Where does the Wawel dragon live? Wawel dragon, legend where it is located. Legends of the wawel dragon

In the old town of Krakow, there is a legend that tells about a dragon and a brave shoemaker who, by cunning, managed to defeat a terrible beast.

It happened a long time ago. Only recently were the walls of Krakow built, and the first king of Krak ruled in a castle on a hill. The townspeople lived happily and amicably, until once disaster struck the city. A dragon flew to Krakow and settled in a cave under the hill, which is now called the Dragon Pit.
  There was no escape from this beast. Once a week he demanded snakes to bring him a cow. If he did not receive it, then he devoured people. Many glorious warriors died in a battle with him, and Krak did not know what to do ...
  But a new disaster came in the wake of the old. The dragon kidnapped the beautiful princess and promised to eat his beloved daughter if Krak does not fulfill his requirements.
  And the king came even more discouraged.
  Hard times have come for Krakow.
  All that remained was to pray to the gods that they took pity on people.
  The gods heard prayers.
  Because once on the threshold of the royal castle appeared shoemaker Scuba ...

Scuba thought about how he managed to get involved in this adventure. Probably the thing is the fault. No other way. Only it could untie his tongue so that Scuba vowed to kill the dragon. Of course, he was laughed at. As, in fact, always. Then a very decisive (and decently drunk) Scuba quickly collected the things necessary for going to the dragon: his father’s sword, food wrapped in his arm, removable underwear and harmonica, which he never learned to play. He waved his hand and walked unsteadily away from the city.
  Residents watched him go. Some even twisted a finger at the temple. This shoemaker apprentice was a bit strange. On my own mind. It might be better if the dragon eats it.
  Gradually, the hops let him go, and Scuba realized the complexity of his position. He could not return, only if with evidence of victory over the dragon. It remains only to drop everything and run. And where to run?
  Scuba pressed cold hands to his face. It had to be such an idiot! And why did he just open his mouth? Decided to brag. To portray a brave man in front of Wanda, hoping that she will notice him. Ugh!
Immersed in his thoughts, Scuba did not immediately notice how he came to the dragon's cave. He froze. He looked around. He took some careful steps forward and froze again in place. There was a fragile and sonorous silence. The scuba listened, but could not hear the flapping of wings or the terrible roar of the beast. It turned out that the owner was not at home!
  People said that in the dragon's cave lurk untold wealth accumulated over many centuries. The temptation was so great that Scuba could not resist and stepped into the darkness that reigned in the cave. After all, the dragon is not a sparrow, the shoemaker’s disciple thought then, his approach so accurately can be heard in advance.
  But Scuba was so carried away by the treasure hunt that he did not hear the flapping of wings. The dragon knew how to be quiet, if he wanted to. A huge shadow blocked the exit from the cave, and at one moment a clawed paw grabbed Skuba, before he could blink an eye.
  A cracked voice came over the young man’s ear:
  - Gotcha.
  Life literally flew by before the eyes of Scuba. He stared at the triangular face in front of him, not believing his own eyes. That scuba was, and now it was gone, flashed through his head.
  - So so so. And who are you with us? - coughing, the dragon inquired busily.
  To answer, the shoemaker's apprentice had to gather all his will into a fist.
  - My name is Scuba. And I'm a student of a shoemaker.
  “And what does a shoemaker's apprentice do in my cave?” I wanted to steal, you rascal? Or lie low and sneak?
  The scuba diving took an extremely offensive look.
  - What do you? I just wanted to get acquainted with such a famous dragon. Your glory flew around the land faster than the wind. My cherished dream, he added, lowering his voice, is to get your autograph on the helmet.
  “So you're my fan?”
  - The most devoted. I’ve been following your activity since you settled here.
  “Hm,” the cave owner grunted. “I have never encountered one like this before.” Usually people come to kill a dragon.
  “How awful that must be.”
  - Yes, not the right word! - the dragon supported him. - Do you think the impudent people are worried that it is impolite to declare themselves on the threshold in armor, brandish a sword and threaten to bring my head to Krak? Isn’t it, honey?
  Just now, Scuba drew attention to the girl who stopped next to the dragon. I immediately recognized the king’s daughter. I saw her once, when a beautiful woman, along with her father and retinue, drove through the streets of the city.
  “However ... Well, your profession is dangerous,” the young man said carefully.
