Wawel Cathedral, Krakow, Malopolskie Voivodeship, Poland
The first cathedral church at Wawel was probably built shortly after the Cracow Bishopric was established in the year 1000. Too little is known about the original cathedral to be able to reconstruct its appearance. More is known about the successive Romanesque church from the turn of the 11th and the 12th centuries. Its construction is attributed to the reign of Duke Władysław Herman (1079-1102). The newly built church was consecrated in 1142.
It was a triple-aisle basilica, built in limestone and sandstone, probably with galleries over the side aisles. On the east and west side of the church were galleries built on a rectangular plan with semicircular apses and with crypts under the galleries. Two towers built on a square plan flanked the west side of the church. Substantial parts of the structure have survived intact to this day, including St Leonard’s Crypt and the lower part of the south tower.
Visit Poland. Epic Poland Adventure Route © All Rights Reserved | Monika & Simon Newbound 2017
Own or work here?
