Monument of the Wawel Dragon

Monument of the Wawel Dragon

Monument of the Wawel Dragon
4
Points of Interest & Landmarks • Monuments & Statues
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12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
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  • Tom J
    London, United Kingdom1,532 contributions
    A Simple & Brilliant Statue
    The Statue of Smok is located on the outskirts of the castle and accessible on the path that goes around the castle. It is free to see and is not required to visit the cave in order to get up close. The statue itself is about 3 metres tall and occasionally breathes fire, adding to the magic of the legend that is Smok. It is not a periodic event when it breathes fire, but based on the natural gases under the castle so sometimes can be every couple of minutes, sometimes longer. None the less be sure to have the camera ready!
    Visited January 2020
    Written January 25, 2020
  • Little_punk_doll
    Rouen, France168 contributions
    Nice addition to the castle
    Great little statue that breathes fire. However, people are really disrepectful there. Even when the fire starts, people keep putting children on the statue as if it were a playground... It's not possible to take a decent picture without having some kids on it, and if they get hurt, they'll only have their irresponsible parents to blame.
    Visited March 2022
    Written March 23, 2022
  • Sarny
    Bexleyheath, United Kingdom411 contributions
    Wait for the flames
    Just under Wawel Royal Castle by the river we came across this statue. We'd already read the story of Smok the Dragon then was surprised by the flames that come about every 5 minutes - we stopped because we saw people holding up phones ready for 'something' aimed at the statue then saw the flames. There is a sort of lair looking area behind but it was gated and locked. We found it a little fun stop off.
    Visited December 2021
    Traveled with family
    Written December 6, 2021
  • pawel_hbg
    Sopot, Poland9,993 contributions
    Very interesting legend of this dragon
    Standing on the Vistula riverbank in the shade of Wawel Castle is a rather ugly likeness of the Wawel Dragon (Smok Wawelski). According to local legend - once reposed in the large cave behind him when not out and about in town scarfing up virgins and sheep. Finally vanquished when he was tricked into eating a bag of sulphur.
    Visited June 2020
    Traveled as a couple
    Written June 11, 2020
  • Bertie1224
    Northamptonshire, United Kingdom428 contributions
    Fire breathing dragon
    Every few minutes the dragon spews fire. On its own it’s a nice sculpture to look at. The fire breathing bit just adds a little extra. I pity any pigeon sitting in its mouth at the wrong moment….
    Visited April 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written April 15, 2023
  • Denisa Moricová
    Frydek-Mistek, Czech Republic26 contributions
    Nice monument, too many people
    A nice monument, didn't see it make fire because of how overcrowded this area was. There are about 7 children climbing on this monument at all times it seems. I was really looking forward to this because I love slavic folklore but the people kind of ruined it for me. I would still recommend seeing this though.
    Visited August 2021
    Written August 13, 2021
  • MarcusHurley
    Calne, United Kingdom9,426 contributions
    Worth a quick look
    This is a great bit of fun on the banks of the Vistula, next to Wawel Castle. The flames are about every five minutes and it usually has people crowded around it. Certainly a nice little distraction to visit.
    Visited September 2021
    Written September 22, 2021
  • scorpionsa
    Adelaide, Australia202 contributions
    I'm led to believe the dragon breathes fire at various intervals
    This statue was pointed out to me on a walking tour I was doing. It's located on the river just below Wawel Castle. Apparently at various points it randomly breathes fire - but as far as I could tell it appeared to be broken in Feb 2020. If it breathed fire it would probably be more exciting, but as a statue it's not really that impressive.
    Visited February 2020
    Written April 10, 2020
  • Robert O
    Rotterdam, The Netherlands3,727 contributions
    Dragon symbolizing evil
    Since medieval times fairytales have been part of Polish folkore. The dragon who used to live in a cave under Wawel hill instilled fear on virgins and children. He was eventually killed by the ruler to underscore the goodness of the latter. There are many different versions of the story. The theme of Good versus Evil later on took a Catholic form: evil was symbolized by the devil. Remarkable that the dragon monument was erected during communist rule in 1972. Perhaps to divert attention?
    Visited October 2020
    Written January 28, 2021
  • FreakinSweet
    Langar, United Kingdom382 contributions
    Wait around until the dragon breathes fire!
    Make your way down from Wawel Castle (you can pay 6 Zloty to go down through the dragons lair or just walk around the walls) and you come across an impressive sculpture of the Wawel dragon. If you wait long enough you can see it breathe fire.
    Visited September 2018
    Traveled as a couple
    Written September 15, 2018
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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pawel_hbg
Sopot, Poland9,993 contributions
Jun 2020 • Couples
Standing on the Vistula riverbank in the shade of Wawel Castle is a rather ugly likeness of the Wawel Dragon (Smok Wawelski). According to local legend - once reposed in the large cave behind him when not out and about in town scarfing up virgins and sheep. Finally vanquished when he was tricked into eating a bag of sulphur.
Written June 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Bertie1224
Northamptonshire, UK428 contributions
Apr 2023 • Friends
Every few minutes the dragon spews fire. On its own it’s a nice sculpture to look at. The fire breathing bit just adds a little extra. I pity any pigeon sitting in its mouth at the wrong moment….
Written April 15, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Denisa Moricová
Frydek-Mistek, Czech Republic26 contributions
Aug 2021
A nice monument, didn't see it make fire because of how overcrowded this area was. There are about 7 children climbing on this monument at all times it seems. I was really looking forward to this because I love slavic folklore but the people kind of ruined it for me. I would still recommend seeing this though.
Written August 13, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MarcusHurley
Calne, UK9,426 contributions
Sep 2021
This is a great bit of fun on the banks of the Vistula, next to Wawel Castle. The flames are about every five minutes and it usually has people crowded around it. Certainly a nice little distraction to visit.
Written September 22, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

