Hey kids!! Today, I want to talk to you about something that I think you'll all be excited to learn about. Do you like kings and queens? How about princes and princesses? Well, we're going to cover all of that! We're going to learn about Wawel Royal Castle, the home of Poland's royalty.
A long time ago, Poland was a monarchy which means they were ruled by a king. Back then, Krakow was the capital of Poland, and the king and his family lived in a great castle atop a big hill by the Vistula River - the biggest river in Poland - called Wawel Hill. This castle was so important that some of the most important people in Europe would travel far and wide to have important meetings in this majestic castle.
Wawel Castle is over 800 years old! That makes it nearly four times older than the United States. But, Poland has had kings even 300 years before the castle was constructed. That makes Poland well over 1,000 years old.
When the castle was constructed, they put it on Wawel Hill so they could see enemy knights and defend the royal family from invasion. They also put the castle near the Vistula River so the royal family would have easy access to tradespeople who used the river to transport valuable goods.
