Wawel Castle

00:00:01
Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frye and I'm Tracy V.

00:00:15
Speaker 2: Wilson.

00:00:16
Speaker 1: So Vawel Hill in Krakov is home to the Vavl Hill complex, and that is a historically important set of buildings that are really central to Poland's history, particularly pre seventeenth century, but also beyond that as well. And I'm not sure how this came across my interest list. I just don't know, but I want to go to Poland and see it. And in a lot of ways, the story of Vavol is the story of Poland. And so while this episode looks at the castle and it's surrounding buildings on Vavl Hill, in the process, we are going to talk about a lot of what's happened in Poland over the centuries for context, But of course that also means that this is mostly a high level, non comprehensive pass through this location history, and we will stop to focus on a few key and fascinating events along the way.

00:01:06
Speaker 2: Vavl Hill is a central point to Krakoff, which I think a lot of English speakers may have also heard pronounced Krakow. It sits at two hundred and twenty eight meters above sea level, and it's compressed of limestone. Because of its vantage point to the Viscila River and its height above the surrounding landscape, it's a natural place for people to try to seek safety. People have been doing that there since at least the six hundreds.

00:01:31
Speaker 1: The rule of Miesco the First, who is believed to have been in power starting circa nine sixty three, marks the beginning of the first ruling dynasty of Poland, the House of piast Misco the First, who is generally referred to as a prince or a duke rather than a king, was also the first ruler of Poland in recorded history who chose to live on Vavl Hill at least part of the time. Following Mesco the First, Bodhislas the Brave and Mesco the Second also spent significant time on Vavl Hill, and as rulers continued to prioritize Vawel as a base of operations, it became more and more important as a seat of government and as a cultural and religious hub. The status was cemented both literally and figuratively when a stone cathedral was built there in the year one thousand. While earlier rulers did spend time at Vavol, it wasn't until the reign of Kasimir the Restorer, who ruled from ten thirty four to ten fifty eight, that the hill became the primary location for political power in Poland. When Kasimir died, his son Bolislaus the Generus became king, that was in ten fifty eight, and he began working on a second cathedral on the hill, although he did not live long enough to see the completion of that project. And it was also during this time, in the mid eleventh century, that the first permanent building intended to be a home for rulers was built on Vavol Hill. This was called the Palatium and it was a stone structure.

00:03:03
Speaker 2: Boluslas the Rhyemouth finished the cathedral project that Bodslas the Generus began during his reign from eleven h two to eleven thirty eight. Balslas the Rhyemouth also established a system of separated county style municipalities for Poland and declared that Krakov was the main seat of the country. There is a legend that first shows up in the writings around this time of the twelfth century that gives a fanciful version to the founding of Krakov and the beginning of the castle. In this tale, the city was founded by a prince named Krak or Krakus, and there are other spellings of it as well, and Prince Krak is said to have killed a dragon that lived in the caves of Vowel Hill, possibly by feeding it poisoned livestock, so that he could claim the hill and the surrounding land for himself and his people, and thus Krakov was born. This myth has included stories over the years that Crack is also the person who built the castle, and there are myriad variations on the Crack legend. In some of them it's crack sons who built the city. There are also versions where one of Crack's servants kills the dragon on behalf of the prince, rather than Crack doing it himself. But all of these various versions, no matter how different they are in their details, share the same basics that Krakov is named after this ruler and that there was a dragon involved. Throughout the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the stone Pallatium was added on too, and the royal residence expanded to the east over time. This resulted in a two level arrangement to Vaveel Hill, where the upper castle housed the royal residence and also included the cathedral, and the lower castle included other buildings that served as churches places for members of the royal court to live, as well as the clergy that served in the cathedral and the churches. In twelve fifty seven, the city of Krakoff was officially chartered. The first Polish king to be crowned in Vavol Cathedral was Ladislaus the Short, who took the throne in thirteen oh six. He added to the krakofv cathedrals by building a third one at Vavol. Ladislaus the Short also decided to renovate the castle, so he added on to the existing structure, and he improved much of the existing castle, including upgrading wooden supports to stone ones. He also enlarged the overall footprint of the castle, and when Ladislaus died in thirteen thirty three, he became the first king to be buried in Vavl Cathedral, beginning a tradition that lasted for centuries. While Ladislaus had made structural improvements. His son and successor, Casimir the Third, focus on making the royal residence beautiful. Under his reign, the castle became an icon of opulence with its luxurious decor. He also created a Gothic compound of buildings arranged around a courtyard that thought on the eastern side of the property. When Casimir the Third's granddaughter Elizabeth, married Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Fourth in thirteen sixty four, the ceremony was held at Vavel Castle.

