Discover the rich history and legacy of Polish royalty as you wander through the Royal Apartments, located on the first floor of the palace. The exhibition features the private chambers of the kings and queens, courtiers, and guest rooms. As you walk through the royal rooms, you will be struck by the intricate details of the 16th century wooden ceilings, stonework windows, portals, and the fantastic painted friezes that adorn the walls.
As you delve deeper into the castle, you’ll come across the king’s apartments, situated in the northeastern corner of the castle. Here you’ll find the king’s bed chamber and the Columned Hall, which in the 16th century served as the king’s dining room. Today, the hall is adorned with portraits and statues of Polish kings, bringing the past to life before your very eyes.

The Lost Wawel exhibition combines archaeological reserve with past castle appearance. Have a look at what Wawel Castle looked like in all its glory in the 16-17th century on reconstructions scale models of buildings. See the first rotunda church constructed on the hill in the late 10th century. Observe the evolution of the Wawel Castle and the cathedral. Explore the oldest artefacts found on Wawel hill dated over 2000 years. Watch a huge collection of Renaissance tiles. Walk through the “Lapidarium” full of stone sculptures and architectural details from the castle.

Use the unique chance to see the reminiscence of the polish kings and queens and their biggest treasures. Have a look at magnificent works of art, crown jewels, orbs, crowns, and insignia of royal power. See the rarest artefact from the private king’s treasury. The exhibition consists of the highest honours awards, the mantle of the Knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit, the sword and the consecrated hat. Admire one of the largest in Poland’s collection of jewellery, with rarities such as gold Romanesque jewellery as well as several Western European Renaissance and Mannerist masterpieces.

Delve into the royal Armoury, admire lots of different swords, armours, guns, shields and not only. See the rich decorated weapons donated to the kings by medieval rulers over the whole of Europe. Watch the original famous winged Polish Hussars’ armour and weapons.
Have a look at 16th-century complete German plated suits of armour. This unique exhibition contains a fantastic collection of guns and rifles such as arquebuses, patrinals and pistols from European factories. Honour the rich heritage of the Polish Kings with one of the most valuable in the country collection of barrels which bear the coats of arms of Polish kings, hetmans and noblemen.

Visit representative staterooms located on the second floor of the castle. It was a place of sessions for country rulers, royal audiences, royal weddings and balls. Admire fantastic friezes painted in the 16th century and see the main castle room with the king’s throne! Watch the rich interior finishing, with marble gold and many more. Feel like kings did under beautifully decorated ceilings in different rooms, with very characteristic heads in the throne room.

Visit the only interactive exhibition on Wawel Royal Castle. Delve into the stories told by the photographs from the end of the 18th century to the end of the 20th. This unique exhibition focuses on the struggle to recover from Austria’s occupied Wawel Castle in the 18th-20th century. It also shows the enormous effort need to castle restoration after the occupation as well as the transformation of the Wawel into an Austrian army citadel.