- What did you think? Did you get into a fairy tale? - the dragon responded and put the scuba on the ground. - Sheer stress. Everyone strives to chop off your head, tail or legs. And what terrible rumors are spreading about me. What do I eat girls for lunch, can you imagine? Nothing funnier, you can’t come up with. They scream so that all appetite disappears at once. Here, juicy sheep or cows is a completely different matter. ”He closed his eyes contentedly.
  “Will you eat me?” - asked Scuba.
  The dragon is thoughtful.
  - Not today. I try not to eat after six. Moreover, I am still tormented by heartburn from the past knight. But if you, ”steel notes slipped in the dragon’s voice,“ try to throw something away, I’ll neglect my diet. ”
  Scuba smiled tightly and raised his hands up in agreement. Then he sank to the ground. The dragon himself continued to measure his home in small steps.
  A princess settled next to the shoemaker’s apprentice. She cast a furtive glance at him and smiled reassuringly, noticing how the guy was trembling with fear.
  The silence dragged on, and Scuba decided to dispel it.
  “But if everything doesn’t suit you like that, then why not move?”
  “You see, they told me from childhood that a dragon has to do three things.” To kidnap the princess, accumulate untold wealth and terrorize the city. So I try as much as possible. This is the dragon share. There's nothing you can do.
  - To be a thunderstorm of a city is not an easy craft. And didn’t you think of changing the type of activity?
  The serpent sighed heavily.
  - This is our family.
  - Is it really impossible to take a vacation? - sincerely indignant Scuba.
  - What is there! You can’t even find a normal cave. What is it? Is there a home for the dragon? I used to have a hall of this size. And leave ... Do not pour salt on my wounds, man. I have long been dreaming of going to the mountains. That's where the expanse ...
  - So go! These people will not bring you to good. I even heard that there was one wise guy. He stated that he could defeat a terrible dragon without a sword. Yes, yes, ”he nodded his head, catching the dragon’s astonished look on himself.“ Like, all he needs is a hide of a recently killed ram and sulfur. ” He boasted that he was going to stuff a ram with this muck and slip it to you when you are planning to hunt. He swore it would tear you to pieces.
  - Fu, how uncultured.
  “But that’s not all,” Scuba raised his index finger up. “He said that he would make boots out of your skin,” the dragon only shook his head in displeasure, and the young man added. “And even worse: he will sew handbags for sale.”
  The dragon indignantly stamped his foot.
- This does not climb into any gates. An ungrateful city. I didn’t even burn anyone, although I really wanted to. And they are ready to shred me on boots! Nasty people. Soon I will already have an allergy to them. Everything is in the heat! I have one familiar sorcerer in Prague. I'll fly to him. Let him treat you. And then to the mountains. Away from your nasty kind!
  Scuba and the princess looked at each other meaningfully.
  “The right decision,” the young man agreed. “Health is the most important thing.”
  “Only ...” the dragon hesitated. “I can’t leave everything here,” he looked around the small cave. “After all, they will plunder it, they will put garbage ...”
  “Don’t worry,” the princess suddenly said. “We’ll look after the cave.” When you return, I promise that everything will be safe and sound.
  Scuba nodded.
  - Are you safe and sound? - the gaze of yellow eyes fixed on Scuba. - You seem to me, a good guy, Scuba. At least better than everyone I've tried here. Do you think, dear, is it worth trusting him? - the dragon asked the princess.
  - Yes. Can.
  “I will try to do everything in my power not to let you down.”
  The dragon believed him. In order not to lose a minute of his precious time, the serpent left Krakow that night. Scuba and the princess wished him good luck. The dragon, however, promised that he would send a postcard as soon as he got to Prague.
  The shoemaker’s apprentice and princess looked at the night sky for a long time, even if the dragon’s silhouette had long been lost sight of. Then they turned around and headed back to the city.
  Thanks to Krak for saving her daughter knew no bounds. He made Scuba his next. The shoemaker's apprentice and princess got married the same month. And there was no wedding more fun and noisy than this.
  And after a couple of months, Scuba received a postcard. The dragon wrote that he was not going to return to Krakow. He really liked him in the mountains. The climate is suitable and the caves are right. And if Skuba and his wife decide to visit him, he will gladly receive them as guests and feed them local delicacies.
  For a long time, the dragon was not seen in Krakow.
  Scuba died long ago and his beloved and devoted wife left this world. Their eldest son sat on the throne, and his black hair touched gray time.
  The dragon really flew over Krakow that night. Not a guest. Just like that, to see how the inhospitable city has changed.
People will then say that they saw a strange shadow over the royal castle. This shadow flew very low and in an instant grabbed a girl standing on the edge of the castle wall. A short scream rose into the air, froze there for a moment and fell silent.