00:06:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, at that point there was nowhere in the world they can imagine that would be more beautiful to have a wedding. In thirteen eighty five, Poland's first woman ruler, Yadviga, ascended to the throne. And Yadviga is a very interesting figure. She will likely be her own episode before long. She united Poland and Lithuania through marriage. Her husband was Duke Yogaila of Lithuania, who became Ladislaus the second Yagelois, and during her reign, Yudwega promoted Christianity, in part through the conversion of her husband from Paganism as part of their marriage deal, and in turn, much of Lithuania followed suit. She also sought to cement Krakov as a place of culture and learning by restored during the university there and modeling it after the University of Paris. Yadviga's life and rule were cut short when she died in childbirth in thirteen ninety nine, and at that time her husband, who had more or less been ruling jointly with her, became the sovereign. Her university project was not completed until after her death. After becoming ruler, Ladislaus the second Jagaloa also added to the castle compound, initiating the building of what is called the Danish Tower. Then, beginning in the mid fifteenth century, Vowel gained three more towers. At the behest of then ruler Casimir the Fourth, who came to power in fourteen forty seven, he had the Thieves Tower, the Sandomirska Tower, and the Senator's Tower constructed. Coming up, we'll talk about the first of several major fires at Vavel, but first we will pause for a sponsor break. In fourteen ninety nine, the castle at Vavol burned in a fire. In the early sixteenth century, Vavel got a serious makeover thanks to the influence of the Italian Renaissance on King Alexander. Alexander came to power in fifteen oh one, and to rebuild the fire ravage structure of the castle, he hired a German architect named Eberhard Rosenberger. He also commissioned an Italian architect and sculptor named Francesco Fiorentino for the project, and his magnificent new residence, which replaced the prior Gothic style castle, was not completed until fifteen forty, which unfortunately was thirty four years after his death.

00:08:44
Speaker 2: At the time, Alexander's brother, Sigismund the First was ruler. Sigismund had really taken over the project when he ascended to the throne in fifteen o six. He brought the Italian influence even more closely into Poland when he married Milan's Princess Bona in fifteen eighteen. Sigismund's architectural legacy lies in the massive palace, which gained a new eastern wing and arcaded galleries at his direction. Just in case anyone's not familiar with that term, An arcaded gallery is a series of arches supported by pillars that usually frame a walkway or separate an interior area from an open space like a courtyard. These are very common in neoclassical architecture. Sigismund also left behind the Italian designed family chapel that he added to the cathedral. During the build and renovation process, the designers and architects had changed over as the original team had died, so this became a multi generational project for the artists involved as well as the rulers. Sigismund the First employed a lot of artisans from Italy and Germany to decorate the palace, and when his reign ended at his death in fifteen forty eight, his son Sigismund the Second followed in the same vein. During the time that Sigismund the Second reign, he also added a large and beautiful collection of Flemish tapestries to the collection. Those tapestries were later looted by Russia in the eighteenth century, and they had their own interesting life story, and we're going.

00:10:20
Speaker 1: To talk about that in just a bit.

00:10:22
Speaker 2: In fifteen ninety five, there was another fire in the castle which destroyed the building's northern wing. At the time Sigismund the Third Vasa was ruler, and in the aftermath of the blaze, he launched his own construction and design project. The lost section of the building was rebuilt, but this time in Baroque style, under the design team of architect Jovanni Trevano and painter Tomaso Dolbele. Sigismund the Third was not as dedicated to Vavol as his predecessors had been, though, and during his reign, the royal court of Poland was moved to Warsaw, making Krakoff and Vabel a secondary home for the country's royals. After that, it wasn't ever really used as a residence, but was reserved for important events of state, like weddings and funerals.

