Lock – Wawel – Royal chambers – Arrasy
Arrasy, a great treasure of Wawel, are among the most valuable works of this type in the world. They are decorative fabrics, whose first producers were XIV- and 15th-century weavers from the French city of Arras. Polska po raz pierwszy ujrzała arrasy przy okazji rozpakowywania weselnego wiana królowej Bony. Her spouse, Zygmunt the Old, he also ordered a larger batch in Antwerp, which made a total of one hundred and eight fabrics. Zygmunt August enriched the family collection with royal flourish. He had brought tapestries from Brussels (woven from wool, silk and silver and gold metal threads) made specially for him, containing detailed guidelines as to the subject, sizes and shapes, so that they fit into the Wawel chambers. The most prominent of the ranks of Netherlandish artists, struggling to complete the contract, was Michiel van Coxcie. The collection has reached three hundred and sixty pieces. In terms of content, the tapestries are divided into three groups: biblical, depicting animals (ostrich, Tigers, birds, hares) and landscapes and heraldic. To this day, only of these exceptional works of art have survived 143. From the 17th century on. the fate of the collection was turbulent and dramatic. After the death of the last of the Jagiellons, it became the property of the state. When Jan Kazimierz was going to abdicate, he took some of the tapestries to France, he gave a pledge to a Gdańsk merchant. With this unworthy move, he wanted to force a lifetime salary on the Polish Seym. The tapestries were bought from the Gdańsk lien by the Seym only in the 18th century., but already in 1795 r. They were taken by the Russians and placed in St. Petersburg. They hung there for years 20. Twentieth century and only under the Treaty of Riga returned to Wawel. In escape from the Germans, they crossed Romania, France, England and Canada. W 1961 r. eventually returned to Wawel.
Sala Poselska, also called Tronowa or Pod Głowami, belongs to the largest chambers of the castle. In the upper part of the walls it is decorated with a frieze illustrating the history of human life from birth to death. The author was inspired by the work of the Greek stoic Simonidas entitled. Table of onions. The walls are covered with tapestries depicting animals against the landscape (werdiury) and the tapestry with the Jagiellonian eagle. In place of, where the 16th-century chair stands, once stood the royal throne. Wawel heads placed in the ceiling coffers are a famous element of the interior of the room.
