Wawel Legends: Children’s Book Illustration

Over the centuries many legends have been told about the Wawel Castle. Generations of Polish children have grown up reading about the dreaded Wawel Dragon and the wise talking head from the ceiling of the Envoys’ Hall.


Anita Andrzejewska, Andrzej Pilichowski-Ragno, The Alchemist Chamber

Over the centuries many legends have been told about the Wawel Castle. Generations of Polish children have grown up reading about the dreaded Wawel Dragon and the wise talking head from the ceiling of the Envoys’ Hall. There was also the king who dabbled in alchemy and Stańczyk, the clever court jester, whose devious tricks amused the king – often at the expense of his courtiers.

The exhibition Wawel Legends: Children’s Book Illustration presents new interpretations of these much-loved stories in the works of professional illustrators, both renowned – such as Janusz Stanny, Bohdan Butenko, and Pawel Pawlak – and those just starting out. Over 60 works were selected from more than 300 competition entries. The exhibition caters to the youngest viewers. The works are hung at child’s eye-level. There’s a huge dragon puzzle for little hands to assemble, giant thrones, that are, alas, too squashy to sit on, and soft oversized blocks with mysterious symbols that can be arranged into a picture.




Jan Bajtlik, The Legend about the Wawel Dragon

• Exhibition and Conference Centre
• Open Tuesday-Sunday from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
• Admission - free


4 November – 31 December 2011 extended through 29 February 2012

www.wawel.krakow.pl