Smocza Jama

This guide to Smocza Jama, the Dragon's Den beneath Wawel Hill in Kraków, follows the old legend of a fire-breathing beast that terrorized the riverside settlement King Krakus founded, demanding cattle and, when herds ran short, people, while the knights sent to kill it never returned. A cobbler's apprentice named Skuba is the one who finally steps up, armed with nothing a knight would carry. Descend the hundred and thirty-five spiral steps through limestone corridors carved over twelve million years, a story first written down by a chronicler eight hundred years ago. Look for the bronze dragon on the riverbank outside, still breathing real fire on a hidden gas line.