That's bad. I also found a reason to kill myself. Marry unloved? With every failure are you going to jump in the Vistula?
  The girl looked at the dragon grimly. She was very much like a princess, as the serpent noted. She, too, first looked at him like that.
  “Death is better than such a life,” she replied, and then thought. “And you are the very dragon who once abducted my grandmother?”
  - Yeah. There was a case, - the dragon looked around the cave and noted with sadness that it really had not changed a bit since then. Even a hill of crumpled helmets remained. Scuba kept his word. - What's your name?
  - Wanda. My name is Wanda. And if you decide to return me to my father, I will jump from the wall again. Better eat. Here!
  “Didn’t your grandmother tell you that I don’t eat people?” - the dragon answered. - I have a better idea. Tell me, Wanda, would you like to see the southern seas, lie on the hot sand and bask in the hot sun?
  “Yes,” she shook her head. “I tried to escape, but my father locked me. Death then seemed to me the only way out ... Only if we are caught, my father will not really like that I escaped again. Especially with a dragon.
  The snake grunted.
  “We will say that I abducted you.” It's my job to kidnap princesses. Get in, ”he set her back.“ I hope you're not afraid of heights. ”

  WALKS IN KRAKOW
  PART THREE
LEGENDS ABOUT THE WAVELIAN DRAGON AND TOWERS OF THE MARIATSKY CHURCH

In his ancient images, Krakow is represented as a settlement, perched under a built-up hill. In fact, the Wawel Mountains, with an average height of 20 - 25 meters, once abruptly cut off from the south to the Vistula, always dominated the Krakow panorama. People lived in caves washed with water already in the Paleolithic era. On a rocky peak, an excellent defense point, withVI  century fortified settlement appears. INIX  century there was a fortified "grod", the center of the tribal association of the Vishlyans, with a Christian church, as excavations by archaeologists have shown. Wawel later became the residence of princes and kings.

Many legends are associated with Wawel Hill, the most popular of which is legend of the wawel dragon which every Polish student can tell you in Krakow. There are several variants of this legend, although basically their plot is the same, with the exception of details.

Here is the most common version.

At that time, a young shoemaker Skuba lived in the vicinity of Wawel, carefully watching the attempts of the knights to defeat the monster. Making sure that the dragon’s weapons cannot be defeated, Scuba devised a tricky way to save Krakow from the monster. He sewed up resin and sulfur in a sheep’s skin and threw the bait under the dragon’s cave. The hungry dragon, smelling a ram, believing that this was another sacrifice of the Krakow people, swallowed the bait. And after that, he began to burp fire, as sulfur burned in the belly of the monster. The dragon ran to the Vistula, hoping that he would be able to extinguish the fire burning his insides, and began to drink river water. He drank for so long that in the end he just burst. And the cunning Scuba made of dragon leather made many good-quality shoes, which he sold with considerable profit for himself in the market.

Whether the winner of the Scuba monster received any reward from Prince Krak or not, the legend is silent. It is also not entirely clear that the grateful residents named their city not in honor of the city’s savior, the shoemaker Skuba, but in honor of the prince, whose whole role in the victory over the dragon was reduced to sending heralds.

However, in other versions of this legend (in particular, the oldest of those that have survived in writing - in the "Chronicle of the Poles" written by Vincent Kadlub at the endXII  centuries) the dragon is either won by Prince Krak himself or his sons, only a calf appears in them instead of a ram.

But be that as it may, it should be recognized that the Poles have learned to create tourist attractions from practically nothing to pump money from naive tourists. It’s just like the story of the unforgettable Ostap Bender with the Pyatigorsk Failure in the Twelve Chairs by Ilf and Petrov: “For what purpose is the money charged for entering the Failure? - So as not to fail too much ... ".

One of the caves near Wawel (at the foot of the villain’s tower) was called the “Smokey Pit” (“smok”, translated from Polish as “serpent”, or “dragon”), and in 1970 a statue of a dragon was ejected from its mouth every minute fire, and you're done - money flowed like a river!

