Mała Baszta - viewing terrace on Wawel Hill (Small Bastion)

The Small Bastion (Mała Baszta) is a structure on Wawel Hill with a viewing terrace on its roof. It stands right next to the royal palace and the Senatorska Tower, the tallest at the castle. According to the castle's official website it was built in the 1940s to join the southern front of the palace arcades with the administration building.

What can be seen from the terrace

From the terrace you can see Wawel Hill and the Old Town, the meandering Vistula, and the green ridge of Sowiniec with the Kościuszko Mound and Srebrna Góra, on which stands the Camaldolese monastery in Bielany. In good weather, the distant peaks of the Tatra Mountains and the Babia Góra range are outlined on the horizon. The terrace is part of the tour of Wawel Royal Castle.

How to get there

The terrace is reached along the arcades of the castle's second floor, through the exhibition “Miasteczko Wawelskie” (Wawel Town) about everyday life beside the castle and the cathedral. After seeing it you can climb up about a hundred steps, so neither the exhibition nor the terrace is accessible to wheelchair users.

Practical information

• Place: Wawel Hill, Kraków, Old Town.
• The terrace operates seasonally, from Tuesday to Sunday, and the last entry is 20 minutes before closing. Dates and hours must be checked on the castle's website before your visit.
• After coming down it is worth looking into the Wawel Cathedral, about 100 m away.