Photographs selected by Andrzej Fischinger and Jerzy Szablowski
Designed by Adam Mlodzianowski

Among Polish museum collections those of the Royal Castle of Wawel occupy a leading place by virtue of their high artistic standard and great historical value.  These works of art and national relics carefully selected and beautifully displayed, emphasize the artistic and symbolic importance of Poland's most splendid museum building, which was the residence of the kings of Poland at the height of the country's power under the Piast and Jagiellon dynasties.  The preservation of the celebrated set of tapestries on King Sigismund Augustus has ensured a direct link with the brilliant tradition of collecting at Wawel Castle during the Renaissance, and the survival of a number of the contents of the old Crown Treasury extends this historical lifeline even further into the past.  The items are grouped in four permanent exhibitions, three of which resurrect the appearance of the Royal Halls and Chambers, Crown Treasury and Armoury respectively, while the fourth gives an idea of the richness of the Wawel Orientalia, which have an equally long and well founded tradition.  Out of the close to 6000 exhibits at Wawel Castle over 280 are presented here.  Information about the collections as a whole is provided in an extensive introduction, which traces their origin and history and is also a scholarly guide to them.