The history of the castle

the Teutonic era

On September 14th 1309, Grand Master Siegfried von Feuchtwangen moved his office to Malbork. The castle was promoted to the status of being the capital of one of the most powerful states on the southern coast of the Baltic. It soon became apparent that it could not fulfil its new functions in its current form. The nearly forty-year-long expansion transformed a convent house into a strongly fortified High Castle. Surrounded by deep moats and several rings of defensive walls, it housed several representative rooms. Among these are: the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, enlarged by a new chancel, and St. Ann’s chapel beneath it – the burial site for the Grand Masters. The old settlement outside the outer walls was also expanded, becoming a spacious and functional Middle Castle available to knights – guests from Western Europe. Apart from living quarters, the Grand Refectory, Infirmary and Palace of the Grand Masters.

The Teutonic Order

The Order of the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary's Hospital in

Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, was

established during the Third Crusade to the Holy Land in

1190. At first, it operated as a brotherhood as hospitallers

in Acre, then, after receiving its rule in 1198, the

brotherhood transformed in a knightly order.

Knightly orders participating in the Crusades were

gatherings composed of monk-knights. The Teutonic

Order was one of three such gatherings, with the

Templars and the Order of St. John being the other two.

History of the order

In the first half of the 13th century, the current Grand Master – Hermann von Salza – predicting defeat in the Holy Land, decided to move the Order north. After a failed attempt of moving his Teutonic knights to Hungary, the Order received domains in Kulmerland in return for protecting the borders of Polish Masovia against the Prussians.

Today, the Order exists in Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belgium and Holland. The headquarters of the Grand Master, currently dr. Bruno von Platter, is located in Vienna. The order undertakes pastoral, medical and charitable activities, as well as historical research. It also manages the Vienna archive and the treasury-museum.

History of the Museum

Starting with the 1st of January 1961, the newly created

Castle Museum, a central institution answering only to the

Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in Warsaw,

became the host of the monument. It is a multi-

departmental museum of a historical-artistic nature, the

organisation of which was subordinated chiefly to the

matters of reconstruction, conservation and correct

management of the castle. Parallel to these activities, the

Museum also conducts archaeological activities in Lower

Powiśle, as well as researching the history, art and culture

of Royal Prussia, mainly based on collections in its

possession. The accumulation, conservation, scientific

description and making available of both modern and old

art, are the other tasks of the Malbork institution.

At the threshold of its activity, the Museum had at its

disposal merely the relics which had survived the war

and the looting after 1945. Apart from the architectural

details, there were sparse examples of medieval

sculpture and pseudo-gothic furniture from the late 19th

century. Currently, the 40 thousand museum items

include such valuable collections as one of Europe’s

largest collection of medieval architectural elements, a

collection of artistic amber wares – unique worldwide,

an effective set of old weapons and military equipment,

or the extensive coin collection, relating to the historic

mints in Malbork. The result of including the Museum in

the mainstream of European cultural life, were the

International Biennale of Contemporary Bookplates,

organised since the 1960s, which bring the castle into

the orbit of world class high ranking artistic work.

Continued till this day, it has become the largest cyclic

artistic event in Poland and the most serious

manifestation of this graphic art form in the world. What

gives the Museum wide-reaching publicity, are the

numerous exhibitions of amber masterpieces in other

countries. In the last few years, they were exhibited in

the leading museums in Germany, Great Britain, Finland,

Sweden, the USA and Japan.

After the Second World War

Polish civil administration arrived in the city as soon as April

1945, whereas the final organised party of departing

Germans left in 1957. The end of the 1940s is a time where

the remains of the Old Town were systematically

demolished.

During the first post-war years, the ruined stronghold

was left under the supervision of the Museum of the

Polish Army in Warsaw. There were plans to open a

branch of the Warsaw institution there. To this end, the

first strengthening and cleaning work was begun, the

castle grounds were demined and the gates were fixed.

