Wawel Royal Castle is the most important historical and cultural site in Poland. For centuries, it was the residence of the kings of Poland and the symbol of Polish statehood; now the castle is one of the country’s premier art museums. In this way, the Renaissance Route in Małopolska begins at a site that defined the canon of Renaissance architecture and culture in this part of Europe for good.
The beginnings of the Italian Renaissance in Wawel date back to the first years of the 16th century. Around 1504, the ruling King Alexander the Jagiellonian (1501-1506) embarked on a remodelling of his Gothic residence to give it a contemporary guise. From 1507 onwards, Sigismund the Old (1506-1548) continued his brother’s work.
The period from 1502 to 1516, was the time when Francis, a Florentine stonemason and sculptor, was active. Francis of Florence (Francesco Fiorentino) brought his workshop to Kraków with him. They were builders and stonemasons from northern Hungary representing the Renaissance art of Central Europe. Further works carried out in Wawel from 1517 to approx. 1540 were supervised by another Florentine, Bartolommeo Berrecci. Sculptors and wood-carvers Sebastian Tauerbach and Master Jan called Schnitzer worked on the interior decorations and made the decorative wooden ceilings. Painters, mostly German, decorated the walls with friezes running below the ceilings, painted portraits of royalty and built altars. Plenty of Renaissance works of art were also imported from abroad, e.g. from Nuremberg.
The marriage of Sigismund I to Princess Bona Sforza in 1518 facilitated close artistic and cultural contacts with Italy. The last king of the Jagiellonian dynasty, Sigismund II Augustus (1548-1572) enriched the castle interiors with a magnificent collection of tapestries woven in Brussels. During the ‘golden’ period of Polish culture, Wawel became an important centre of humanism in Europe.
• The arcaded courtyard
The courtyard, surrounded by its colonnade, is the result of the construction of a new royal residence started by Alexander the Jagiellonian and completed around 1540. The work on the Royal Castle (1517–1536) was initially undertaken by Francis of Florence, but later the construction continued under the supervision of Bartolommeo Berrecci following the guiding principles of his compatriot’s design. This latter Italian added a gate building (1533–1535), whose portal makes allusions to a triumphal arch.
The castle consists of four wings, the southern one being just a galleried curtain, combining residential with state functions. It is embellished by a three-storey-high colonnaded courtyard. The two lower stories feature regular arcades, and the third, the highest situated under the extending eaves of the roof, is given slender proportions acquired thanks to the doubling of the column height. This design is an excellent example of a multi-story arcaded courtyard built outside Italy. It follows the Renaissance idea of unity of composition with refined and light proportions allowing the design to achieve an unusual, elegant character.
• The royal chambers
The castle contains regal state rooms in its eastern and northern wings. Most of them have been restored to the decor of the days of Sigismund the Old and Sigismund August. The largest of the rooms, the Senators Hall, was originally designed for the sessions of the Senate, major ceremonies at court, balls, and plays and spectacles. Its walls are decorated with huge figurative tapestries on subjects taken from the Bible, which belonged to the collection of King Sigismund August.
The Audience Hall was designed for the sessions of the Sejm (Lower House of the Parliament) in which the king participated. In the first half of the 20th century the chamber had its coffered ceiling reconstructed, and 30 heads sculpted in 1540 by the workshop of Sebastian Tauerbach and Master Jan called Schnitzer were returned. The original ceiling housed 194 sculpted heads, but it was destroyed early in the 19th century. The contemporary arrangement of heads is random. The preserved specimens support the claim that the sculptures represented people contemporary to the artists: not specific individuals but rather human types: burghers, courtiers, soldiers, as well as literary and mythological figures. The Renaissance decoration of the hall, apart from the tapestries, consists of a wall frieze presenting The History of Human Life, an illustration of the antique Tabula Cebetis, and portraits of King Sigismund the Old and his daughter, Anna the Jagiellonian.
The Tournament Hall is adorned by a wall frieze painted in the 1530s by Hans Dürer (Albrecht’s brother) and Antoni of Wrocław. Renaissance paintings by Italian artists are exhibited here; of particular note are portraits of members of the Medici family painted by Alessandro Allori and Giorgio Vasari. A Siena table from the Palazzo Palmieri is worth mentioning from among the Renaissance furniture.
