The Church of Saint Gereon

Amongst various forms of museum exhibitions, an archaeological and archaeolocal and architectonic reserve holds a special place. The concept of showcasing architectural relicts in a consciously organized space on the Wawel Hill has a long tradition. Thanks to the initiative of prof. Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz, two such exhibitions were arranged and made open to the public during the interwar period. Recently, an archaeological and architectonic reserve located on the west-wing ground floor of the royal palace was opened to visitors once again. It was organised in the early 1920’s based on the research and project of Szyszko-Bohusz. The three ground-floor rooms of the west wing have been connected to enable the presentation of the preserved relics of the western part of the Romanesque temple and the Gothic chapel. The researcher’s hypothesis is that many parts of the original walls were supplemented and built up to define the form of the Romanesque church. Anastylosis of the pillars was performed in the transept’s north arm. In the interwar period, conservation work and archaeological verification research were carried out. The current arrangement takes into account the newest research reports. The subject of the exhibition are two chronologically consecutive sacral buildings: a Romanesque church and a Gothic chapel.