This weekend’s entry is represented by the Wawel Royal Castle in Kraków, Poland:

Built in the fourteenth century at the behest of Casimir III, further additions were made during the reign of Jogaila and Jadwiga of Poland, including the Hen’s Foot (Kurza Stopka), the Danish, Jordanka, Lubranka, Sandomierska, Tęczyńska, Szlachecka, Złodziejska and Panieńska towers.

Despite being built during the 14th century, Wawel Hill, where the castle rests, has been inhabited since the Paleolithic Age, fifty thousand years ago.

Initially a centre of trade, crafts and local farming, the movement of people down the Hill was followed by the assumption of formal residence by the rulers of Poland.

In the 16th century the castle underwent a makeover, as King Sigismund I the Old (Zygmunt I) and his wife called upon the most renowned native and foreign artists, including Italian architects, sculptors, and German decorators, to revamp their residence in the Renaissance style.

It was to prove a sagacious venture and, as is testament today, the gleaming domes and sweeping archways prove breath-taking amongst the luscious green parkland.

It is little wonder then, that Wawel Castle became the paragon of stately residence in Central and Eastern Europe, and was subsequently lauded as a model throughout the region.