Well, that’s all right! Tourists like kids in general are thrilled! Moreover, small dragon figurines and magnets with his image are bought up like hot cakes!

Well, since we are talking about Krakow legends, you can’t ignore those that are told about the sights of Krakow that are no less significant than Wawel, namely, the Mariack Cathedral, or rather, its two towers.
  So, legends about the towers of the Mariacki Church .

It is simply impossible not to notice that the two towers of the church in honor of the Ascension of the Blessed "Mary Panna", or simply, the Mariacki Church, have different heights. No architectural plans explaining the difference in the height of the towers have reached our time. But this difference is remarkably explained by local legends.

  First of them   It is official, it is included in all guidebooks in Krakow in several slightly diverging versions. If you combine these options, the legend says the following (I have added only a few historical details).

In place of the modern church, which is the main city cathedral (the royal church in Wawel is the main diocesan church), there used to be a Romanesque church, the legacy of which was the irregular orientation of the building, different from the rectangular layout of the Market Square. The second church, which stood on this site, was destroyed during the Batu invasion in 1241. Thus, the modern church is the third here in a row.

The construction of the main volume of the current church began in the middleXIV  century, and ended in 1397, when the chief architect Mikolai Werner erected a vault of the middle nave. But the towers of the church were ordered during the reign of Sigismund the Shy (1243 - 1279), that is, if you trust Polish sources, even before the temple itself was laid.

The task of constructing two towers was undertaken by two brothers, each of whom supervised the construction of a separate tower. The older brother, whose work was arguing faster, having erected a spire, left Krakow for a while, and when he returned, he noticed that the tower of his younger brother would end up higher.

In a fit of envy, he threw himself with a knife at a competitor and killed him (in confirmation of the truth of this legend, the very legendary knife hangs at the entrance to Sukiennitsa). Well, after the murder of his brother, the killer, tormented by remorse, pierced his heart with the same knife and threw himself on top of the stones of the Market Square from the top of his tower.

Honestly, this legend is not to my liking.
  Another is much more interesting on the same topic, especially since, despite its certain piquancy, it does not end with homicide, but with a happy ending. (Since I did not see this legend in print, I bring it from memory, as I heard).

so second legend   It says that the construction of the towers of the Mariacki Church was entrusted by the city authorities to the two richest Cracow families, who were at odds with each other, lasting several generations (like the Verona Montecca and Capulet from the famous Shakespearean tragedy).
  Well, suppose that the symbol of one of the families was a lion, and the emblem of the second was a rhino or elephant (after all, in the Middle Ages houses in Krakow were not numbered, but were designated by some semblance of family emblems, and for lack of them, by any other notable signs):

The two clans, who agreed to reconciliation, decided to consolidate this with a marriage union, while the young spouse - a representative of the first family - was entrusted with the construction of one tower, and his wife - to lead the construction of the second.
  The first family (lions) triumphed in advance, because no one really doubted that it was the husband who was the head of the family, and therefore he would be more successful in building matters than an inexperienced girl who did not understand anything in construction. So, their clan will finally establish its advantage over competitors (rhinos, or elephants).

That's just one nobody expected: the young wife was so hot in bed that every night brought her husband to complete exhaustion, and while he lay in bed from morning till noon, moving away from love affection, she went to the construction site, supervising the construction work her towers. And just a few months later, it became obvious that the wife’s tower was higher than her husband’s tower. But the husband in love took it for granted, love turned out to be stronger than the hostility of the family clans, which ultimately finally reconciled.
  But only the wife’s tower remained higher, which did not prevent happy spouses from living their long lives in harmony and dying in one day, leaving many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Is this legend better than the one about fratricide and suicide, which is spread in all Krakow travel guides?

And finally, another Krakow legend about knight pigeons .

As in any square, where numerous tourists eagerly feed pigeons, there are a great many of these flying rats (sorry, but I can not stand them) on the Market Square in Krakow.

But, according to Krakow legends, these are not ordinary pigeons, but enchanted knights!
  It seems to have happened during the reign of HenrikIV  Probus on the Krakow princely throne inXIII  century. The ruler really wanted to unite all the Polish lands and become king, only he didn’t have enough money. Then a sorceress came to his aid, enchanting the knights of the prince, turning them into pigeons. They, seated on the Mariacki Church (which, however, had not yet been built at that time, but this is a legend, right?), Began to peck out stones that, falling to the ground, turned into gold coins.
  Prince Henrik, collecting these coins, went to Rome to ask for patronage in the popes. But along the way, feasting and celebrating, he spent all the magic coins and never returned to Krakow. And his knights forever remained pigeons, who are waiting for their prince on the Market Square of the city.

