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The Cracow Dragon and his Cave

It's a widely known fact that Poland's most famous dragon resided in Krakow, in a cave right under the Wawel Castle. Known as the Dragon of Wawel Hill (Smok Wawelski) or, simply, the Krakow Dragon, the beast is a true hero of the Polish folklore, and both its cave and the fire-breathing statue are a must-see for every tourist.

The Krakow Dragon Cave

What is known as the Dragon's Den (or Dragon Cave) is a limestone cave in the western slope of the Wawel Hill. The part open for the public is 81 meters long (of a total 270). The visit starts near the Thieves' Tower next to the Wawel Castle, and finishes on the Vistula boulevard next to the dragon statue.

First mentioned in the 12^th century, the cave has not always been a home to the vicious beast. In the 17^th and 18^th centuries, a popular inn operated inside, making the Dragon's Den a place of feasts and possibly other, less decent pleasures, visited by noblemen and artists, notably the baroque poet Jan Andrzej Morsztyn, who praised it in one of his works.

Legend of the Krakow Dragon

The Legend of the Krakow Dragon comes in many versions. Luckily, they agree in one point: a dragon used to live in Krakow. Most probably he resided in the cave in the Wawel Hill sometime during the reign of the legendary King Cracus, and was obviously a horrible and ever-hungry beast. As for its menu, it definitely consisted of lambs, and perhaps virgins, or at least young girls, who it wanted delivered to its cave, in exchange for which it would leave the townspeople in relative peace. But after a short time, the residents of Cracow found that they would run out of girls, and doom will surely come to one of Poland's greatest cities. Soon, the only one left was the king's daughter. Not wanting to sacrifice her, the king promised her hand to the one who kills the Krakow Dragon. Many knights have tried and failed, but one day the most inconspicuous person came to the rescue.

His name was Skuba Dratewka, and he was a shoemaker's apprentice. He stuffed a lamb's skin with sulfur and tar and left it near the Dragon's Cave. The hungry dragon soon devoured the poisonous treat and immediately became very thirsty. It started drinking from the Vistula river. The dragon drank and drank, and got more and more full, but the terrible thirst did not go away, so it drank even more, until it burst in a powerful explosion.

Skuba the dragon-killer married the princess and they lived happily ever after in the Wawel Castle. Or did they? Some authors claim that it wasn't a shoemaker, but a wise man from Krakow, or even one of Cracus' sons who slew the dragon. Or maybe, as Norman Davies suggests, there was a good dragon-king, and an evil Cracus, who dishonorably killed him?

Recent adventures of the Krakow Dragon

That's not all. The Dragon of Wawel Hill has recently became a hero of a political dispute – one of the right-wing Polish politicians claimed that the existence of the legend of the dragon proves that humans and dinosaurs lived at the same time, so Darwin's theory of the evolution is obviously wrong.

So, was the Krakow Dragon a dinosaur, a good king or a virgin-devouring beast? Come and see for yourselves, his statue stands in front of the cave exit, breathing fire every five minutes. Or visit the Dragon's cave itself, and see if you can find the real thing.