site of royal coronations and the burials of Polish kings. The Swedish occupation in 1655–1657 and again in 1702, initiated the Wawel’s decline. The royal insignia survived the Swedish Deluge, because they were taken to the Lubovna castle in Spiš. Unfortunately, in 1794 they fell into Prussian hands. Polish royal insignia stolen from Wawel were later destroyed. After the third partition of Poland in 1795, Kraków passed into the hands of Austria. The Austrians turned the Polish Royal Castle into military barracks. It was the time of the greatest destruction. The Renaissance arcades of the courtyard were walled up, many fragments of the interior of the castle were changed or demolished.
Wawel Cathedral is Polish national sanctuary that served as the coronation site of Polish Kings. Current mainly Gothic structure was constructed in the 14th century. Cathedral is a main burial site for Polish monarchs and national heroes.
