It was also the most significant, the richest and the most prestigious diocese. Fifteen years later though, the capital was moved to Warsaw and Wawel was gradually losing its privileged position as the Royal Castle.įor centuries, the Wawel Cathedral had been the most important place of worship in Poland. This enormous bell located in the Wawel Cathedral was named in honour of the King.Īfter the north-eastern part of the castle burned down in the fire of 1595, another Polish King, Sigismund III Vasa, ordered the castle’s refurbishment. Numerous of King’s foundations include also one of Poland’s national symbols, the Sigismund Bell. The artistic patronage of King Sigismund is visible in the Wawel Cathedral, where King’s ancestral chapel was built, work of the Florentine artist Bartholomew Berrecci. With galleries added around the yard and general refurbishment, the castle was turned into a splendid Renaissance residence. They brought the most recent trends in architecture and interiors. Many of them traveled from the heart of Renaissance and the Queen’s birthplace, Italy. Top artists of the era had worked in the Royal Castle. In the early 16 th century King Sigismund I the Old and his wife Bona Sforza introduced Renaissance culture to the royal court. Renaissance courtyard, South and East wing During the reign of Jagiellonian dynasty, the castle had been refurbished to reflect current trends.

With the beginning of the reign of the new dynasty, originated by marriage of Jadwiga of Poland and Wladyslaw II Jagiello, the Duke of Lithuania, the Royal Castle welcomed the new era of its splendour. During the rebuilt, the Castle was adapted to be not only the king’s residence but also to house expanding state apparatus. The reign of Casimir III the Great is often defined as the golden era of Polish development, what is undoubtedly reflected in Castle’s architecture.

The first major rebuilt of the Royal Castle took place under the rule of Casimir III the Great, who reigned from 1333 to 1370. The Castle played an important part in Polish politics and history. From then on, the hill had been a place of royal residence. First historic ruler of Poland, Mieszko I had settled down on Wawel Hill. History of Wawel Hill dates back to the beginning of Polish statehood.

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