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 26

MIDWEST--GREAT POLAND

KORNIK AND ROGALIN

Kornik and Rogalin, located in the vicinity of Poznan, are places of great interest to visitors.

Kornik (pop. 5,000) is a small town situated 20 km. southeast of Poznan. A 14th century castle built by the Gorka family owns its present English Neo-Gothic shape to Tytus Dzialynski, a great patriot fighting for the independence of Poland in the 18th-19th centuries. It was he who much enlarged the collection of art known as the Kornik collections. In 1924 Wladyslaw Zamoyski, descendent of the Dzialynski family, donated the Kornik lands to the Polish state, thus creating the so-called Kornik Foundation.

At present the Kornik castle is an interesting museum with valuable collections of historical and national mementoes, Polish and foreign arms and armor, precious paintings by Grottger, Norblin, Bacciarelli, copies of Rubens' works, and period furniture representing different epochs and styles. The famous Kornik library contains over 350,000 volummes, books, old prints and manuscripts, among them one by Napoleon Bonaparte. The castle's large park-arboretum comprises over 2,500 species and varieties of trees and shrubs, the largest collection of its kind in Poland. Another place in Kornik that is worth a visit is the 15th century three-nave Gothic church in the market square.

The village of Rogalin on River Warta, 20 km. south of Poznan, has a magnificent park with ancient oaks and a Rococo Neo-Classical palace, housing a large exhibition of 18th and 19th century interiors. In the palace rooms one finds lovely 17th and 18th century tapestries, French and Flemish vases, and Meissen porcelain. In a separate building is a gallery of Polish and foreign painting from the 19th and 20th centuries. The palace is a branch of the National Museum in Poznan.

GORZOW WIELKOPOLSKI

Gorzow Wielkopolski is on the river Warta with a population of 105,000, having well-developed machine and synthetic fiber industries.

A Slav settlement in the 10th century, it fell into the hands of the Brandenburg dukes in the 13th century and stayed under their domination for a few next centuries. It was returned to Poland in 1945. A Gothic cathedral was erected in the city in the late 13th century. A huge 18th century granary stands on the bank of the River Warta.

About 25 km. northeast of Gorzow Wielkopolski lies the town of Strzelce Krajenskie (pop. 7,000), which boasts almost intact medieval defense walls from the 14th century, with gates, towers and a Gothic church from the same period. East from Strzelce Krajenskie stretches the vast Drawska Forest with many lakes and a beautiful valley of one of the cleanest rivers in Poland, the Drawa.

The charming village of Lubniewice, one of the most captivating holiday spots in Western Poland, lies 30 km. south of Gorzow Wielkopolski. In its large park there is a 19th century palace, now turned into a holiday center. Nearby are other holiday centers, a large place for bathing and stables, where one can hire horses.

MIEDZYRZECZ

A little town on the Warta's tributary Obra is Miedzyrzecz (pop. 20,000) with a long history back to the 10th century. The town has old ruins of a 14th century castle, which have been carefully preserved as evidence of the 1,000 year old tradition of Polish Statehood. There is also an 18th century house of the Miedzyrzecz starosts, now housing an interesting museum with a rich ethnographic section and a rare collection of coffin portraits from the 17th-18th centuries. A Gothic church from the 16th century has ultra-modern interior decorations.

West from Miedzyrzecz stretches a line of powerful fortifications built by the Nazis about 1935. Sometimes they are compared to the famous Maginot Line. The total length of the underground corridors is 50 km. and their most interesting part can be visited near the village of Kalawa, 12 km. southwest of Miedzyrzecz.

In the village of Goscikowo, 15 km. south from the town, there is a splendid complex of the former Cistercian Abbey, consisting of a church from the 13th century, remodelled in the 18th century, and a monastery from the 17th century. The church has very rich Baroque interior decorations.

