Things to see and do Poland

A ruin with romantic silhouette in a bucolic landscape. This castle was built by Casimir the Great in the th century, probably on an ancient wooden construction. A legend speaks of a beautiful treasure hidden by the knights… today, it remains the ruins of the residential part and a fragment of the tower. The castle underwent numerous destruction, the last in 1657 is due to the Swedes. He was in a state such as Jan II Sobieski, during his visit to the castle in 1683, had to sleep under a tent.

Malbork (or Marienburg) Castle is a World Heritage Site and is an extraordinary visit that will certainly take you a whole day. We absolutely recommend it.
The history of the castle is closely linked to that of the Teutonic order, whose knights were invited by the Poles to fight the infidels in Pomerania at the beginning of the 13th century. The order, then based in Venice after having been driven out of the Holy Land by the Mamelukes, began around 1290 the construction of a fortified convent, typical of the orders of chivalry (the Templars called theirs commanderies), which they named Mary's Castle: Marienburg. Thanks to military successes and the considerable increase in land under his control after the capture of Gdańsk, in 1309, Grand Master Siegfried von Feuchtwangen installs in Marienburg the headquarters of the Teutonic Knights, leaving the Veneto. The fortified convent became the political center of a powerful monastic state until its decline and the sale of the complex to the kingdom of Poland in 1457 after their defeat in the Thirteen Years' War (1454-1466). During these one hundred and fifty years, the administrative capital of the Teutonic State prospered, thanks to the control that the monks had over the very lucrative amber trade as well as the outlets of the Baltic trade. Their fortress, a symbol of their military temporal power, continued to grow and to mobilize the continent's greatest craftsmen. In many respects, the site is a unique architectural creation that presents the pinnacle of medieval Gothic architecture. Its construction, on an exceptionally large scale, was one of the greatest undertakings in medieval military engineering. Of particular interest are the superb summer refectory, with walls entirely covered with large windows on three sides, which is a masterpiece of medieval engineering, as well as the upper castle gate,great work of ironwork. The castle building site also creates architectural canons followed throughout the region, for example the practice of dansker, the tower-latrine separate from the fortifications.

The history of the complex continues after the departure of the order: in 1525 it became the seat of the voivodship. Partially destroyed during the Swedish wars of 1655-1660, after the first partition of Poland in 1772, the castle was transformed into barracks by the Prussians and gained modern ramparts, still made of red bricks, and visible near the tourist entrance today.

The interest of the site for its intangible heritage resides in the consequent works of renovation accomplished on the spot from 1882. For several decades, it was the object of a historical reconstruction faithful to the original, with a considerable effort by the Germans, anxious to preserve their historical heritage, to recover the old medieval techniques. This 19th century rehabilitation project is the precursor of the discipline of historical reconstruction used in the 21st century. Unfortunately for the architects of the project, very soon after its rehabilitation the site was severely damaged and almost destroyed during the Second World War, in a desperate attempt by the Nazis to use it for defensive purposes on the German border. It was then methodically rebuilt by the Poles according to its medieval model, which can be seen today. The site is divided into three parts:

The Low Castle (Zamek nizki). It corresponds to what is today outside the walls: the arsenal, the armory and Gothic defense structures.

The Middle Castle (Zamek Średni). Crossing the drawbridge over the wide moat. It was the center of the knights' political activities: it includes the palace of the grand masters, an amber museum with a fine collection, a military museum also well stocked (but not very well displayed), as well as the site restaurant.

The Upper Castle (Zamek Wysoki). This is the oldest part of the castle and includes the monastery. It includes the living quarters of the monk-knights, the treasury and the chancellery. The chapter house is beautiful and has inspired many film scenes. Walking through the terraces surrounding the castle, one arrives at the crypt of St. Anne (Kaplica Św.Anny), a burial chapel housing three 14th and 15th century steles of great masters of the order.

To visit the site it is advisable to take a full day and arrive well rested. Depending on the pace of the visit, it can take between 3 and 6 hours. We advise you to get there by train from Gdańsk, between 1h and 1h30 of travel (if everything goes well), prefer the Interegio to the SMK. We advise you to get there as soon as it opens at 9am: in winter you can watch the sunrise on the site and, above all, you can arrive before the crowds of tourists. Off season, it is possible to be alone in the middle of the fortress, which is ideal to marvel and explore the place at your own pace. The site has recently been revamped for tours, with a new visitor center and an audio guide, available in French, that describes each room and their use in detail, though it doesn't greatly enhance the experience. The on-site museums are easily forgotten.

Built in the ^13th century, this castle was home to the kings of Poland from the ^16th century onwards. In 1944, it was dynamited by the Nazis and remained in ruins until 1971, when the decision was taken to rebuild it identically. The work was financed by a fund-raising campaign, which was very popular in the country. The work was completed in 1984, and since then the castle has been open to the public, allowing them to discover its superbly decorated interiors and the works of great artists.

