Royal Private Apartments
The first floor of the royal palace held the private apartments of the king and queen, as well as rooms for the royal attendants. Surviving records show that the functions of the various rooms changed many times. They were often adapted as lodgings for royal guests. The original arrangement of suites of rooms entered from the galleries through a vestibule has not been retained, but it is echoed in the names of some of the interiors.
In several of the rooms to the south of the staircase, the original Renaissance beam and coffered wooden ceilings dating from 1524–1526 have survived untouched by fire, as have the friezes painted in the 1530s. The stonework windows and doorframes, carved by the workshop of Master Benedict in the 1520s, have a characteristic blend of Gothic and Renaissance features.
In several of the rooms to the south of the staircase, the original Renaissance beam and coffered wooden ceilings dating from 1524–1526 have survived untouched by fire, as have the friezes painted in the 1530s. The stonework windows and doorframes, carved by the workshop of Master Benedict in the 1520s, have a characteristic blend of Gothic and Renaissance features.
Envoys’ Staircase Hall
The Renaissance staircase, called the Envoys’ or Deputies’ Staircase, leads from the Arcaded Courtyard to the private apartments and the state rooms on the next floor. Located in the middle of the castle’s east wing, it was built in 1520–1536 by Master Benedict and Bartolomeo Berrecci.
Dining Room
The apartment in the south end of the east wing changed occupants many times. King Sigismund I the Old used it as his summer apartment; the young king Sigismund II Augustus occupied these rooms until he ascended the throne in 1548; and at times it served as lodgings for royal guests. The first chamber had most likely been the dining room. The Italian Renaissance furniture corresponds to this function: sideboards, a table, and a cassapanca, or chest-bench. The 18th-century tile stove in the corner comes from the castle at Wiśniowiec (now Vyshnivets, Ukraine) and was brought in during the restoration of Wawel Castle in the early 20th century. The Italian Old Master paintings of the 15th–16th centuries are from the gift of Karolina Lanckorońska.
Vestibule
This room, which was entered from the galleries, has doors leading to the other chambers in the apartment, the study in the Jordanka Tower (a remnant of the earlier Gothic castle), and to an adjacent staircase that leads to the gardens. The room is hung with landscape-animal tapestries, called verdures, from the collection of Sigismund II Augustus. The king commissioned them from the leading workshops in Brussels, which at the time was the principal center for tapestry production. The tapestries were woven in 1550–1560 using wool, silk, and silver and gold threads. Today Wawel Castle holds 136 tapestries from the collection which originally numbered about 160 pieces.
Wardrobe
This is one of the two best-preserved chambers of the Renaissance palace. The polychrome painted beam and coffer ceiling and painted frieze of heads in medallions date from the second quarter of the 16th century.
The 18th-century tile stove comes from Wiśniowiec castle (now Vyshnivets, Ukraine). The Italian Old Master paintings of the 15th–16th centuries are from the gift of Karolina Lanckorońska.
Bed Chamber
The Renaissance larch wood ceiling, painted frieze with male heads (partially reconstructed), two portals with Gothic and Renaissance features, and the chimneypiece all date from the 16th century, when the room was used as a royal bed chamber. The most important piece of furniture is the late-Renaissance English canopy bed. The 18th-century tile stove comes from the Wiśniowiec castle (now Vyshnivets, Ukraine). The Italian Old Master paintings of the 15th–16th centuries are from the gift of Karolina Lanckorońska.
Chamber
This room served as lodgings. Damaged in the fire of 1702, it was renovated in the 1920s, at which time the vaulted ceiling and marble floors were put in.
Chamber
Once called the Great Chamber, this room’s original ceiling was damaged in a fire in 1702 and replaced with a vaulted one in the 1920s.
