The Dragon Cave (Smocza Pit) is located near the walls of the Wawel Castle on the Vistula embankment. It is a cave where, according to legend, the Wawel dragon lived. It was also called the Wawel Smoc, and the cave was called the Smocza Jama (Pit).
The legend of the Dragon who lived in the Smocza Pit of the Wawel Hill is one of the most famous in Poland. However, it should be noted that a large number of lizards really lived in the cave, some of which grew to large sizes. Skeletons of these lizards were found in a cave.
The Legend of the Wawel Dragon tells about the times when King Krak founded the city of Krakow, but he faced the problem that cattle began to disappear in the vicinity of the city. He sent the guards to find the robber, but in the end they saw that the cattle were being eaten by a dragon. At first, they decided to give him one cow each to pay off. However, the dragon grew to a huge size and demanded more food. This threatened to ruin the local tribe.
As a result, there was a daredevil who stuffed the lamb with sulfur and gave it to him to eat. The dragon ate this lamb and began to feel very thirsty. He drank water from the Vistula until he burst. There are other versions of this legend, where the dragon ate not cattle, but girls.
The entrance to the Smocza Jama cave is located near the Thieves` Tower, and the exit is near a small square on Vistula Boulevard on the embankment. Here tourists will find a sculpture of a dragon that periodically spews flames. The length of the cave in the Wawel Hill reaches 270 meters, but only 81 meters are open to tourists.
After entering the cave, tourists first descend a steep staircase down 21 meters (135 steps). After they enter a small karst cave in the calcium rocks. The cave consists of three chambers, which are separated by narrow passages. The middle chamber is the largest, where the ceiling of the cave reaches a height of 4.5 meters. In the third chamber there is a hole in the ceiling through which it was possible to get out earlier.
The Cave of the Dragon Smocza Pit is often called the Austrian Well. This is due to the fact that Krakow was under the rule of the Austrians after 1795. In the 17th-18th century, there was even a tavern in the cave, but then it was closed, and the cave was walled up. A Polish historian from Krakow in 1829 descended into the hole of the third chamber, as into a well, and reopened the cave to tourists.