The beginnings of the Italian Renaissance in Wawel date back to the first years of the 16th century. Around 1504, the ruling King Alexander the Jagiellonian (1501-1506) embarked on a remodelling of his Gothic residence to give it a contemporary guise. From 1507 onwards, Sigismund the Old (1506-1548) continued his brother’s work.
The period from 1502 to 1516, was the time when Francis, a Florentine stonemason and sculptor, was active. Francis of Florence (Francesco Fiorentino) brought his workshop to Kraków with him. They were builders and stonemasons from northern Hungary representing the Renaissance art of Central Europe. Further works carried out in Wawel from 1517 to approx. 1540 were supervised by another Florentine, Bartolommeo Berrecci. Sculptors and wood-carvers Sebastian Tauerbach and Master Jan called Schnitzer worked on the interior decorations and made the decorative wooden ceilings. Painters, mostly German, decorated the walls with friezes running below the ceilings, painted portraits of royalty and built altars. Plenty of Renaissance works of art were also imported from abroad, e.g. from Nuremberg.
The marriage of Sigismund I to Princess Bona Sforza in 1518 facilitated close artistic and cultural contacts with Italy. The last king of the Jagiellonian dynasty, Sigismund II Augustus (1548-1572) enriched the castle interiors with a magnificent collection of tapestries woven in Brussels. During the ‘golden’ period of Polish culture, Wawel became an important centre of humanism in Europe.
• The arcaded courtyard
The courtyard, surrounded by its colonnade, is the result of the construction of a new royal residence started by Alexander the Jagiellonian and completed around 1540. The work on the Royal Castle (1517–1536) was initially undertaken by Francis of Florence, but later the construction continued under the supervision of Bartolommeo Berrecci following the guiding principles of his compatriot’s design. This latter Italian added a gate building (1533–1535), whose portal makes allusions to a triumphal arch.
The castle consists of four wings, the southern one being just a galleried curtain, combining residential with state functions. It is embellished by a three-storey-high colonnaded courtyard. The two lower stories feature regular arcades, and the third, the highest situated under the extending eaves of the roof, is given slender proportions acquired thanks to the doubling of the column height. This design is an excellent example of a multi-story arcaded courtyard built outside Italy. It follows the Renaissance idea of unity of composition with refined and light proportions allowing the design to achieve an unusual, elegant character.
• The royal chambers
The castle contains regal state rooms in its eastern and northern wings. Most of them have been restored to the decor of the days of Sigismund the Old and Sigismund August. The largest of the rooms, the Senators Hall, was originally designed for the sessions of the Senate, major ceremonies at court, balls, and plays and spectacles. Its walls are decorated with huge figurative tapestries on subjects taken from the Bible, which belonged to the collection of King Sigismund August.
The Audience Hall was designed for the sessions of the Sejm (Lower House of the Parliament) in which the king participated. In the first half of the 20th century the chamber had its coffered ceiling reconstructed, and 30 heads sculpted in 1540 by the workshop of Sebastian Tauerbach and Master Jan called Schnitzer were returned. The original ceiling housed 194 sculpted heads, but it was destroyed early in the 19th century. The contemporary arrangement of heads is random. The preserved specimens support the claim that the sculptures represented people contemporary to the artists: not specific individuals but rather human types: burghers, courtiers, soldiers, as well as literary and mythological figures. The Renaissance decoration of the hall, apart from the tapestries, consists of a wall frieze presenting The History of Human Life, an illustration of the antique Tabula Cebetis, and portraits of King Sigismund the Old and his daughter, Anna the Jagiellonian.
The Tournament Hall is adorned by a wall frieze painted in the 1530s by Hans Dürer (Albrecht’s brother) and Antoni of Wrocław. Renaissance paintings by Italian artists are exhibited here; of particular note are portraits of members of the Medici family painted by Alessandro Allori and Giorgio Vasari. A Siena table from the Palazzo Palmieri is worth mentioning from among the Renaissance furniture.
