Poland Travel Tips

Excursions
Another of Poland’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites is the cathedral-like salt mines at Wieliczka, 13km (8 miles) from Kraków. The subterranean route spans 4.5km (2.8 miles) leading to the oldest part of the mine through 14th- and 15th-century chapels and crystal caves. 70km (43 miles) from Kraków lies the site of the Oswiecim-Birkenau (Auschwitz-Birkenau) concentration camp in which 4 million people were killed by the Nazis. The camp area has been designated as a memorial monument and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Other important nearby locations include the Bledowska Desert, perhaps the only true desert in Europe; Wadowice, the birthplace of Pope John Paul II; and the Icon of the Black Madonna in the huge Jasna Góra monastery complex at Czestochowa, 100km (60 miles) north of Kraków (reputed to have been painted by St Luke). Bieszczadski National Park is part of the Carpathian mountain range and contains the surviving fragments of the Great Bieszczady Forest, home to the brown bear, lynx and wildcat.

Tatry (Tatras Mountains)
Although the 80km of the Tatras in the extreme south are only a small part of the entire range, they attract over 1.5 million visitors every year, with high peaks for climbing, excellent trails, cable cars and superb wintersports facilities. Zakopane, about 112km (70 miles) south of Kraków in the foothills, is a charming resort and wintersports center. There is a fairytale atmosphere here, with its ‘gingerbread’ wooden cottages and many inhabitants who still wear national dress. There are four National Parks in the Tatras: Babiogórski, Gorczanski, Pieninski (also with the beautiful mountain gorge of the River Dunajec) and Tatrzanski. Camping is not allowed in the parks; climbing is, but only with a guide. Organized trips are available to the Koscieliska Valley, through beautiful countryside; the mountain of Kasprowy Wierch by means of a cable car offering spectacular views; and Morskie Oko, the glacial lake which is one of the Tatras’ main attractions.

The West (Silesia and Wielkopolska)
The principal city in the southwest and the capital of Lower Silesia, Wroclaw (Breslau) can claim to be the cradle of the Polish state: it was here that the Polanie tribe built their first fortified settlement (on Ostrow Tumski Island). During the 14th century, the city fell under the rule of Bohemia, followed by the Hapsburgs in the 16th century, and later the Prussians and the German Third Reich. During World War II the town had become a Nazi stronghold, ‘Festung Breslau’. But after the war the German population was forced to leave and large numbers of displaced Poles from Lwów (now L’viv) in the Polish Ukraine were encouraged to move there. The mingling of the inhabitants of these two great cities has greatly shaped Wroclaw’s culture. The modern city is threaded with 90km (56 miles) of canals and tributaries of the River Oder and there are more than 100 bridges. Important sights include the 15th-century Town Hall, now the Historical Museum; the Ethnographic Museum in the Royal Palace; and the Cathedral on Ostrow Tumski (Cathedral Island). The 120m (400ft) by 15m (50ft) tall painting, Panorama of the Battle of Raclawice, remains the city’s best-loved sight; painted in 1894, it celebrates the Russian army’s defeat by Tadeusz Krsciuszko’s people’s militia.

Within easy travel from the city are the spas and health resorts of the Klodzko Valley, the rugged Stolowe Mountains, the ski resorts in the Karkonosze Mountains (part of which is a national park) on the border with the Czech Republic, and the many picturesque medieval (and earlier) towns in the region, such as Boleslawiec, Paczkow and Swidnica.
Wielkopolska is the core of the original Polish nation. Poznan, the sedate regional capital, stands beside the River Warta in the middle of the flatlands north of Silesia. Important sights include the Italianate Town Hall in the Old Market Square, the Gorki Palace, the 12th-century Church of St John and Przemyslaw Castle, once the seat of the Grand Dukes of Poland. The National Museum houses one of the country’s few displays of old master paintings. Watersports can be enjoyed in and on the many lakes in the woods surrounding the city. The Poznan International Trade Fair is held here every year in June.

The North
Formerly known as Danzig, the important Baltic port of Gdansk has had a troubled history. The Order of Teutonic Knights took it from the Poles in the 14th century and later lost it to the Prussians. In the 20th century, it lost its status as a free city when it was attacked and occupied by Nazi Germany in 1939. Its Lenin Shipyards were the birthplace of Solidarnosc (Solidarity) and thus of today’s democratic Poland. Almost the entire city was destroyed in World War II, but was restored to its former glory. The city is now a provincial capital at the mouth of the Wisla (Vistula) and Motlawa rivers and a commercial, industrial and scientific center. The city has the largest Gothic church in Poland – and possibly the largest brick building in the world – the Church of the Virgin Mary (Kosciol Mariacki). The 17th-century Golden Gate and the Court of the Fraternity of St George can be viewed along the spectacular Royal Way, one of Gdansk’s most historic streets. The National Art Museum has an excellent collection of Gothic art and sculpture. The beach resort at nearby Sopot has Europe’s longest pier (500m/1640ft). Within easy reach are the forested Hel Peninsula, the Kashubian Lakeland, and the Teutonic castles at Malbork (Marienburg), Gniew and elsewhere. There is also a narrow-gauge railway that runs along the Vistula Spit offering an attractive way to see part of the Baltic coast.

Spread across the northeast is Mazuria, a huge, thinly populated area of lakes, dense forests and swamps. It is rich in wildlife, including wild bison and Europe’s largest herd of elks, and offers every form of outdoor pursuit – sailing, canoeing, camping – even mushroom-picking. In the heart of the Mazurian forest, at Ketrzyn (Rastenburg), is the site of Hitler’s ‘Eagle’s Nest’, the concrete bunker where members of his High Staff attempted to assassinate him in August 1944. The medieval walled town of Torun, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the banks of the River Wisla (Vistula) south of Gdansk, was the birthplace of the astronomer Copernicus (Mikolaj Kopernik). The most notable historic sites include St Mary’s Church, St John’s Church (where Copernicus was baptized); the striking Gothic Town Hall and the Granaries (which helped to make Torun a prosperous trade town). Important museums are the Town Museum with the wonderful stained glass for which the town was known, the Copernicus Museum, and the Ethnographic Museum. Szczecin, 60km (37 miles) upstream from the mouth of the River Oder, is the largest port on the Baltic Sea. Formerly known as Stettin, it was the capital of Pomerania and its sights include the Pomeranian princes’ 14th-century Palace and the 12th-century Cathedral. The city was largely rebuilt in the last century taking Paris as a model, and has a spacious feel to it with many wide, tree-lined boulevards. It is easy to escape the cities of the north for the beach resorts of the Pomeranian coast, such as Kolobrzeg (large and fashionable) or Leba (a quiet resort with a beach of fabulous white sand), or the beech woods and islands of the Wolin National Park. Slowinski National Park is known for its giant ‘wandering sand dunes’ which can shift several meters each year.

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