00:11:14
Speaker 1: Yeah, most of the things that I read most historians kind of point to this moment where Sigismund the Third was like, well, We're going to go to Warsaw as really being kind of like the beginning of the end of Krakov's import at least in this time. So during the reign of John the third Sobieski, which lasted from sixteen seventy four to sixteen ninety six, restoration efforts were started on the somewhat neglected at that point castle, although it was still considered a secondary royal residence. Two later kings, Augustus the Second and Augustus the Third, also tried to restore the castle, although some of this was due to the fact that there was yet another fire in seventeen oh two that happened just five years into the reign of Augusta the Second, and though he and Augustus the Third commissioned a rebuild, it was by all accounts, never as impressive as its previous version.

00:12:09
Speaker 2: At the end of the eighteenth century, Vawel was, like all of Poland, thrust into a time of uncertainty and ongoing control by other nations. Throughout the seventeen hundreds, the power of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth had waned. While it retained independence on paper, it came largely under the control of Russia, to the extent that the Russian czars generally chose the country's monarchs. At the same time, there was a lot of conflict within Poland and within Eastern Europe in general. There was just a lot of bickering and war and efforts to seize power. Poland was often caught in between countries that were in conflict.

00:12:51
Speaker 1: This is obviously the highest of high level. There was so much going on. We could pick out, like any number of moments in this span of time and do an entire episode on them, and perhaps we will, but that's just kind of to give context to what was going on here. Then, at the end of the seventeen sixties, the Ottoman Turks took heavy losses in a military conflict with Russia, leaving Austria and Prussia very concerned. There was recognition that if the Ottoman Empire fell completely to Russia, there would be a dangerous imbalance in Eastern Europe, and after that it was hard to see what future Austria and Prussia could even have if Russia chose to challenge them. So Frederic the Second of Prussia came up with a plan to steer Russian expansion interest away from the areas that we recognize as turkeya today and instead toward Poland. Poland was so depleted at this point and had been so manipulated by other powers that it really didn't have much of a say in the matter.

00:13:52
Speaker 2: So on August fifth, seventeen seventy two, Austria and Prussia signed a treaty with Russia that establish the first Partition of Poland. This was a situation where these three powers basically agreed that instead of getting into any kind of messy military conflict over who might control the real estate that made up Poland, they would just work out a deal where they were all cool with it and they would save themselves the trouble. And although it stripped Poland of a third of its land and half of its population in the process, the weakened Polish legislature ratified the agreement on September thirtieth of the following year. This basically carved pieces of the country off for each of the three partitioning powers. Russia got a strip of the country on its eastern side, the closest to the Russian Empire, Austria got a southern chunk of land that encompassed the Kingdom of Galacia, and Prussia took over the northeast corner. At this point, Krakoff was still part of Poland, but it sat just north of the border of the area that had been partitions to Austria. Throughout the remainder of the eighteenth century, there were efforts within the remaining country of Poland to regain some of its lost strength and power. The education system was completely overhauled in the seventeen seventies. Prior to seventeen seventy three, it had been run by the Jesuit Order, but the Holy See abolished the Jesuits that year, and that left Poland to form its own education Commission, which it did. This was also a time when a great deal of infrastructure was built and business interests became more prominent with the development of banks in the country. Over time, this growth and related reform efforts led to the passing of a new constitution for Poland on May third, seventeen ninety one. This document created a constitutional parliamentary monarchy, and it laid out a plan to make Poland more efficient, to develop a robust economy, and to establish its own army. But this was not something everyone in the county tree believed in or wanted. The Confederation of Targovitza, which was backed by Russia's Catherine the Second aka Catherine the Great, was a group of Polish nobles who objected to the new constitution, particularly that the nobility would see a reduction in their privileges and their power. The Confederation, which gathered in Russia, also asked Russia to get involved and to force the attraction of the new constitution and a return to the previous one. Both Russia and Prussia sent military forces into Poland, which, despite its growth in other areas, was still not in a position to defend itself. This resulted in a second partition, which was agreed to by Prussia and Russia in September of seventeen ninety three. This time around, Russia took an even bigger chunk of the country, moving their holdings farther west and to the south. Prussia's section of Poland also more than doubled in size, and yet Krakov remained part of Poland. Yeah, to be clear, those Polish nobles were very much in the pocket of Russia when they started it. It kind of I don't want it to sound in the way I laid it out that like they were within the country going no, we think we should do that. They were definitely aligned already with Russia. And the Polish population mounted a rebellion in response to that second partition, and while they managed to fight the forces of Russia and Prussia off for the better part of a year, ultimately Poland was defeated, and once it was all over, they faced a third partition. This time Austria, Russia, and Prussia carved up the remaining parts of Poland, leaving nothing of the original sovereign state. At that point, Russia held sixty two percent of what had been Poland, while Prussia took twenty percent and Austria took eighteen. Although that represents the geographical area, Austria's territory was actually some of the most populated, and so even though it had the smallest percentage of geography, it ended up with thirty two percent of the Polish population. Throughout this conflict, Poland had been ruled by Stanislav the second August Poniatowsky, the last King of Poland. He had been selected for the job by Catherine the Great, with whom he had a romantic history. She also anticipated that he would be easy to control, and though he was not really focused on the nation's military, he does seem to have been interested in actually leading the country. But as part of that third partition, he abdicated and moved to Saint Petersburg, where he died three years later at the age of sixty six. Poland would remain a partitioned state for the next one hundred and twenty three years after we hear from the sponsors that keep stuff you missed in history class going, we will talk about Vavol during its occupation and how Poland eventually got its independence back. During the Austrian possession of Vavol, the castle was seized and used first as a military hospital. Some of the buildings were torn down and the beautiful arcaded galleries were closed in with brickwork. Later, the castle was turned into a military stronghold and it remained a fortress for decades. In eighteen eighty, the Regional Assembly of Glicia created legislation that returned the castle to use as a residence, but that was for Franz Joseph the I, the Emperor of Austria. Two years after vaval Castle became the home of the Austrian head of state, the castle's official museum collection was started. It began with a gift from artist Jan Mitteiko. That gift was the painting The Prussian Homage, which depicts the homage paid to King Sigismund the First the Old by a man named Albric Holland Zarn. He was the last Great Master of the Order of Teutonic Knights.

