Wawel Cathedral

The establishment in 1000 of the bishopic of Krakow was soon followed by the construction of the first cathedral on Wawel Hill. The Wawel Cathedral was once the coronation church of the kings of Poland. One of its numerous chapels - the Sigismund Chapel - is the most perfect achievement of Renaissance architecture and sculpture in Poland and in the whole of northern Europe. The Cathedral Treasury includes, among other items, monstrances and liturgical vessels, reliquaries, regalia, and insignia of royalty. Among the five bells hung in the belfry is "Zygmunt", one of the largest in Europe. The crypts of the Cathedral contain the tombs of the kings and their families and also of great poets and national heroes.