SWIEBODZIN

Swiebodzin is a little town situated amidst hills and lakes of the Lagow Lake District, and near the crossing of the international routes E8 and E14. In the 13th century it was an important Piast stronghold and a well-developed center of trade and crafts. Among the most valuable monuments is a 15th century church with sumptuous 15th-18th century interiors, a Renaissance town hall from the 16th century housing a museum and a stylish cafe, and remnants of defense walls from the 14th-16th centuries.

Ten kilometers west of Swiebodzin is a large lake, Nieslysz, surrounded by forests and offering excellent conditions for water sports lovers.

On an isthmus between two lakes, 15 km. northwest, amongst hills and forests, lies the charming miniature town of Lagow (pop. 2,000), a very popular holiday spot. The area is dotted with many picturesque post-glacial lakes nicely placed among wooded hills. The town's skyline is dominated by the towers of a magnificent 14th century castle erected for the order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. The castle houses a comfortable hotel with period furniture, a restaurant and a cafe. Lagow offers not only a beautiful countryside, but also a particularly healthy climate and intense solar radiation. Every year, since 1968, the Lubusz Summer Festival of Polish Films is organized there in June.

ZIELONA GORA

Zielona Gora is a voivodship town and the capital of the Lubusz Country region, with a population of 100,000, situated 15 km. south of the River Odra, among morainic hills. An important center of machine and textile industries, it is also the cultural center of the region with two institutions of higher learning.

Zielona Gora obtained its municipal rights in 1323. The only center of wine production in Poland. Beginning in the 16th century, it experienced fast development of woolen cloth production.

The majority of buildings in the city center were built in the early 20th century, hence their eclectic style. Historical monuments include the Late-Gothic Church (mid-15th century), half-timbered church from the 18th century, remnants of old fortifications. It is worthwhile to pay a visit to the Lubusz Country Museum which has an interesting section devoted to wine making.

Near Zielona Gora, in the village of Ochla, there is an open-air ethnographic museum of traditional country architecture.

ZAGAN

An historical town on River Bobr, Zagan (pop. 25,000) it became the capital of an independent Piast duchy in 1274. Despite the severe damage it suffered during the second World War, the town preserved a number of valuable monuments: an old Augustinian monastery complex, a 14th century church with rich interiors, an 18th century monastery, which is a now a tourist hostel, a few other 15th-18th century churches, an early 18th century palace situated at the edge of a vast park and old town walls.

In Old Zagan there was a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II for RAF pilots, among others. Altogether 200,000 prisoners passed through the camp and tens of thousands perished. In the area of the former camp stands a memorial and a museum has been organized.

WOLSZTYN

In the past a well-known center of woollen cloth production, the town of Wolsztyn (pop. 11,000) is a popular holiday spot situated amidst lakes and on the River Obra. There is a tourist hostel in the Classicist 19th century palace, as well as a recreation and water sports center on Lake Wolsztynskie. Besides the 18th century Baroque church, also worth a visit is the local regional museum arranged in the workshop of an outstanding sculptor, Marcin Rozek.

The village of Obra, with valuable post-Cistercian church and monastery from the 18th century, is 10 km. southwest of Wolsztyn, while 12 km. east, near Poznan road, sits the little town of Rakoniewice, which has partly preserved its historical market square with arcaded houses dating back to the 18th century. There is also an interesting museum of firefighting.

Fans of kayaking are delighted to use the attractive waterway of the River Obra, which interconnects a number of the local lakes.

SIERAKOW

A little town on River Warta, Sierakow is the center of the tourist region called Miedzychodzko-Sierakowskie Lake District, comprised of over 100 picturesque lakes and many wooded hills.

In the town of Sierakow there is a late-Renaissance parish church with remarkable interior decorations which include a painting made in Rubens' work-shop. The stallion stud farm in Sierakow offers attractive holidays to horse-riding enthusiasts.

In the vicinity there are nature reserves, numerous tourist paths for hikers and a well-equipped holiday resort on Lake Jaroszewskie.