Built between 1952 and 1955, this Socialist Realism-style edifice, although purportedly not inspired by New York's Empire State Building (in fact, the similarity is striking), is one of the tallest in Poland. It was donated by Stalin when Poland joined the Soviet Union. It hosts cultural events, concerts and fairs. With its theaters, cinema and panoramic terrace on the thirtieth floor, it is a place of leisure and culture.

When it was set up in October 1941, Majdanek was a labor camp, controlled by the SS, in which Polish and Russian prisoners of war and Jews worked in armaments factories. From April 1942, it became an extermination camp. From 1942 until July 1943, when the Red Army liberated the camp, over 350,000 people were killed here, including 100,000 Jews. Today, this grim site is home to a highly impressive reconstructed camp. Admission is free, but under 14s are not permitted.

Situated between the zoo and Szczytnicki Park, the 1913 Centenary Hall is a landmark of the city, erected to celebrate the Allied victory over Napoleon. Its immense reinforced concrete dome, inspired by the Pantheon in Rome and Saint Sophia in Istanbul, is a feat of engineering that marked the beginning of the Brutalist style.

The Halle houses a sports center, a concert hall/cinema and exhibition spaces. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006, it continues to divide public opinion.

This magnificent baroque building, built between 1637 and 1641, now houses the National Museum (Muzeum narodowe). A visit to the museum is a good excuse to see the interiors with their polychrome-covered ceilings and walls, which are just as beautiful as the exterior façade. The museum contains one of the richest galleries of Polish paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries, paintings, furniture and gobelins from the 17th and 18th centuries. You can also see the shrine of Marshal Piłsudski here.

One of the largest panoramic canvases in Europe, gigantic, 15 m high and 114 m long, installed in a dedicated building. The canvas, very symbolic, represents the battle of Racławice which took place on April 4, 1794, the last victory of the Poles over the Russians before their final annexation. The painting was made a century later in Lwów, but it was not until 1980 that Soviet reluctance was overcome and it was exhibited again. Online booking is recommended.

Entering Guciów Farm is like taking a trip back in time. In an idyllic setting, in the middle of the countryside, this charming old farmhouse consists of wooden buildings from the 18th century, in the traditional style of the region, with thatched roofs. There is an ethnographic museum with traditional tools of the region, minerals and fossils. One of the buildings has been converted into a tavern where you can taste traditional Polish home cooking, which is simply exquisite and prepared in the old-fashioned way on the stove. The farm also offers old-fashioned guest rooms (170 zl per double room, including breakfast), with a shared fireplace and bathroom, or it is possible to rent an independent house. The hosts also offer various activities: mineral searches, excursions in the surroundings, concerts, musical activities, parties. In the village, there are many activities: weaving workshops and artisanal pottery workshops where each time the participants have the possibility to make their own masterpiece that they can take home as a souvenir; butter and artisanal bread workshops (especially for children). In short, it's a bit of a Disneyland for kids and adults alike and a magical place not to be missed if you're not afraid of the language barrier: indeed, for the moment the park doesn't attract enough tourists to justify speaking English.

The Wieliczka-Bochnia rock salt deposit has been in existence since the 13th century. The extraction of "white gold", a block of salt worth several years of crops of a large estate, was one of the main sources of wealth of the Polish kings, allowing, among other things, the construction of the Jagiellonian University. A wooden staircase will lead you to a depth of 64 meters. Only the first three levels, located between 64 and 135 meters deep, can be visited. A section of about 3 kilometers allows you to walk through the different tunnels that connect the rooms. Sculptures, bas-reliefs, artificial salt lakes and shafts await the visitor. The unvisited part of the mine, entirely underground, is much larger and extends over 9 levels for a total of 300 kilometers of galleries, the deepest of which reaches 327 meters.

The visit allows to see underground lakes, galleries, and especially a chapel cut in the salt, that of the blessed Kinga (Kaplica Blogoslawionej Kingi), whose legend will be told to you. The galleries that can be visited were drilled by hand between the 17th and 19th centuries. During the visit you will pass through several thematic rooms: Nicholas Copernicus, the Dwarfs' Cave, legends and chapels decorated with hand-carved statues. The chapel of St. Kinga, patron saint of miners, is undoubtedly the highlight of the visit. Excavated between 1895 and 1927, this incredible underground cathedral of 54 meters long and 12 meters high is decorated with salt crystal chandeliers and numerous bas-reliefs and sculpted altars. The finesse of the sculptures is remarkable. This incredible work required the extraction of 20,000 tons of salt blocks. Its exceptional acoustics allow the organization of concerts. Renowned for its microclimate, the mine has a sanatorium to treat respiratory diseases, located at a depth of 211 meters.

In addition to the classic tour, there is also the "mining tour", a real expedition in which visitors, accompanied by a guide and dressed and equipped as miners, descend into the mine through the Regis shaft, the oldest of the existing shafts.

The visit is exhausting and you don't really enjoy it, squeezed between two groups in a small tunnel for 3 hours. For a truly authentic experience, go to mass in the main chapel every Sunday.