The Royal Castle at Wawel at the time of the last Jagiellonians : a dispute on the original functions of some of its rooms

The primary sources discussed in the paper have enabled to determine the initial location of passages in the gatehouse (room nos 115-118) on the castle’s second floor, which differs from the hitherto reconstructions. A detailed analysis of the evidence has additionally supported the hypothesis about the Melusine Room (120) having been temporarily used by the King during the lifetime of his wife Barbara. It turns out, however, that a theory about the purported King’s great hall in the castle’s north wing (116-117), allegedly divided by a wall as late as around 1600, was based on an erroneous translation of a German text from 1595 and supported by a number of biased interpretations. A detailed analysis of all the important circumstances suggests that the current division of rooms (116 and 117) is original. The last part of the paper sums up the discussion about the apartment of King Sigismund II Augustus in the castle’s east wing. The hypothetical location of the royal apartment, inferred on the basis of general premises has been ascertained by detailed written documentary evidence gathered by both parties of the dispute, that is, by means of induction.