00:20:04
Speaker 1: From that point on.

00:20:05
Speaker 2: The collection at Vabel was carefully curated to include a wide range of art. In the years in which Poland was partitioned, there were uprisings against the partitioning.

00:20:16
Speaker 1: Powers, a lot of them. There were five between eighteen oh six and eighteen sixty three, none of which were successful. There was also a revolution in nineteen oh five. There had actually been a brief reprieve of sorts, starting in eighteen oh seven, when Napoleon Bonaparte established the Duchy of Warsaw after Prussia and Austria ceded Polish territory to France. That duchy was administered by Frederick Augustus, the First of Saxony, and this seemed like perhaps a first step in Poland once again gaining its freedom if France continued to win wars And the temporary government of the Duchy could negotiate independence with Bonaparte. But after Napoleon attempted and failed to invade Russia in eighteen twelve, he kind of left the Duchy of Warsaw without any plan, and it was soon occupied again by the partitioning countries through it all, even when their efforts at resistance and revolution did not achieve the desired outcome, the Polish people adamantly retained their cultural identity. Over the next one hundred years, Poland was fought, over, sectioned, and re sectioned by other countries as they occupied it in various configurations. It wasn't until the early twentieth century that Austrian forces finally left Vavel.

00:21:39
Speaker 2: In World War One, Joseph Pozuski, who had been a revolutionary and had been jailed by Russia for it, served as a military commander of a Polish brigade that fought for Austria. He was blanked multi dimensional chess with this move. He saw the potential of the war to completely rearrange the power structure of Europe, and he hoped that the partitioning countries would lose their footing and then open the door for Poland to declare independence. He was not wrong. Russia was driven out of Poland by Austrian and German forces, and in nineteen sixteen, a document known as the Two Emperors Manifesto was created by those two countries that created the new Polish Kingdom and territory that had been taken from Russia. There were more stages to pass through, as Russia's own internal politics slowed the acceptance of Poland's independence, but after the Bolshevik Revolution in nineteen eighteen, Poland was officially a nation of its own again. Even before that, in nineteen eleven, after the Austrian occupation ended, the cathedral and castle at Vovl began what would be yet another restoration, although this one took a very very long time. It went on for five decades. In the meantime, the Ca Cas was in use as a home to the head of state. The twentieth century restoration was headed up initially by architect Zigmund Hendel. Another architect, Adolf ziskod Bojo's, took over the project in nineteen sixteen and he remained absolutely dedicated to it for the next thirty years. At the end of World War II, another person, Alfred Majuski, stepped in to finish the renovation. In nineteen twenty one, the Treaty of Riga included a provision that the tapestries that had been taken in the eighteenth century were to be returned. This return to their home in Vavel was short though, and World War II, Vavel, like the rest of Poland, was occupied by Nazi forces and Vavl castle was used by Hans Frank who was the Nazi Governor General of Poland. It served as his home during that time.