A very important enterprise at the time was the

repairing of the large areas of damaged roofs, which

protected the monument against the damaging effects

of the weather until the planned rebuilding. During the

next decade, the Polish Tourist Society looked after the

castle. The ever-increasing number of tourists caused

the undertaking of further cleaning and renovation

work. It was only makeshift, however, and was carried

out without detailed documentation. By the end of the

1950s, the initiator of actions aimed at protecting and

cleaning the monument, was the Public Committee for

the Rebuilding of Malbork Castle – set up by local

cultural activists. The work gained considerable

momentum, and the Committee also strove to turn the

castle into a separate museum.

TORUŃ

Toruo is one of the most beautiful cities of Poland. Picturesquely located on the both banks of the Vistula River, at a site of intersection of ancient trade routes, it has been propagating its traditional economy and openness to the world for nearly 800 years. The gothic buildings of Toruo's Old Town, which won the designation of World Heritage Site from UNESCO in 1997, present proof of Toruo's centuries-old economic, cultural and intellectual ties with the leading cities of Europe associated in the Hanseatic League.

History

Toruo started mainly thanks to the Teutonic Order (you know... those white knights with the black crosses on their fronts!). They built a castle here in the mid-13th century as a base for the conquest of Prussia. Soon the town became commercially important as part of the Hanseatic League. Today, you can still see beautifully preserved public and private buildings from the 14th and 15th centuries

(including Copernicus’ Birthplace) and also sample Toruo’s famous gingerbread. You can even still visit the Teutonic Castle (albeit the ruins).

Only in Toruń - the symbols of the town

The most important characteristics of Toruo are:

Nicholaus Copernicus - a native of Toruo, the originator of an astronomical revolution based on the heliocentric theory.

We can see The Statue of Nicholas Copernicus and Copernicus House

The Toruń gingerbread - the most famous product of Toruo that has been made for centuries and one of the most popular Polish food products.

The Legend about the Catherine: Torun is widely known of it's best ginger bread.But even the oldest men in Torun doesn't remember who first started to mix rye flour and honey with spices What we know for sure, is that in town lived lots of masters of baking ginger bread. But there was one, t hat did it especial good. He was the one that baked best ginger bread with various shapes and additionally was very modest and good man. He had one, beautiful daughter - Catherine which he loved very much. She was helping him with work in bakery. One day Catherine's father felt ill. From that time, nobody was baking and poverty started to bother them. Then, the father asked his daughter to try to bake ginger bread on her own. Catherine agreed and started to prepare everything what is needed for baking. She only couldn't find a pan, made by her father. Because sh e wasn't able to make new ones, she take a tin cup and started to make circles from paste and put them into an oven. When they were ready, she put them out. But they weren't the same as baked by her father, they sticked together. Catherine was sad, thinking that nobody would buy such strange ginger bread. Unnecessary. They tasted even better than once beaked by her father, and people liked their shape, so the next day she sold them all. After this, people were wondering what was the secret of such good ginger bread. Old huckstress said that except all what is needed to bake ginger bread, Catherine added her hart and love for her ill father. People liked that and from now on, started to name six circles sticked together Catherines. And so is nowadays, walking around Old City you can taste ginger bread named Catherines.

The Vistula panorama of Toruń - the charm and harmony when viewing Toruo from the Vistula river make this panorama one of Toruo symbols and distinctive features. Since 2007, the Vistula panorama of Torun is on the list of 7 Wonders of Polish.

Nicolaus Copernicus University - the largest and most prestigious school of higher education in Northern Poland. Its present activity is a continuation of Copernican scientific traditions.

The Gothic of Toruń - Toruo is the second Polish city, after Cracow, with the greatest number of retained, authentic historic monuments in the Gothic style and the best retained complex of Gothic residential architecture in Northern Europe. The spatial layout of the Old City section, including its network of streets, is in a state that is very

similar to the original one, i.e. medieval. The most important Gothic monuments in Toruo (the Town Hall and the churches) represent masterpieces of the human creative genius.

Town Hall - belongs to the most spectacular achievements of medieval urban architecture in

Europe.

Churches on the Old Town , for example:

Saint Johns' Cathedral - Toruo cathedral of saint John the Baptiser and saint John the Evangelist is the oldest gothic church in the Land of Chełmno, the beginnings of which are connected with the moment of granting Toruo the City Rights in 1233.

The Leaning Tower - It is a medieval city tower, which owes its name to its substantial vertical deviation (1.40 m).

