A castle of Polish Kings which dated back to the early Middle Ages. In place of the Gothic castle, a Renaissance seat was erected for King Sigismund the Old (Zygmund Stary) according to a design by Bartolomeo Berrecci and Francesco the Florentine; the works were carried out in the years 1502-1536. Three wings surrounded the yard with columned galleries, while the fourth side was closed by a well topped with an attic.

Military barracks were built here in the 19th century by the Austrian authorities and the castle gradually fell into a decline. In 1905 it was bought out from the occupation authorities by the Polish society, and various preservation works were started. Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz dirrected the restoration works undertaken during the inter-war period. At present the castle is the seat of the State Art Collections. Out of the many reconstructed and refurbished interiors a special mention is due to the Chamber of Deputies with its coffered ceiling and the Birds Room. Among other valuable collections the Wawel castle possesses a set of the 16th century tapestries commissioned by King Zygmund August with Dutch workshops. The Wawel Hill Cathedral is almost as old as the Wawel Hill Castle. Added to the northern wing of the castle, it received its present appearance in the 14th century. A number of side chapels were attached to the Cathedral's main body during the subsequent centuries; the most splendid one is the Zygmund Chapel which served as the mausoleum for the last Jagiellonians. The Cathedral contains many tombstones of Polish kings, while the crypts shelter numerous sarcophaga of eminent Poles.