Grey Vestibule
This stately vestibule with a door to the galleries is decorated in the Dutch Baroque style. A collection of 17th- and 18th-century Delftware is displayed on wall consoles and cabinets. Two kussenkast, or cushion cupboards, named for the raised pillow-like panels on the doors, and a table covered with a carpet recall Dutch interiors. The Portuguese chairs upholstered in embossed leather date from the second half of the 17th century.
Vestibule in the Danish Tower
This is one of the Gothic interiors that were incorporated into the Renaissance palace built in the 16th century on the site of the medieval castle. It functioned as the vestibule leading to the chambers in the northwestern corner of the residence, called the Hen’s Foot Tower. The deep window niche is a relic of the original Gothic room. The early-Renaissance stone portals are inscribed with Latin maxims: TENDIT IN ARDVA VIRTUS (Virtue strives for what is difficult) and VELIS QUOD POSSIS (Want what you can have).
President Ignacy Mościcki’s Bedroom
This chamber in the medieval Danish Tower once functioned as the lodgings of the court chamberlain. According to legend, in the 17th century King Sigismund III set up an alchemy workshop in this room. In 1927–1939, it was converted into the bedroom of the President of the Republic of Poland Ignacy Mościcki. The Art Deco suite was commissioned from Z. Szczerbiński’s furniture factory in Warsaw. The so-called presidential service exhibited in the vitrine comprises porcelain dishes and crystal stemware decorated with a gold Polish Eagle. The adjacent Carrara marble-tiled bathroom has furnishings imported from England.
The Hen’s Foot Extension
The structure that projects from the body of the castle, called the Hen’s Foot Extension, is a relic of the 14th-century Gothic castle. This part of the royal residence held the apartment of King Sigismund I the Old. After the fire of 1595, it was remodeled for King Sigismund III by Giovanni Trevano. During this period the marble door frames bearing the Sheaf – the coat of arms of the House of Vasa – were made. The 18thcentury gilt leather wall coverings come from Moritzburg Castle in Saxony. The painted ceiling was installed during the restoration campaign of the 1920s and 1930s.
Study in the Sigismund III Tower
This small room with a fireplace was most likely used as a study. It is located in the tower built in about 1600 by Giovanni Trevano. The vaulted gilt stucco ceiling bears the arms of the House of Vasa – the Sheaf. The andirons in the fireplace supported the logs and prevented them from rolling out.
Bed Chamber in the Hen’s Foot Tower
This chamber is located in a tower of the former Gothic castle, which was divided into two floors during the 16th-century construction of the Renaissance palace. It had served as the bed chamber of King Sigismund I the Old, but due to an error made in an 18th-century inventory it came to be called the Alchemy Chamber.
The Columned Hall
In the 16th century, this room was called the great hall (stuba magna), and served as the dining room of Sigismund I the Old. According to historical sources, the table silver was kept here. In 1787, it was redesigned and decorated by architect Rev. Sebastian Sierakowski for the only visit to Krakow of Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last king of Poland.
At present the interior is arranged in the spirit of Classicism.
The room’s present form and furnishings – a suite of Neoclassical Polish furniture with gilt leather upholstery and a set of gilt bronze sconces and candelabra by the fashionable Parisian sculptors Philippe Caffieri and Pierre-Philippe Thomire – the room evokes that event.
The portraits of Polish dignitaries date from the reign of Stanislas Augustus Poniatowski. Among them is a portrait of the King from the workshop of Marcello Bacciarelli.
Floor Plan
1. Envoys’ Staircase Hall
2. Dining Room
3. Vestibule
4. Wardrobe
5. Bed Chamber
6. Chamber
7. Chamber
8. Grey Vestibule
9. Vestibule in the Danish Tower
10. President Ignacy Mościcki’s Bedroom
11a, b The Hen’s Foot Extension
12. Study in the Sigismund III Tower
13. Bed Chamber in the Hen’s Foot Tower
Wawel curator emeritus, Professor Kazimierz Kuczman, talks about two chambers located on the first floor of Wawel Royal Castle.
Part II.