These are the legends.
  I hope you, my dear friends, have been interested.

Thank you for attention.
  Sergey Vorobiev.

  However, the continuation, of course, will still follow ...

The Wawel Dragon is one of the most ancient and famous legends of Poland. According to legend, after a long period of prosperity, misfortune came to the country of King Krak, on behalf of which the name of the city of Krakow came. The shepherds began to lose some of their animals, and then the inhabitants of the city began to disappear for no reason. There was no explanation for all this until a certain point: one day a young man went to collect herbs to the Vistula River and approached the foot of the Wawel Hill. There he saw bones in the water, and a little further, on the top of a hill, a cave, next to which a gigantic and terrible dragon quietly rested in the sun. His body was covered with yellowish-green shiny scales, and his paws were huge, like logs.

The news scattered among the inhabitants. Then the young man went to the castle to tell King Krak about his adventure. He immediately gathered brave warriors and advisers to discuss the problem and find a solution. All attempts to kill the monster were in vain, many then did not return. When the last hope was lost, King Krak promised: "He who will free the people from the dragon, warrior or not, will receive the princess’s hand and half the kingdom." Soon, various princes and knights began to arrive at the castle of Krak, but no one could destroy the monster. Then the king decided to confront the dragon himself, however, preparation for the battle was interrupted by a poor shoemaker named Skuba, who said that he had found a way to get rid of the dragon and asked to bring a sheep. He killed the animal and filled the carcass with a mixture of sulfur and tar. At night, while the dragon was sleeping, the shoemaker left her near the entrance to the cave. And in the morning, a strong explosion woke the residents of the city: after a powerful lizard swallowed a sheep, he was tormented by such a thirst that he went to the river and drank so much that his stomach exploded, and pieces of his body covered the entire hill. So the kingdom of Krak was freed from danger, and the shoemaker, of course, married the beautiful princess Wanda.

This is just one of the many versions of the legend of the Wawel dragon, the most fabulous and happy, perhaps. We propose to get acquainted with the rest of them on the spot, especially since the cave in which the dragon allegedly lived still exists, is located on Wawel Hill and is a tourist destination. At the entrance is a statue of the same pangolin, which emits fire every 5 minutes.

And if you don’t feel like waiting, you can send SMS and see the fire immediately. To enter the cave, you will need to overcome a long staircase. Inside tourists are waiting rooms with a length of about 80 and a height of 10 meters. The underground rooms are beautifully illuminated, which creates a mysterious atmosphere that will appeal to all lovers of ancient legends. A visit to the cave of the Wawel Dragon is sure to decorate your walk in Krakow.

In Krakow  at the foot Wawel hill  the dragon stands breathing from time to time by fire. Sometimes it makes ominous sounds. But people are not afraid of him, because this is a sculptural composition, which was put in memory of a long-time inhabitant of the local cave.

Legends of the Slavs contain many references to huge dinosaurs. A   legend of the wawel dragonprobably the most famous Polish legend.

There are several variations of the legend, and this is not surprising, because the thing happened a long time ago. And old stories are transmitted in various ways and gradually change. We will tell you the most common version.

Dragon's appearance

According to legend, everything happened during the reign of the founder of the city of Krakow - under King Krakow. Polish tradition describes him as a good wise ruler who took care of his people and was worried about the development of the city. But calm times did not last long, horror and fear settled among the subjects of Krak. First, there were many complaints about the loss of livestock: then a cow, a sheep or a sheep will be lost. People became afraid to let their cattle out onto the fertile meadows of the Vistula River.

The unknown scarecrow. To find out what was happening, King Krak ordered the guards to guard the meadows and seize the cattle thief. The guards hid in the forests around the city and waited. For several days nothing happened, and decided that the danger had passed. But one morning, when the sun did not rise, the guards noticed movement between the trees. Approaching, the guards regretted that they were at this place. They saw big paws, a body covered with scales. Sheaves of fire burst from the monster's mouth. It was a dragon.

Few knights were able to reach the king alive. The royal advisers for a long time could not think of what to do with such an undesirable neighbor. In order not to anger the dragon, it was decided to feed him, sacrificing a small amount of cattle. This was not a very good decision. Because after a few years, the dragon grew so much that he began to miss these offerings. And he began to attack people.

