LET'S EXPLORE POLAND

Copyright 1997 by the AngloPol Corporation

This series will take us through the cities, towns, villages and countryside of Poland, 
as well as give us insights into the rich history and culture of the nation.

Part 16

SOUTHWEST POLAND--

TOURIST CENTERS

Klodzko

A city of about 30,000 inhabitants, Klodzko is situated on the Nysa Klodzka river. Formerly one of the old settlements in Silesia, it became an economic and tourist center. The oldest part of the town extending on the slopes of Mt. Forteczna and another part of old premises surrounding the market square [Plac Wolnosci or Freedom Plaza] maintained the medieval character of the city lay-out.

Worth seeing are the Town Hall with a Renaissance tower and the Baroque municipal walls with votive figures. On the Mlynowka river one can find a Gothic bridge from the 13-14th century with later-added Baroque figures of saints. In the Gothic parish church from the 14-15th century are valuable Gothic and Baroque sculptures, paintings and liturgical objects.

Towering over the town, a high stronghold, which was built in its present form by the Prussian king Frederic II the Great in the 18th century, now provides a good viewing point for tourists. The stronghold, together with its casements and cellars stretching under the town, are open to visitors.

Krzeszow

A small village in the vicinity of Kamienna Gora, Krzeszow is famed for its Cistercian Abbey founded in the 13th century and rebuilt in the 17-18th centuries. The monastery church is regarded as a gem of Baroque architecture of the 18th century, the impressive interior being maintained in golden and white colors with splendid canvases, sculptures and wall-paintings. The mausoleum of the Swidnica Piasts is in the chapel, behind the presbytery. Fine frescoes and paintings performed by the greatest Silesian master Michael Willmann decorate the neighboring church of St. Joseph.

Legnica

A voivodship town, Legnica, with 100,000 inhabitants, is situated between the Silesian Lowland and the Sudety Upland. It is the economic, cultural and administrative center of the Legnica-Glogow Copper Basin with big copper mines, metallurgical works, clothing factory and a well-known piano factory.

Legnica, as one of the oldest Silesian towns, was the capital of the Piast duchy until the 17th century. Among the historical sights mention should be made of an old market square with the so called herring stalls in the Renaissance style. Here is Peter and Paul's church from the 14th century; the duke's Castle with the Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance elements, a complex of Baroque architecture with St. John's church and the mausoleum of Legnica and Brzeg Piasts, the former Academy for the Nobility, the Abbot's College and fragments of medieval defense walls. An interesting copper museum is to be found there, too.

Legnickie Pole

The village of Legnickie Pole is situated near Legnica at the E22 road. The site is known for its historical battle in 1241, which took place between Silesian knights commanded by the Silesian prince Henry I the Pious and the Mongolian warriors. Also to be seen are the old Benedictine Abbey and the Baroque church with impressive interior, regarded as one of the most remarkable ones in Silesia. The Gothic church from the 15th century houses an interesting museum on the Battle of Legnica.

Lubiaz

A monastery village situated on the river Oder, Lubiaz is famed for the complex of the Post-Cistercian Abbey, ranked as one of the largest in this part of Europe. Obtaining its present shape in 1680-1720; it was later rebuilt in the Baroque style. In the Gothic chapel of the church from 1312 are the tombstones of Piast princes.

Lwowek Slaski

With about 10,000 inhabitants Lwowek Slaski is situated on the river Bobr at the border between the Sudety Mountains and the Silesian Lowland. One of the oldest towns in Silesia, in medieval times it was an important center of gold mining, when gold was obtained from gold-bearing sand and gravel. Worth a visit are the Gothic-cum-Renaissance Town Hall from the 15-16th century with a fine arched vestibule, St. Mary's Gothic church from the 15-16th century with outstanding portals and the well-preserved Gothic defense walls with turrets. On leaving the town one steps into strange forms of sandstone rocks called Szwajcaria Lwowecka.

Nysa

Having 45,000 inhabitants, Nysa is located on the Nysa Klodzka river in the Sudety Upland. Since early medieval times until 1810, it was the capital of the Bishops' duchy. A large handicrafts and trade center in the 14th and 15th century, it later became a cultural and educational center.

Visitors will want to see St. Jacob's church from the 15th century with many valuable Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque sculptures, tombstones and paintings and a belfry from the 15-16th centuries; the building of the Municipal Scales from 1604; the Bishops' Palace; the Jesuits church; and the famous Jesuits College called "Carolinum" from the 17th century. Also in the town are Peter and Paul's church from the 18th century and remnants of old fortifications and town walls with the Wroclawska and Ziebicka Gates from the 14-15th centuries.

North of the town there is a man-made Lake Nyskie with recreation grounds and a camping site.

Olesnica

One of the oldest, historical towns, Olesnica, with a population of 36,000, was founded in the 13th century to become (in the 14-15th centuries) the capital of the Piast Olesnica duchy. The town boasts a Gothic-cum-Renaissance Castle and a few old Gothic and Baroque churches of which St. John the Baptist's church from the 14th century, with prize architectural details and superb interior, deserves a special mention. Some remnants of medieval defense walls with the brick tower of Wroclawska Gate have been well-preserved.

