Lock – Wawel – Royal chambers
They constitute a separate stage of visiting the Wawel Castle, this time starting from the entrance in the eastern wall of the courtyard (from the gate – diagonally on the right).
On the first floor, partially closed to visitors, the intimate life of the royal families and court entourage was going on. The queen and her court ladies lived in the west wing, in the north there were representative rooms and the king's offices, the eastern wing was occupied by the king and his courtiers. Among the rooms on the first floor, the most famous are: room in "Hen's Foot", where Queen Jadwiga used to live (next to it was the royal toilet), bedroom of Zygmunt Stary, as well as an alchemy workshop, in which Zygmunt III Waza tried to invent the philosopher's stone and set the castle on fire in 1595 r. 2nd floor, zwane main floor, it served ceremonial purposes. Members were welcomed in the halls open to visitors, feasts and meetings were held.
On the first floor, three rooms from the royal suite are open to the public. In Room I you will see tapestries with floral motifs (so-called. werdiury), Renaissance furniture and paintings from the 16th century:
– Caritas (Jan Massy's);
– Portrait of a young man (Luke Cranach);
– St. Family (Jan van Hemessen);
– Flight with daughters (Georg Pencz);
– Licorice (french school);
– The scene with Achilles (Jan Cossaert).
W sali II. beyond the rest of the tapestries, two Italian sculptures from the 16th century were exhibited. (st. John the Baptist of St.. Sebastian).
In Room III, we see Italian furniture and tapestries with grotesques. In addition, images:
– Tribute to the three kings (school. antwerpska, XVI w.);
– Allegory of a happy fate (Frans Franken II);
– Behold the man (school. antwerpska);
– Mother of God with the Child (Botticelli circle);
– the final judgment (follower of Hieronymus Bosch);
– Vanity (Bartolomaus Sprenger).
The tour starts on the ground floor. Three 17th-century tapestries hang in the first room. The two on the left from the Trojan War series show Achilles with Agamemnon and Priam greeting Helena. On the right you can admire the tapestry The History of Celadon and Astrea. As you can see, Wawel interiors are not a showcase museum. They were arranged like this, so that they reflect the old decor at least in part, as well as the taste of the Jagiellonians and the Vasa. Fact, that the chambers are not overloaded, for they were arranged with restraint and moderation, is due to the fact, that the lion's share of the stolen or pledged furnishings decorate completely different interiors. Despite the efforts of the organizers and the undeniable value of the paintings, furniture and tapestries, it is difficult to feel in the chambers like this, as if Zygmunt the Old had left it a moment ago, leading his Italian spouse by the arm.
Equipment for the next two chambers, which the governor inhabited, tries to refer to the old appearance – here is a tapestry of Mars, from the Bogowie Planet series, originally from Flanders in the 16th century. and a great 16th-century English four-poster bed. In the next room there are Polish chests for storing money, and there are three paintings on the walls: Wenus z Love (Dutch school, XVI-XVII w.), jester portrait (Jan Miense Molaener, 17th century) and the Fire of Troy (Gillis van Valckenborgh, ok. 1600 r.).
Via the Envoys' Hall, you first enter the first floor, where you can see former residential apartments. In the entrance hall at the height of the first floor, the eye-catcher is in sequence: picture Joseph translating dreams (Antonio Zanchi, 17th century), two marble busts of Roman emperors – Karakalli in Oktawiana Augusta, Brussels tapestry from the 17th century. depicting the death of the Roman Decius Musa. It is worth stopping for a longer time in front of the historically valuable painting (painter unknown), the topic of which is the election of Augustus III of Saxony, and the work of Jan van Noort with 1654 r. – portrait of a boy in Spanish clothes. The Envoys' hall on the second floor is filled with: Brussels tapestry from c. 1700 r. from the series Twelve Months; another two Roman busts; two portraits – a man (Govert Flinck, 1637 r.) and the Prince of Orange (probably Gerard van Honthorst, XVI w.). The series of representative rooms on the second floor is opened by the Tournament Hall, whose name comes from a frieze representing a knightly tournament, painted by Hans Diirer and Antoni from Wrocław.
The next room – Under the Military Review – former entrance hall in front of the Chamber of Deputies, owes its name to the frieze of Antoni from Wrocław z 1535 r., depicting the army parading before King Sigismund the Old. The walls are decorated with four tapestries bearing the SA monogram (Sigismund Augustus), depicting grotesque scenes. This is just a preview of a wonderful collection of precious tapestries, which were hung in other chambers of the castle.
