St. Joseph Church

This church was founded in the 11th century by Duke Wladyslaw Herman as a votive offering for the birth of their son. It was later rebuilt in the Gothic style at the end of the 13th century. The Holy Mass is offered in English on Sundays at 10:30.

the limestone hill is riddled with clefts and caverns, and one was said to be the lair of a fearsome dragon. ("Smok" finds echos in Tolkien's Smaug - he himself gave an obscure German derivation, but he had wide knowledge of European legends and languages.) The sons of King Krakus fed the dragon a calf stuffed with smouldering sulphur, and this proto-vindaloo killed it. Enter the cave from Thieves' Bastion on the eastern terrace. It's open April-Oct daily 10:00-17:00, 9 zł, but visit it last as it takes you out of Wawel. You descend 135 steps into the limestone cave, then through a passageway to emerge onto the riverbank promenade.

The earliest parts of the present castle are medieval but most of it was built from the 16th C in Renaissance style, with baroque additions, surrounding an Italianate courtyard. It suffered when the centre of power moved to Warsaw, the country was partitioned, and there was a harrowing series of military occupations and wars. It was lavishly restored in the 20th C. No combi ticket : State Rooms (49 zł), Royal Private Apartments (25 zł), Crown Treasury (43 zł), The Armoury (15 zł), "Lost Wawel" (decorative fragments from buildings that are gone) (15 zł), First Floor Galeries (5 zł), Royal Gardens (5 zł), Dragon's Den (9 zł) and Sandomierska Tower (5 zł). The audioguide is recommended.In November some exhibits benefit from the "Free November" programme, but they will sell out so you must book well in advance.

Light plays, comedies mostly.

Old Theatre's second stage.

This church was raised in 1637 in Baroque style for the Discalced Carmelite nuns, but is now a Protestant church. The Gothic crucifix above the altar is one of the oldest in Poland.