The
Wawel Dragon (in Polish:
Smok Wawelski), also known as the
Dragon of Wawel Hill, is a famous
dragonDragons are legendary creatures, typically with serpentine or otherwise reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of worldwide cultures.The two most familiar interpretations of dragons are European dragons, derived from various European folk traditions, and the unrelated Oriental dragons, such as...
in
Polish folklorePolish mythology comprises beliefs and myths of ancient Poland, including witchcraft and elements of Paganism.An early Polish settlement featuring an allocated place of pagan worship, which is located near the ancient complex of Poganowo not far from the Polish coast of the Baltic Sea, was...
. He laired in a cave under
Wawel HillWawel Hill is the name of a Jurassic limestone outcrop formed about 150 million years ago. It is situated on the left bank of the Vistula River in Kraków, Poland, at an altitude of 228 metres above the sea level. Over the millennia, the hill provided a safe haven for people who settled there since...
on the banks of the
VistulaThe Vistula , is the longest and one of the most important rivers in Poland at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is 194,424 km² , of which 168,699 km² The Vistula , is the longest and one of the most important rivers in Poland at 1,047 km (651 miles) in...
river. Wawel Hill is in
KrakówKraków , in English also spelled Krakow or Cracow and pronounced
, is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland and a popular tourist destination. Its historic centre was inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites as the first of its kind...
, Poland, which was the capital at the time. In some stories the dragon lived before the founding of the city, when the area was inhabited by farmers.
The
Wawel CathedralWawel Cathedral is a church located on Wawel Hill in Kraków, which is Poland's national sanctuary. It has a 1,000-year history and was the traditional coronation site of Polish monarchs. It is the cathedral of the archdiocese of Kraków...
and Kraków's
castleThe Gothic Wawel Castle in Kracow in Poland was built at the behest of Casimir III the Great and consists of a number of structures situated around the central courtyard. In the 14th century it was rebuilt by Jogaila and Jadwiga of Poland. Their reign saw the addition of the tower called the Hen’s...
still stand on Wawel Hill.
The
Wawel Dragon (in Polish:
Smok Wawelski), also known as the
Dragon of Wawel Hill, is a famous
dragonDragons are legendary creatures, typically with serpentine or otherwise reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of worldwide cultures.The two most familiar interpretations of dragons are European dragons, derived from various European folk traditions, and the unrelated Oriental dragons, such as...
in
Polish folklorePolish mythology comprises beliefs and myths of ancient Poland, including witchcraft and elements of Paganism.An early Polish settlement featuring an allocated place of pagan worship, which is located near the ancient complex of Poganowo not far from the Polish coast of the Baltic Sea, was...
. He laired in a cave under
Wawel HillWawel Hill is the name of a Jurassic limestone outcrop formed about 150 million years ago. It is situated on the left bank of the Vistula River in Kraków, Poland, at an altitude of 228 metres above the sea level. Over the millennia, the hill provided a safe haven for people who settled there since...
on the banks of the
VistulaThe Vistula , is the longest and one of the most important rivers in Poland at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is 194,424 km² , of which 168,699 km² The Vistula , is the longest and one of the most important rivers in Poland at 1,047 km (651 miles) in...
river. Wawel Hill is in
KrakówKraków , in English also spelled Krakow or Cracow and pronounced
, is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland and a popular tourist destination. Its historic centre was inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites as the first of its kind...
, Poland, which was the capital at the time. In some stories the dragon lived before the founding of the city, when the area was inhabited by farmers.