scorpionsa
Adelaide, Australia202 contributions
Feb 2020
This statue was pointed out to me on a walking tour I was doing. It's located on the river just below Wawel Castle. Apparently at various points it randomly breathes fire - but as far as I could tell it appeared to be broken in Feb 2020. If it breathed fire it would probably be more exciting, but as a statue it's not really that impressive.
Written April 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Robert O
Rotterdam, The Netherlands3,727 contributions
Oct 2020
Since medieval times fairytales have been part of Polish folkore. The dragon who used to live in a cave under Wawel hill instilled fear on virgins and children. He was eventually killed by the ruler to underscore the goodness of the latter. There are many different versions of the story. The theme of Good versus Evil later on took a Catholic form: evil was symbolized by the devil. Remarkable that the dragon monument was erected during communist rule in 1972. Perhaps to divert attention?
Written January 28, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

FreakinSweet
Langar, UK382 contributions
Sep 2018 • Couples
Make your way down from Wawel Castle (you can pay 6 Zloty to go down through the dragons lair or just walk around the walls) and you come across an impressive sculpture of the Wawel dragon. If you wait long enough you can see it breathe fire.
Written September 15, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tom J
London, UK1,532 contributions
Aug 2019
We visited the monument of Smok the legendary dragon of Wawel castle. The first thing to note is you DO NOT need to pay to visit this monument...it is outside of the castle grounds to the south west side. We first visited first thing in the morning at around 9am and was lucky to see the fire on arrival, a great statue that breathes fire...what more could you ask for?

So we decided to go in the evening to get a nice photo at night with the fire all lit up....this is where it all went horribly wrong. We waited for around 1hr 20 mins to see fire. On multiple occasions there was a gas release that is clear with the hissing sound but never any ignition. People came and left and nothing appeared to happen. So I googled it, found the supposed SMS number assuming someone may have done this earlier in the morning....nope..nothing! So roughly 1hr 30 minutes in, after being what felt like bitten alive by mosquitoes we decided to call it a night.

The following morning, passing by the damn thing breathed fire 3 times within 15 minutes...as if to mock our efforts of trying to capture the required photo...so frustrating!

None the less it is a great legend and statue, hopefully you'll be lucky and see flames...but if 20 minutes in nothing has materialised I would call it a day!
Written August 12, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TheShis
Tel Aviv, Israel39,117 contributions
Mar 2023
This is a cool sculpture of Krakow's dragon, spitting fire every couple of minutes, to the amusement of the spectators.
Written March 20, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Welshdraig
North Wales, UK365 contributions
Nov 2019 • Friends
Coming from the Land of Dragons, Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿it was key to find this situated below Wasel Castle. And it does breathe fire 🤗
Written November 25, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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