Sigismund's Chapel

Sigismund's Chapel (1519-1533)

Sigismund's Chapel (Kaplica Zygmuntowska) of the Wawel Cathedral is one of the most notable pieces of architecture in Kraków. Built as a funerary chapel for the last Jagiellons, it has been hailed by many art historians as "the most beautiful example of the Tuscan Renaissance north of the Alps".^[1][2] Financed by King Sigismund I the Old, it was built in 1519-33 by Bartolomeo Berrecci.

A square-based chapel with a golden dome houses the tombs of its founder King Sigismund, as well as King Sigismund II Augustus and Anna Jagiellonka. The inner sculptures, stuccos and paintings were designed by some of the most renowned artists of the age, including the architect Berrecci himself, Georg Pencz, Santi Gucci and Hermann Vischer.

Gallery

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  Sigismund's Chapel, the tomb of the last Jagiellons and a pearl of renaissance

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  Window decoration and a spire sits atop the dome

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  Polish white eagle with Sigismund I the Old`s monogram S

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  Tomb monument of Sigismund I the Old and Sigismund II Augustus in the Chapel

See also

• Renaissance architecture
• Renaissance in Poland
• Jagiellon dynasty

References

1. Nimmrichter, Johann; Kautek, Wolfgang; Schreiner, Manfred (2007). LACONA 6 proceedings. p. 125. ISBN 3-540-72129-0.
2. Rouček, Joseph Slabey (1949). Slavonic encyclopaedia. Philosophical Library. p. 24. The much admired Sigismund Chapel, called 'the pearl of the Renaissance north of the Alps' by foreign scholars.

Coordinates: 50°03′17″N 19°56′08″E / 50.05464°N 19.935435°E