Fun Fact #424 Wawel's Dragon

Fun Fact #424

Wawel’s Dragon

On a hill overlooking the medieval-era town of Kraków, sits the scenic Wawel Castle. Yet, this Castle has a long and storied history beginning with a princess, A mythical king, and a Dragon.

(1597 version) According to legend, King Krakus had an issue with a Dragon living in Wawel Cave, eating the livestock and people. Thus, he declared that whoever slew the Dragon would get his Daughter Wanda’s hand in marriage. Many hunters came from far and wide, but none returned. Finally a shoe maker’s apprentice –Skuba– stuffed a lamb with sulfur and left it for the dragon to eat, getting caught in its throat. The Dragon then drowned trying to clear its throat in the local Vistula River. A successful Skuba, now engaged to the princess, decided to stay near his home and built the first Wawel Castle, naming the settlement Kraków (Cracow) after the King.

Today we know there actually was a King Krakus, and Princess Wanda, who expanded the Wawel Hamlet into a proper city (Kraków) in 730 eventually becoming the Kingdom of Lesser Poland. As for the Dragon, it managed to get firmly ingrained into Polish fables since it was first recorded in 1297, and Its cave (Smocza Jama) has become a local tourist attraction featuring a fire breathing statue. Today the largest Archosaur ever discovered is named “Smok wawelski” making the mythical dragon a relative of modern crocodiles.

Image From Wikimedia Commons and photographed by Bronisław Chromy.