00:23:52
Speaker 1: Another interesting thing happened in Vaovl in nineteen twenty one. So we're going to step back for just a moment, because that year the head of the board for the restoration of Vavol Castle, Adolf Ziskobo, who's came up with a fundraising idea for the work that needed to be done, and there is actually a visual record of that fundraising work that still exists today. If you enter the Vowel complex from its entrance on Canonis's Street, you'll see a unique pattern in the brick wall that runs along one side of the entry lane, and if you look closely at the bricks you'll see that some of them that are different color than the others are engraved with names or messages. So each donor who gave thirty thousand marks or agreed to a payment plan of regular donations that went toward the restoration of the castle was given a brick placement. Six two hundred and eighty two bricks were funded this way, although the program hit a snag after its first burst of bricklaying that lasted from nineteen twenty one to nineteen twenty six. There were some problems with the bricks structurally, and a lot of people just did not like the checkerboard layout that was used to set them. Although there were plans to finish this brick project that started on several occasions, various setbacks, including World War II, meant that those plans were never implemented. The existing brick wall went through a conservation stage in the nineteen nineties and then another passive conservation again in twenty thirteen to preserve the bricks that do exist, and they numbered just a little over eleven hundred in total. When World War two began, there was a frantic rush to get most of the art collection out of Poland to safety so it would not be taken by the Nazis. This included tapestries and a sword which was part of coronation ceremonies. All of those were sent to Canada, along with a number of other treasures. These items were grabbed two days after the Nazi attack began, and from Krakoff they were moved to the Romanian border, then to a port on the Black Sea. From there they were taken by ship to France and then to Britain, and then before long on their last leg of the journey to North America. When the Nazi occupation ended, Vavl Hill and the structures there were part of a very careful restructuring to ensure long term stability and care. Three institutions were established to make sure the culturally important elements of Vouval, its art, the castle and cathedral were preserved. The State Art Collection, the Board for the Restoration of Vavol Castle, and the Metropolitan Basilica Board. Although there has been plenty of unrest and shifting of Poland's fortunes in the years since, these institutions, which have shifted a little on their own, have helped ensure that the historical significance of Vavl is not lost and that there is a stable through line regarding its stewardship and care. One of the steps in rebuilding was to get back the national treasures that had been sent to Canada, but that turns out to be complicated. One particular sticking point was the contents of two trunks. These trunks contained the sword mentioned earlier, as well as original music manuscripts written by Frederic Chapin and an early Bible from the Gutenberg Press, as well as some other items. When World War II ended, a request was made to get these items back. Some of them were in an Ottawa bank vault, but one of the two depositors, which was a Polish immigrat to Canada, refused to give these treasures to the new Polish government. Other items that were not in the bank vault were in a museum in Quebec. Previous podcast subject Maurice Duplessis was the Prime Minister of Quebec at the time. He refused to give these items to Poland on the ground that its government was Communist. It took a great deal of negotiation to get any of the items returned. The Polish depositor Tracy just mentioned, who was a man named Joseph Pompkowski, met with well known Polish pianist Vietold maushu's Zinski, who had moved to Switzerland, and, according to newspaper reports from nineteen fifty nine, Malschuzinski canceled all of his concerts for a month so that he could travel to Canada and speak with Pompowski and his supporters about the importance of returning these historically significant items to their home country. Those items were returned to Poland in early nineteen fifty nine at a ceremony where Malschuzinski performed the works of Chopin. The pianist for his work in helping to bring those items home, was also given a medal by the Polish government, but the tapestries were still in Quebec. Duplesi died in the early autumn of nineteen fifty nine, and in the year that followed, Quebec under Premier Jean Lesage, agreed to return the tapestries as well. There was still some difficulty, as members of the Polish government living in exile held the same sentiment that duples had regarding Poland's communist government. Finally, in January of nineteen sixty one, newspapers reported fifty million dollars art leaves Quebec four Poland via Boston. Once they were back at home in Vavol, they became part of an ongoing series of exhibits about decor yeah that downplays how amazing they are, but they continue to be on display. In the twentieth century, even more protections were put into place to ensure that Vavel Hill complex would be protected the buildings as a group and also individually are listed in the National Heritage Register, and the site is listed as a Monument of History per UNESCO quote. This in effect has provided a coherent system of legal protection for all the parts of the property. In nineteen seventy eight, Vavle Hill and its buildings became part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site that is listed as Historic Center of Krakov. The City of Krakov and the Polish government have continued to create policy to ensure the Vowel Hill complex is preserved as it is integrated into larger municipal initiatives. In nineteen ninety four, the museum expanded its art collection again through an impressive gift from Countess Krolina Lankoronska. Carolina is another figure who's worthy of a future episode. She was a scholar, a patron of the arts, and a Nazi resister. She was the first Polish woman to complete a post doctoral program in art history and became the country's first female docent, and the collection that she gave to Vavol was an impressive group of Italian paintings from the fourteenth through the seventeenth centuries. She also donated a collection of Rembrandts to the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Today, Vowel is open to the public. You can buy tickets and go there, and visitors can tour the castle, state rooms, the royal private apartments, the Crown Treasury, the armory, its absolutely incredible art collection and various exhibits exploring the structure's history as well as the wider history of Krackov and even Poland. I want to go because every picture I look at of their collection and their exhibits looks brain meltingly beautiful and amazing. I didn't know that much about Vowel before I started this, so I was excited to dig in on it. I have listener mail about another place we've talked about recently, the Quinta.

