5 Best Sights in Wawel, Salwator, and Dębniki, Krakow

The castle that now stands here dates from the early 16th century, when the Romanesque residence that stood on this site was destroyed by fire. King Sigismund the Old brought artists and craftsmen from Italy to create his castle, and despite baroque reconstruction after another fire in the late 16th century, several parts of the Renaissance castle remain, including the beautiful arcaded courtyard. After the transfer of the capital to Warsaw at the beginning of the 17th century, the castle was stripped of its fine furnishings, and later in the century it was devastated by the Swedish wars. In 1905, a voluntary Polish society purchased the castle from the Austrian authorities and began restoration. It narrowly escaped destruction in 1945, when the Nazis almost demolished it as a parting shot. Today you can visit the royal chambers, furnished in the style of the 16th and 17th centuries and hung with the 16th-century Arras-style tapestries from the Low Countries. Counted among the most valuable treasures of the Polish people, the tapestries were evacuated to Canada by Jan Polkowski (who had been appointed their guardian) during World War II in order to protect them against the invaders, and returned to Poland in 1961. The Royal Treasury on the ground floor contains a somewhat depleted collection of Polish crown jewels; the most fascinating item displayed here is the Szczerbiec, the jagged sword used from the early 14th century onward at the coronation of Polish kings. The Royal Armory houses a collection of Polish and Eastern arms and armor. The west wing holds an imposing collection of Turkish embroidered tents.

For many Poles, the castle's importance extends beyond its history. Hindu esoteric thinkers claim it is one of the world's mystic energy centers, a chakhra. Some believers—and there have been many over the last few decades—think that by rubbing up against the castle wall in the courtyard they will absorb vital energy.

To reach the castle, go to the end of Grodzka or Kanonicza streets, and then walk up Wawel Hill.

The number of visitors to the royal chambers is limited, and entry tickets are timed; therefore, you should always try to book your tickets in advance to avoid disappointment. Phone to make the reservation, and then collect your tickets from the Visitor Centre located across the outer coutyard, in the direction of Wisła river.

Wawel Hill, a 15-acre rocky limestone outcropping on the banks of the Vistula, dominates the old part of the city. The hill was a natural point for fortification on the flat Vistula Plain. During the 8th century it was topped with a tribal stronghold and since the 10th century has held a royal residence and served as the seat of the bishops of Kraków. Construction on the present Wawel Cathedral—the third cathedral in this very place—was begun in 1320, and the structure was consecrated in 1364. Little room for expansion on the hill has meant the preservation of the original austere structure, although a few Renaissance and baroque chapels have been crowded around it. The most notable of these is the Kaplica Zygmuntowska (Sigismund Chapel), built in the 1520s by the Florentine architect Bartolomeo Berrecci and widely considered to be the finest Renaissance chapel north of the Alps.

From 1037, when Kraków became the capital of Poland, Polish kings were crowned and buried in the Wawel Cathedral. This tradition continued up to the time of the partitions, even after the capital had been moved to Warsaw. During the 19th century, only great national heroes were honored by a Wawel entombment: Tadeusz Kościuszko was buried here in 1817; Adam Mickiewicz and Juliusz Słowacki, both great romantic poets, were also brought back from exile to the Wawel after their deaths; and Marshal Józef Piłsudski, the hero of independent Poland between the two world wars, was interred in the cathedral crypt in 1935. Many feel that this tradition was disrespected when, in a controversial decision, Wawel received the body of Lech Kaczyński, Poland's President who died in a tragic plane crash in 2010.

The cathedral also has a treasury, archives, library, and museum. Among the showpieces in the library, one of the earliest in Poland, is the 12th-century Emmeram Gospel from Regensburg. After touring at ground level, you can climb the wooden staircase of the Sigismund Tower, entering through the sacristy. The tower holds the famous Sigismund Bell, which was commissioned in 1520 by King Sigismund the Old and is still tolled on all solemn state and church occasions.

Pick up an audio guide for zł 7.

This mound on the outskirts of Kraków was built in tribute to the memory of Tadeusz Kościuszko in 1820, three years after his death. The earth came from battlefields on which he had fought; soil from the United States was added on July 4, 1926, the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The best place from which to get a panoramic view of the city, the mound presides above a 19th-century Austrian fort. With the same ticket, you can also visit an exhibition explaining the system and the history of the Kraków Fortress. The entrance to the exhibition is to the right, after you come back down from the top of the mound.

The "Manggha" Center for Japanese Art and Technology houses a magnificent collection of woodblock prints, pottery, Samurai armor, netsuke (small sculptures worn on the sash of a kimono), and more. The collection was the gift of an eccentric bohemian named Feliks Jasieński, who became caught up in the fashion of collection Japanese artifacts in fin de siècle Paris. Jasieński's admiration and obsession with all things Japanese earned him the nickname "Manggha." Manggha are picture books containing famous prints of old Japan (not exactly the same as today's manga, which are popular graphic novels). Jasieński actually donated the collection to the Kraków National Museum in 1920, but there was no space to properly display it. The present museum opened in late 1994, in a building designed by the renowned Japanese architect, Arata Isozaki.

Every Polish child knows the legend of the fire-breathing dragon that once terrorized residents from his Smocza Jama, a cave at the foot of Wawel Hill. Follow the signs to the ticket office opposite the castle, in the direction of the river. The dragon threatened to destroy the town unless he was fed a damsel a week. The king promised half his kingdom and his daughter's hand in marriage to any man who could slay the dragon. The usual quota of knights tried and failed. But finally a crafty cobbler named Skuba tricked the dragon into eating a lambskin filled with salt and sulfur. The dragon went wild with thirst, rushed into the Vistula River, and drank until it exploded. The Dragon's Den is still there, however, and in warmer months smoke and flame belch out of it every 15 minutes to thrill young visitors. A bronze statue of the dragon itself stands guard at the entrance.

Visiting the Dragon's Den involves a descent via a spiral stairway followed by walking on uneven ground through a rock cave, therefore it is advisable to bring comfortable walking shoes.