Kraków's Wawel Hill

This is a distant shot of Wawel Hill (pronounced VAH-vehl)

It is considered a symbol of Polish royalty and independence.  From the beginning of Poland's recorded history a castle has stood here, making this the most visited sight in

Poland.  There is also a neat legend about a dragon that the kids enjoyed.

In the 19th c. the Habsburg Empire turned it into a fortress and kind of ruined things, but after WWI when Poland gained its independence it was returned to its once before beauty.

See the white, and gray bricks on the wall?  They have names on them representing Poles from all around the world who donated money to restore the buildings.

See the statue on the far right of the picture?  That is Tadeusz Kościuszko who is actually an American hero during the American Revolution (he also helped design West Point).   

The Wawel Cathedral

It's like the Westminster Abbey but in Poland.  Almost all of Polands important rulers and historically important individuals are buried here.

I love how diverse it is.  All in one - Gothic, Romanesque, Baroque, Renaissance,  & Neoclassical.

See the golden dome?  It is made with 80 pounds of gold.  It is Sigismund's Chapel (Sigismund the Old) and holds his memorial as well as some Jagiellonian kings.

This is the inner court.  When we walked in it immediately reminded us of Florence, Italy.  It was designed by some young Florentines after Kazimierz's castle burned down in the beginning.  There are 3 levels, just like buildings in Florence.  On the right, not pictured, is where Hans Frank lived - he was the Nazi governor when Germany occupied Poland.

These are the foundations of 2 Gothic churches. The Austrian's destroyed them when they occupied Wawel in the 19th c.  The Austrians also built the red brick building in the distance. 

I don't know if you can even see it, but there is a dragon statue in the center of the picture.  Our kids LOVED this dragon and the legend of the dragon. 

Once upon a Time ... Krak, the prince, founded a town on Wawel hill.  All was perfect except for the fire-breathing dragon who lived in the caves under the hill and who would terrorize the town-folk.  In order to keep the town-folks safe from getting eaten, Krak (the prince) had to feed the dragon all the town's livestock.  Then Krak came up with a plan.  With a local shoemaker's help they stuffed a sheep's skin with sulfur and left it outside the cave of the dragon.  The dragon ate it and got terrible heartburn.  To ease his pain, the dragon began drinking water - drinking and drinking and drinking.  Finally, the dragon exploded and Wawel was free.  Our kids thought that was so funny!

Lastly, a random side street that I really liked!