00:31:32
Speaker 2: Uh.

00:31:32
Speaker 1: This is from our listener, Elisa. I hope that is how you pronounce your name, who writes Dear Holly and Tracy, thank you so much for bringing joy and knowledge to me every week for many years. I especially enjoyed the behind the scenes for the extra tidbits. When I saw today's episode about Quinta Delira, I finally felt like this was something I could actually write in about. As my family visited it back in may. Yes, the grounds and home are beautiful and a mussy, but I felt they were more magical in a fairy gardens sort of way than anything spooky. Walking down the initiation well, I tried to imagine what it would be like to be blindfolded and trying to maneuver, and knowing my tripping skills, I would have ended up rolling all the way to the bottom. Hard, say Melisa. The home is such a beautiful area with the Moorish castle looking down upon it, that it is a must visit if you get to Portugal. I am including a picture of my daughter in the well and pictures of my boys for pet Tex. Our brown and white dog Rex is fourteen and a rescue from our time in Hong Kong. Our standard poodle Otis is four and the sweetest boy. Lastly, our boy Oliver is part Australian and English shepherd. He is three and he needs a job all day every day. If a job is not given, he will create one, hurting us around the house. Thanks again for giving us such a great podcast, Alisa, Okay, I love all of this. I love this picture of your daughter, she is adorable. I love your pooches, they're so cute listen. I've been talking about poodles a lot lately. I have the dog crush on Otis. He is beautiful. I want to hug him. My hat is off to anyone who can have a dog that is in any measure part shepherd, because they have so much energy and they do need constant stuff to do. Thank you so much, though, for sharing that with us. I now have Portugal on my ever growing list. I'll go to Portugal and Poland soon. I don't know what soon means, but I cannot wait because they look beautiful. I too. I think I would fall down those stairs. Whether I was blindfolded or not, I would fall down. I'm very scare scared these days. If you would like to write to us and share pictures of your travels, your kids, furry or human or otherwise, or any other delicious things we've had baked goods lately, that was pretty great, you could do so at History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. You can also subscribe to the show if you haven't done so already, on the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen to your favorite shows.

00:34:07
Speaker 2: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio for more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.