At the foot of Wawel Hill, facing the Vistula, a cave entrance leads into a short underground passage that is claimed to be the lair of the legendary Wawel Dragon. The dragon — the Smok Wawelski — is central to the founding myth of Krakow: the cave was already occupied when Krakus, the city's legendary founder, arrived, and it took the wit of a cobbler named Skuba to defeat the beast by feeding it a sheep stuffed with sulphur and pitch. The dragon drank from the Vistula to quench the resulting fire and burst.
Whether the legend precedes the cave or the cave suggested the legend is not clear. What is clear is that the bronze dragon sculpture erected outside the cave entrance in 1972 — designed by Bronisław Chromy and operated by a gas jet that produces a real flame every few minutes — has become one of Krakow's most photographed objects. The cave itself, a natural limestone passage about 270 metres long, is open to visitors from April to October. The entrance is at the base of Wawel Hill; access is separate from the castle and cathedral tickets, and it is free.