Here we present the official mascot of the World Championships in Cracow. It is the Wawel Dragon. The dragon is one of the symbols of Cracow and there is a legend connected to it:

Long, long ago, when the Polish lands were ruled by King Krak, a dragon appeared in Cracow. The dragon lived in a cave under the castle and demanded that once a week a sacrifice of a cow be made to him. If this demand was not met, the dragon would kidnap people.

The citizens of Krakow were very afraid of the dragon. There were several knights who tried to defeat the dragon. Unfortunately, none of them returned from their daring journies to the dragon's den. When all hope was lost and it seemed that the people of Krakow were facing destruction, a poor shoemaker came up with an idea to get rid of the dragon.

The shoemaker chose the biggest ram and stuffed it with sulfur. Then he sneaked under the dragon's den and threw the ram. The dragon, attracted by the smell of fresh meat, came out and immediately ate the ram.

The sulfur hidden in the animal immediately took effect, causing the dragon to become extremely thirsty. The dragon ran to the Vistula River and drank, drank, drank, drank... It seemed that just a moment more and it would drink the whole river! Then suddenly, there was a huge bang. The dragon had drunk so much water that it simply exploded. The ingenious boy became the hero of the whole town, and the king made him rich as a reward.

In Cracow, at the foot of Wawel Castle, you can still see the Dragon's Den and a fire-breathing statue of the Wawel Dragon, reminiscent of the heroic deed of the shoemaker.

We have prepared for you three sizes of the mascot, which will be available for purchase online or directly at the official booth.

Picture shows our dragon visiting Japan.