Opole

A voivodship town situated on the river Oder populated by about 130,000 inhabitants, Opole is the center of cement, engineering and food industries. It is a major cultural, scientific and educational center with the Silesian Institute, pedagogical and technical higher schools, theaters, philharmonic orchestra and museums. It is well-known as host to the Festival of Polish Songs held every year in June.

The town developed from the 10th century medieval city of the Opolanie tribe. At the end of the 12th century it became the capital of the Opole duchy. After the death of duke John II, the last offspring of the Piast dynasty in 1532, the town fell under Habsburg rule and later, in the middle of the 18th century, Hohenzollern rule. Despite those strong and lengthy influences, Opole was the main center of social and cultural life of the Polish population inhabiting the areas situated on the river Oder, the area south of St. Ann's Mount and a locale where Polish religious life was centered.

One should not miss a visit to some Gothic-cum-Renaissance burgher houses with Baroque facades in the market square, the Holy Cross Cathedral from the 13-15th century, a Franciscan Church from the 14th century containing St. Ann's chapel where the tombstones of the Opole dukes were laid. In the neighborhood of the Voivodship Office, the remnants of the ducal Castle from the 13-14th century and the tower are also to be seen. Worth visiting is the nearby archaeological reserve with traces of human settlement from the 10-13th century.

A good tourist attraction is a skansen [outdoor museum] of wooden village huts from the Opole region situated in the western suburb of the town from 1435. It houses the Museum of the Opole Silesia with its rich nature, ethnographic and historical collections.

Sixteen km. from Opole, amidst forests, spreads the picturesque Lake Turawskie surrounded by numerous opportunities for water sports and recreation, as well as water sports equipment.

Paczkow

Paczkow (ca. 7,000 inhabitants) is situated on the Nysa Klodzka river at the foot of the eastern Sudety Mountains. The village's name, meaning "Polish Carcasonne," is owed to medieval stone defense walls with its eighteen turrets and four city gates, which have been preserved in their original shape to the present days, almost entirely. A powerful defense-church of St. John crowned with a Renaissance attic dominates the town. Inside are the Renaissance altar, Gothic sculptures and the deep "Tartar" well, called the Tartar. The market place is surrounded by old houses indicating various epochs.

Raciborz

The town of Raciborz with a population of 60,000 is situated at the upper river Oder. The capital of the Raciborz duchy since the 12th century, it became a major center of crafts and trade on the old route running eastward along the foot of the Sudety Mountains.

Worth seeing are St. Mary's Church from the 13-14th century, a prison tower and some remnants of defense walls. The Castle from the 13th century was rebuilt into a Renaissance form, including a Gothic chapel. An interesting Regional Museum with its sacral art, handicraft, ethnographic and military collections is found in the former Dominican church.

Sobotka

Sobotka is not large, but is an interesting old town at the foot of the Sleza massif (718 alt.), 38 km. south of Wroclaw. It is a popular site for weekends, as well as winter and summer holidays.

Worth visiting are the churches of St. Jacob's and St. Ann's from the 14th century. The town and its surroundings abound in numerous traces of proto-Slav cultures. Between the 8-11th centuries, Sleza was a center of the Slenzane tribe's pagan cult, to which tribe the name of Silesia is owed. Some remains of stone dikes and cult sculptures have been preserved. In the upper parts of the Sleza massif one can find huge blocks of gabbro rocks, which together with some pine wooded areas, form the Sleza Landscape Park.

Swidnica

With a population of about 60,000, Swidnica is situated on the Sudety Upland. An important trade center situated on the route from Germany to Kiev, Russia, in medieval times, it became the capital of the Piast Swidnica duchy in the 13-14th century.

The market place is surrounded by old burgher houses from the 16-18th centuries, Baroque town wells ornamented with stone sculptures, as well as the Gothic-cum-Renaissance SS. Stanley's and Waclaw's Church with the highest tower (103 m.) in the Silesian region. Gothic and Baroque altars, beautiful organs, numerous sculptures and paintings contribute to the splendor of the interior. The Evangelical Church of Peace (skeletal construction) from the middle of the 17th century is a big attraction, not only because of its architecture, but also its history.

Trzebnica

Trzebnica (ca. 10,000 inhabitants) is an old, historic and recreational town, picturesquely situated amidst the Trzebnickie Hills, about 25 km. north of Wroclaw. The town is known for the groups of pilgrims coming to the town in connection with the cult of St. Hedwig, the wife of Duke Henry I the Bearded.

The most attractive monument is the Cistercian Abbey with its monastery and church built in the 13th century by the first Wroclaw Piast. The Church of St. Bartholomew, one of the oldest in Silesia, houses numerous relics of the original Romanesque and Gothic structures. The impressive interior is maintained in Baroque style, including the marble tomb of St. Hedwig.