Walk up to the cathedral entrance and look to the left of the door. Hanging from a chain are some gigantic bones. Tradition calls them the 'dragon bones' and says that as long as they stay there, the cathedral will stand; if they ever fall, the world will end.

1What they really are

In 1937, Professor Henryk Hoyer of the Jagiellonian University studied and identified them: a mammoth bone, part of a whale's jaw and the skull of a woolly rhinoceros. In the Middle Ages it was common to hang such remains in churches as curiosities or relics of marvels.

2The Sigismund Bell

In the cathedral tower hangs the Zygmunt bell, cast in 1520 by Hans Behem for King Sigismund I. With its clapper and fittings it weighs about 12.6 tonnes, and it rings only for great feasts and national events. Tradition says that touching its clapper brings luck in love.

3The curse of the Jagiellons

In 1973, the tomb of King Casimir IV Jagiellon was opened for conservation. In the following years several members of the team died, and the press began talking about a 'curse'. Fungi including Aspergillus flavus, whose toxins can be dangerous, were later found in the tomb, but there is no conclusive proof that they caused those deaths.

A few steps away, in the castle courtyard, you may see people leaning against a wall: they're seeking the 'Wawel chakra', an energy stone that some esoteric believers say lies there. The idea was born in the interwar esoteric press, there is no archaeological evidence for it, and the castle management discourages it.

4What to look for

  • The bones chained beside the door.
  • The crowned 'K's on the door, the monogram of King Casimir the Great.
  • The golden dome of the Sigismund Chapel.
Prehistoric bones hanging beside the door of Wawel Cathedral
The 'dragon bones': according to a 1937 study, the remains of a mammoth, a whale and a woolly rhinoceros.

Documented

The 1937 study of the bones, the casting of the bell in 1520 and the opening of Casimir IV's tomb in 1973 are documented.

Oral tradition

That the bones belong to a dragon and herald the end of the world, the luck of touching the clapper, the curse of the tomb and the Wawel chakra belong to tradition or popular belief.

Sources and credits

Wawel Cathedral official website (katedra-wawelska.pl); Polish Wikipedia, 'Dzwon Zygmunt' and 'Czakram wawelski'; English Wikipedia, 'Tomb of Casimir IV Jagiellon'.

Photos:

  • Wawel Cathedral with the golden dome of the Sigismund Chapel: Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 4.0.
  • Prehistoric bones hanging beside the door of Wawel Cathedral: Yohan euan o4, CC BY-SA 3.0.

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