The
Wawel CathedralWawel Cathedral is a church located on Wawel Hill in Kraków, which is Poland's national sanctuary. It has a 1,000-year history and was the traditional coronation site of Polish monarchs. It is the cathedral of the archdiocese of Kraków...
and Kraków's
castleThe Gothic Wawel Castle in Kracow in Poland was built at the behest of Casimir III the Great and consists of a number of structures situated around the central courtyard. In the 14th century it was rebuilt by Jogaila and Jadwiga of Poland. Their reign saw the addition of the tower called the Hen’s...
still stand on Wawel Hill. The cathedral features a statue of Smok Wawelski and a plaque commemorating his defeat by
KrakusKrakus or Krak or Grakch is the name given to a legendary Polish prince and founder of Kraków, the ruler of the tribe of Lechitians . Krakus is also credited with building Wawel Castle. The first recorded mention of Krakus , then spelled Grakch, is in the Chronica seu originale regum et principum...
, a Polish prince who, according to the plaque, founded the city and his palace over the slain dragon's lair. The dragon's cave under the castle is now a popular tourist stop.
History
A popular version of Smok Wawelski's tale takes place in Kraków during the reign of
King KrakKrakus or Krak or Grakch is the name given to a legendary Polish prince and founder of Kraków, the ruler of the tribe of Lechitians . Krakus is also credited with building Wawel Castle. The first recorded mention of Krakus , then spelled Grakch, is in the Chronica seu originale regum et principum...
, the city's legendary founder. Each day the evil dragon would beat a path of destruction across the countryside, killing the civilians, pillaging their homes and devouring their livestock. In many versions of this story, the dragon especially enjoyed eating young girls, and could only be appeased if the townfolk would leave a young girl in front of its cave once a month. The King certainly wanted to put a stop to the dragon, but his bravest
knightA knight was a "gentleman soldier" or member of the warrior class of the Middle Ages in Europe. In other Indo-European languages, cognates of cavalier or rider are more prevalent suggesting a connection to the knight's mode of transport...
s fell to its fiery breath. In the versions involving the sacrifice of young girls, every girl in the city was eventually sacrificed except one, the King's daughter Wanda. In desperation, the King promised his beautiful daughter's hand in marriage to anybody who could defeat the dragon. Great warriors from near and far fought for the prize and failed. One day, a poor
cobblerCobbler may refer to:* A shoemaker who repairs shoes, rather than manufacturing them .** Cobbler apron, a type of apron that covers both the front and back of the body...
's apprentice named Skuba Dratewka accepted the challenge. He stuffed a lamb with sulphur and set it outside the dragon's cave. The dragon ate it and soon became incredibly thirsty. He turned to the Vistula River for relief and he drank and drank. But no amount of water could quell his aching stomach, and after swelling up from drinking half of the Vistula river, he exploded. Dratewka married the King's daughter as promised and they lived happily ever after.
Sculpture
In 1970 a metal sculpture of the Wawel Dragon designed by Bronisław Chromy was placed in front of the
dragon's denSmocza Jama is a limestone cave in the Wawel Hill in Kraków. Owing to its location in the heart of the former Polish capital and its connection to the legendary Wawel Dragon, it is the best known cave in Poland.- Morphology :...
. It is stylised, with six legs, and, to the amusement of children, it noisily breathes fire every few minutes, thanks to a
natural gasNatural gas is a gas consisting primarily of methane. It is found associated with fossil fuels, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is created by methanogenic organisms in marshes, bogs, and landfills...
nozzle installed in the sculpture's mouth.
Currently the dragon breathes fire every five minutes, or when an
SMSShort Message Service or Silent Messaging Service is a communication service standardized in the GSM mobile communication system, using standardized communications protocols allowing the interchange of short text messages between mobile telephone devices...
with the text "SMOK" is sent to the number 7168.
The street leading along the banks of the river leading towards the castle is
ulica smocza, which translates as "Dragon Street".
Dragon in culture
- Wawel Dragons (Gold, Silver, Bronze Grand Prix Dragons and Dragon of Dragons Special Prize) are awards, usually presented at Kraków Film Festival
The Kraków Film Festival is one of Europe's oldest events dedicated to documentary, animation and other short film forms. It has been organised year after year since 1961....
in PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
External links