The most beautiful religious buildings Little Poland

The monastery complex stands in an enchanting bucolic setting on Srebrna Góra in the Wolski Forest. The Camaldolese monks live in seclusion, meeting only at prayer time. Contemplative and constantly meditating on death, they meditate before the skulls of their predecessors. Only men are allowed to visit the place and to cross paths with the hermits in their meditation, while women are only allowed to visit 12 specific days a year (for feasts).

Among the few Jewish relics in Chełm, one cannot miss the Little Synagogue (Synagoga Mała). Built between 1912 and 1914, its façade is richly decorated and enriched with Art Nouveau elements. In the past, there was a second synagogue, which was destroyed during the Second World War. The synagogue was the object of an international scandal after it was bought in 2004 to install a restaurant despite its categorization as a place of worship. Jews from all over the world entered into a heated debate that ultimately did not change the fate of the site.

This small baroque church, built in the 18th century, is an integral part of the Zamoyski residence. It is situated in a beautiful setting on a small island connected by a bridge. This is where the name "Chapel on the Water" (Kaplica na wodzie) comes from. The place lends itself beautifully to a gentle reverie worthy of the greatest romantics of the 19th century. The interior of the church is a delightful mixture of fresh paint and a slight air of abandonment.

On the top of the castle hill (Góra Zamkowa) stands this graceful 17th century basilica. It acquired its Baroque style during its reconstruction in 1735-1756.

The buildings surrounding it are part of a religious complex, formerly a bishop's palace (built in 1771) and monastery (1640-1649). At the foot of the basilica, on the right, you will see the ruins of a medieval fortress from the 10th century, which disappeared a long time ago.

Built between 1610 and 1638 in the Lublin Renaissance style, it belonged to the Franciscans. After the departure of the Franciscans from the monastery to which it belonged in 1783, military barracks were set up in the adjacent buildings and in 1812 a hospital was built. In 1888, the church was transformed into an Orthodox church and was run by nuns before being returned to Catholic hands. Today the church has a beautiful and imposing interior. The decorations are numerous, especially the frescoes.

The present Gothic building was built by King Casimir the Great in 1360. The exterior facade has retained its authenticity, but the interior has been redone several times. The interior is decorated with rococo altars, in black or pink marble. On the walls of the nave, paintings represent the destruction of the city by the Tatars and the Swedes. Others, grouped under the name of Kalendarium predicts in twelve parts the way in which everyone will die.

This place of worship built at the beginning of the seventeenth century has known degradations and humiliations common to the period of the Second World War and the Nazi hatred. The synagogue was even burned before the conflict ended and is now a shadow of its former self. The local authorities made the effort to restore and renovate it, partially, during the 1960s. Although it is not open to Jewish worship, the community having disappeared like everywhere else, it now houses the city's cultural center.

Built in 1640, the Kupa synagogue was the last to be built for the Jews of Kazimierz. It owes its current appearance to renovation work in the 1930s and to the restoration undertaken in the years 1990-2000. The impressive polychromy of the ceiling with representations of the cities of the Holy Land, and the paintings with the signs of the zodiac decorating the balustrade of the gallery are noteworthy. A fragment of the old medieval ghetto wall can be seen in the inner courtyard on the Warschauera Street side.

Built in 1860-1862 in the neo-Romanesque style with interiors inspired by Moorish art, it is, along with the Remu'h synagogue, one of the two synagogues still active in Krakow. Also called the "progressive synagogue", it was attended by maskilim Jews, "enlightened" in the sense of "opposed to the precepts of the ultra-Orthodox Hasidic" who, at the time, were linked to the Remu'h synagogue. A ritual bath, the mikva, was located behind the synagogue and remained in operation until the late 1960s.

It's one of Poland's most beautiful neo-Gothic buildings. Delicate, sublime, romantic, this church captivates with its architectural harmony. It took five years to build this masterpiece, consecrated on October 24, 1909. More beautiful on the outside than on the inside, it nevertheless boasts a number of marvels, including a relief by Vit Wisz and Marian Krzyk, depicting The Marriage of St. Joseph and the Mother of God. Behind the main altar, you can also admire Sigismund Langman's image of Christ crucified in 1909.

From Rękawka Street to the left of house n. 22, a small trail leads towards a wooded hill with a rather bucolic framework. Here, the little church of Saint Benedict, one of the oldest in Krakow. Its construction, dated by archeologists in the twelfth century, remains wrapped in mystery. This Romanesque church, redesigned several times, especially in the sixteenth century, may have been founded by the Benedictine Benedictines, as suggested by the name of the saint to whom it is devoted. The fort of Saint Benedict was built in 1850 by the Austrians to reinforce the defense of the bridge on Vistule. If we continue south, we arrive at the old cemetery of Podgórze, located at the intersection of the streets Limanowskiego and Powstańców Śląskich. Probably created in 1790, it is the oldest cemetery in Krakow, where the heroes of the 1846 insurgency against the Austrians, as well as many Polish artists, are resting. South of the cemetery, a pedestrian bridge crosses the Powstańców Śląskich Street, along which there is a huge fresco on the history of Krakow. Once crossing the bridge, we arrive at Krak's tertre and, behind, at the camp of Płaszów.

Located on the banks of the Vistula, this fortified monastery town dates from the 13th century. It was here that the "Dames of Zwierzyniec", also known as the Norbertine sisters, settled. At that time, the convent welcomed young noble girls and was often run by superiors from princely families. Every year, on Easter Monday, a big fair, called Emaus, is held in the vicinity of the monastery. It is also the starting point for the famous Lajkonik festival.

Built in 1644 by the rich merchant Isaac Jakubowicz, it is the most beautiful of the Kazimierz synagogues. In 1924, a double staircase was added to the façade to allow women to reach the gallery reserved for them. Today there is also a kosher restaurant. Every Monday, Thursday and Sunday at 6 pm, klezmer music concerts are held here. Tickets can be purchased in the synagogue or in tourist offices (around 60 zl).

Built between 1556 and 1563, it takes its name from the location of the prayer room, which was high above the street. Destroyed during the Second World War, it was used for a long time as a warehouse. Since 2005, an exhibition on Jewish history and culture and a well-stocked Jewish bookstore can be visited. Its austere façade has been preserved, with three large semicircular windows framed by four large buttresses.

This small octagonal wooden church dates back to the xvii^e century. It is covered with shingles and topped by a lantern. In his little cemetery, one buried of the plague victims during the epidemics, including that of cholera, in 1707, which decimated residents.

This now somewhat forgotten church, built in the early 12th century, is probably the oldest Romanesque red brick church in all of Poland, a style that later became very recognizable and symbolic of the countryside. The exterior has retained its original appearance, but the interior has been remodeled in Baroque style. Unfortunately, the decoration was ransacked in the early 1990s to give it a modern appearance. There are still some superb remains, such as a sarcophagus carved from a single block of oak.

Built at the end of the 15th century in the Gothic style with the then very famous local sandstone, the so-called "Szydłowiec sandstone", it has retained its original appearance intended by its patron, Jakub Szydłowiecki, sloping towards the sky. During its long history, only a few changes were made to the interior during the 16th century, as well as in the bell tower (renovated in 2006). It too is located on the Rynek and is impossible to miss. Its patron saint, Zygmunt in Polish, is a martyred Frankish king of Burgundy who reigned in the 6th century.