Wawel Cathedral, Krakow, Poland

Wawel Cathedral (the Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus) stands on Wawel Hill next to the Royal Castle in Krakow. The present Gothic building, consecrated in 1364 in the presence of King Casimir the Great, is the third cathedral on the site. From 1320 to 1734 most Polish kings were crowned here, and most of them are buried in its crypts and chapels, together with national heroes such as Tadeusz Kościuszko and Józef Piłsudski, the poets Adam Mickiewicz and Juliusz Słowacki, and President Lech Kaczyński and his wife Maria, who died in the Smolensk air crash in 2010. Karol Wojtyła, the future Pope John Paul II, was Archbishop of Krakow from 1964 to 1978.

Around the Gothic nave runs a ring of chapels added over the centuries. The finest is the Sigismund Chapel (1519–1533) by the Florentine architect Bartolomeo Berrecci, with its gilded dome, often called the most beautiful Renaissance building north of the Alps. In the Sigismund Tower hangs the Sigismund Bell, cast in 1520 and weighing almost 13 tonnes, which is rung only on major church and national occasions; the climb to it also gives a view over Krakow. The cathedral itself is free to enter, while a ticket is needed for the Royal Tombs, the bell tower and the Cathedral Museum.

Key points:

• Built: the present Gothic cathedral was consecrated in 1364.
• Tickets (2026): the cathedral is free; Royal Tombs, Sigismund Bell and Cathedral Museum about PLN 25 (reduced PLN 17).
• Hours: Monday to Saturday 9:00–16:30, Sunday 12:30–16:30 (Cathedral Museum closed on Sundays); visits pause during services.
• Nearby: Wawel Royal Castle, the Dragon’s Den, the Vistula Embankment.