It became clear that Krak would either defeat the dragon or lose all his subjects. They began to look for daredevils to fight the huge pangolin. A big reward was announced for the winner. The king even agreed to give his daughter away as someone who agrees to fight. Knights and adventurers began to gather in Krakow, but so no one volunteered for a duel. Everyone knew that a direct collision with him would lead to instant death. After all Wawel dragon  was huge and had a fire-breathing mouth!

How the dragon shoemaker defeated

The king has already lost hope that everything will end well. But to one Krakow cobbler named Scuba diving  came up with a brilliant idea. He invented to make a scarecrow in the form of a sheep and fill it completely with sulfur.

The sheep really turned out like a real one. In the early morning, when the dragon was still sleeping, Scuba made his way to the cave entrance and left the scarecrow in a conspicuous place. And as soon as he moved to a safe place, a hungry and evil dragon appeared from a cave.

Without thinking twice, he swallowed the whole bait. The legend describes how such a howl rose that all leaves fell from the nearest trees. Sulfur, which was stuffed with stuffed, began to torment the dragon with unbearable pain. In order to somehow extinguish it, the dragon rushed to the river and began to drink water for a very long time. He drank so long that the Wisla became less than two times smaller! In the end, having drunk river water, the dragon burst like a balloon. So a simple cobbler defeated the dragon and received the recognition of the townspeople and the royal daughter as a wife.

Archaeological finds near Krakow confirm that in immemorial times giant dinosaurs really lived here. Skeletons and bones were found in large numbers. You can see dinosaur bones in museums in Poland.

In memory of the legend, the inhabitants of the city called Dragonia Street and installed a fire-breathing statue, which was also loved by tourists. The funny thing is that you can order an eruption of flame from the mouth of the dragon by SMS. The cave, which is called the Dragon Pit, is open to the public and is very popular. When you are in Krakow, be sure to go down to the cave after visiting the Royal Castle and the Cathedral and see where the legendary dragon inhabited, terrifying and terrifying.

The Wawel Dragon is one of the most famous symbols of Krakow. His image is present almost everywhere in the city: on the roofs and walls of houses, on souvenir coins and jewelry, in the form of soft toys and sculptures. In addition, in Krakow there is a monument to this lizard, installed near the dragon's cave at the foot of Wawel Hill.

Legends of the wawel dragon

According to an ancient legend, a fire-breathing lizard lived in a dragon cave near a hill in antiquity, which terrified all residents of the nearby village. The monster was nicknamed the gastrointestinal for swallowing its entire prey. Once a week, frightened residents had to bring him a cow so that the hungry dragon of Krakow would not attack people.

One day, a village guy, Krak, came up with a tricky way with which he could kill a pangolin. He draped a gray cowhide and threw it to the entrance to the cave. The dragon immediately attacked the prey. However, sulfur caused a real fever in his throat. The Wawel dragon in Krakow rushed to the Vistula River and began to eagerly drink water. After drinking half the water from the river, the lizard burst and died.

The villagers joyfully chose Krak as their ruler. He built a magnificent castle above the dragon's cave, which even today pleases the eyes of visitors and residents of Krakow. In 1972, a monument was erected to the legendary Krakow dragon. Every 5 minutes a flame erupts from his mouth. From the outside, it looks pretty believable.

According to another legend, the trick with the skin of a cow belonged to the sons of King Krak. After swallowing the bait, the dragon choked, and the siblings began to argue, figuring out which of them owned the victory over the monster. As a result, one brother killed another, and upon returning home, he reported that he was killed by a lizard. The truth about fratricide surfaced after the death of King Krak. The killer was expelled from the country.

There are other versions of the famous legend of the dragon of Krakow. For example, the villagers had to bring beautiful girls to the horrible dragon, not cows. The deliverer was a simple shoemaker Krak, who took advantage of the trick with lamb skin.

Modern legend

Now there is another belief, which already refers to the statue of the Wawel dragon. It is generally accepted that during an eruption of flame it is necessary to make a wish. The action itself lasts only 3 seconds. If you manage to clearly understand what you would like to get in such a short time, the desire will come true. The Wawel Dragon Monument in Krakow is constantly surrounded by tourists and residents. Such popularity is due to the fact that people, even having matured, continue to believe in miracles.