UNESCO sites
Krakow Old Town
Krakow’s Old Town is one of the most beautiful and best preserved medieval towns in Europe. Its center is the Main Market Square (the largest medieval market square in Europe), in which you will find the Cloth Hall (former center of commerce) and the remarkable St. Mary’s Church – a treasure trove of works of art like the beautiful St. Mary’s Altar (one of the largest medieval altars in Europe). Near the Market Square is the old university district – Jagiellonian University in Kraków is the second oldest university in Eastern Europe. The Old Town was once bordered the high walls that you can see remnants of today. Towering over medieval Krakow is Wawel Hill, with a Renaissance castle and a medieval Cathedral, the resting place and site of the coronation of Polish kings. At the foot of the hill in a cave once lived a legendary dragon … Also in the center of Krakow is Kazimierz, the medieval Jewish town, which still retains its sixteenth century synagogues and a Jewish cemetery.
Wieliczka & Bochnia Salt Mines
The salt mines in Bochnia and Wieliczka are the oldest preserved objects of this type in Europe, and their history dates back to the thirteenth century. The salt extracted from them in the Middle Ages was called white gold (due to its value) and accounted for up to 30% of the royal treasury. The total length of underground passages, tunnels and chambers is in the hundreds of kilometers and they are spread over several levels. These historic workings are an excellent example of the development of salt mining and extraction techniques from the 13th until the 20th centuries. In the depths of the mine are numerous underground chapels with decorations and statues carved in salt – a reflection of mining piety and tradition. The underground chambers often host organized concerts, sports tournaments, balls and weddings. The mines in Wieliczka and Bochnia are among the largest and most unique attractions in Poland.
Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi Camps
The Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and death camp (1940-1945) became a symbol of the Holocaust, Nazi crimes against the population and forced labor. It is a place of unimaginable barbarism, where about 1.3 million people were killed. More than 90% of the victims were Jews, but the camps were also a place of martyrdom of Poles, Russians, Roma, Sinti and prisoners of other nationalities. At Auschwitz (Auschwitz I) there are many preserved masonry blocks, fences with watchtowers and the only surviving crematorium. In Birkenau (Auschwitz II) there are wooden and brick barracks, unloading ramps and the ruins of four crematoria. Auschwitz-Birkenau is not only a museum or cemetery, is also a place of warning to mankind against the consequences of extreme ideologies and blindness. But it is also a place of remembrance of humanity: in this place of unimaginable barbarism many people fought with simple gestures for the dignity of another human being.
Bialowieza National Park
Bialowieza National Park covers an area of 10 517.27 ha and takes up one sixth of the entire Bialowieza Forest area lying on the border between Poland and Belarus. The Bialowieza Forest is the only surviving fragment of the original forest that once covered the lowlands of Europe. It is characterized by high biodiversity and is a unique monument of nature. Here you will find many plant and animal species characteristic of old forests that are no longer found anywhere else in Europe. From the sixteenth century, the area was a wilderness favorite hunting ground of Polish kings and therefore was under special protection. Its symbol is the bison, the largest land mammal in Europe. The Bialowieza Forest is the last refuge of the bison in Europe – the local herd is the largest living in the wild in the world. The species almost became extinct in Europe at the beginning of the twentieth century, but it was effectively restored in the Bialowieza Forest.
Warsaw Old Town
Warsaw, the Polish capital, was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War. In 1944, the Nazis destroyed over 85% of the historical buildings in the city as a form of repression and terror against the opposition. The demolition of Warsaw, where Europe’s first democratic constitution was passed on May 3, 1794, became a symbol of utter destruction of Poland. The restoration of the historic center of Warsaw was a great challenge for postwar Poland. Warsaw’s Old Town was listed by UNESCO as one of the best and most complete reconstructions in Europe. Warsaw has a history dating back to the 13th century but it flourished from the seventeenth century when the royal court moved here from Krakow. The most beautiful sights in Warsaw include the Old Town Square with the statue of a Mermaid (the symbol of Warsaw), surrounded by houses with baroque and rococo facades, the medieval Cathedral of St. John, the Royal Castle and Lazienki park – the former suburban residence of the last Polish king with a beautiful grounds and a monument to Chopin.
Zamosc
Zamosc is one of the most charming cities in the country. It is an extremely valuable monument of architecture and urban renaissance and unique example of the so-called ideal city on a European scale. It was built in the sixteenth century by the order of Jan Zamoyski, Crown Hetman (a military title), educated in Padua (Italy), and the owner of the land. The city had to combine the function of a family residence and a center of commerce as Zamosc was situated on an important trade route connecting the West with the Black Sea. Italian architect Bernardo Morando built so the town modeled on Renaissance theories of the ideal city, based on the anthropomorphic conception of the Vitruvian Man: the palace is the head, the backbone of the city’s main artery, and the academy and the cathedral – the heart and lungs. Zamosc is called the Pearl of Mannerism (late Renaissance): the city is surrounded by bastion fortifications, and at the center is an open marketplace of houses with characteristic arcades and ornamental parapets. It’s worth seeing the Cathedral, Synagoguę and the building of the once well-known academy.
Malbork Castle
The Castle in Malbork – the former seat of the Teutonic Knights – was one of the largest medieval fortresses in Europe and today is a very valuable example of Gothic brick architecture. Construction began in the 13th century, but the complex was significantly expanded after 1309, when the Grand Master of the Monastic Order moved here from Venice. The Order of the Crusaders was established in 1190 during the third crusade to the Holy Land and was one of the 3 largest (after the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller) religious orders involved in the medieval crusades. Its masters consistently implemented plans to establish a religious state outside the Holy Land, and was ultimately fulfilled in East Prussia (now north-eastern Poland, part of Latvia and Lithuania). From Malbork, the Teutonic Knights led a crusade against the pagans living along the Baltic coast. The complex at Malbork contains the High Castle, the Medium Castle, the Castle of the Grand Masters, a church, numerous chapels, refectories, dormitories and cellars. A walk through the castle takes us to the dark times of the Middle Ages and the Crusades.
Torun
Torun is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Poland. Although each historical epoch and artistic influence left their traces here, Torun is considered one of the largest and best preserved Gothic architecture residential complexes in Northern Europe. It is famous today for its Gothic character, gingerbread and Nicolaus Copernicus. It was built in the thirteenth century, the land belonging to the Order of the Teutonic Knight and thanks to rapid colonization and advanced economy became an important commercial center and one of the most important cities of the Hanseatic League in this part of Europe. Walking around the city you can see the medieval Market Square and Town Hall, the Gothic Cathedral of St. John, preserved city walls and numerous houses from the Middle Ages. It was here that the famous astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus lived and today there is a museum dedicated to him. Another attraction of Torun is the living museum of Gingerbread, where you can make your own one according to the traditional recipes of Torun.