Planetarium and Orbitarium in Toruo - one of the biggest tourist attractions in Toruo is Planetarium, named after Wł. Dziewulski. It is the most technically advanced planetarium in Poland. Due to its characteristic architectural design - the semicircular dome and rotunda shape, the building is easily recognisable among other structures of Toruo Old Town.

Białowieża National Park It is part of the primeval forest called

Puszcza Białowieska, one of the biggest

forest complexes in Central Europe and the

only lowland natural forest in Europe.

Although the Białowieża National Park is

one of the most previous ones in the world-

wide scale, it is the smallest one in Poland

until the present day. It is part of the

primeval forest called Puszcza Białowieska,

one of the biggest forest complexes in

Central Europe and the only lowland natural

forest in Europe.

Those forests have been a mainstay of the

wild nature for many years. That was where

the biggest mammals in Europe found their

place – namely the aurochs (bisons). The

nature has been preserved here in such an

unpolluted form mainly because the areas

used to be private hunting areas of kings of

Poland. The first national park in Poland was

established precisely there in 1921 – today it

is included in the World Humanity Heritage

as the Biosphere Reservation of the United

Nations.

The heart of the forest is located in the

fragment adjacent to the border with Belarus

and it is over 500 years old. There was

founded the Strict Reservation of the

Białowieża National Park. The forest is one

of the most precious natural places in the

world. There have never been carried out an

exploitation forest management or any cut-

outs there. Almost the whole area of the park

is covered by a strict protection. In order to

protect the area of the reservation in the best

way, the tourist traffic there is carried out

only along separated paths and only in

groups with a guide.

Various organizations have been proposing

the necessity to widen the area of the park for

many years, and it is predicted that its area

will widen to cover the whole forest in a few

years.

The area of the park (reservation) is actually

flat and when we pass the gate separating it

from the Palace Park, we will be surrounded

with a dense and intense greenery. There is a

wall of old pines, oaks, ashes, hornbeams,

lime-trees, and elms, and a dense base

underneath along both sides of the path. The

Białowieża National Park is inhabited by 50

species of mammals (including wild

aurochs), ca. 200 species of birds, and 1000

species of insects. There were counted

almost a thousand types of plants and the

same number of fungi.

The entire area of eastern Europe was

originally covered by virgin forests similar to

that of the Puszcza Białowieska. Travel by

people was limited to river routes until about

the 14th century; roads and bridges appeared

much later. Limited hunting rights were

granted throughout the forest in the 14th

century. In the 15th century the forest

became a property of King Władysław II

Jagiełło who used the forest as a food reserve

for his army marching towards the Battle of

Grunwald . A wooden manor in Białowieża

became his refuge during a plague pandemic

in 1426. The first recorded piece of

legislation on the protection of the forest

dates to 1538, when a document issued by

King Sigismund I the Old instituted the death

penalty for poaching a wisent (European

bison). King Sigismund also built a new

wooden hunting manor in Białowieża, which

became the namesake for the whole forest.

The forest was declared a hunting reserve in

1541 for the protection of wisent. In 1557,

the forest charter was issued, under which a

special board was established which

examined forest usage. In 1639 King

Władysław IV Waza issued the "Białowieża

royal forest decree. The document freed all

peasants living in the forest in exchange for

their service as osocznicy , or royal foresters.

They were also freed of taxes in exchange

for taking care of the forest. The forest was

divided onto 12 triangular areas with a centre

in Białowieża.

Until the reign of Jan Kazimierz the forest

was mostly unpopulated. However, in the

late 17th century several small villages were

established for development of local iron ore

deposits and tar production. The villages

were populated with settlers from Masovia

and Podlaskie and many of them still exist.

In 1923 it was discovered that only 54 wisent

survived the war in various zoos all around

the world – none of them in Poland. In 1929

a small herd of four wisent was bought by

the Polish state from various zoos and from

the Western Caucasus (where the wisent was

to become extinct just several years

afterwards – these animals were of the

slightly different Caucasian subspecies).

Most of the forest was declared a national

park in 1932.

The Reserve was inscribed on the World

Heritage List in 1992 and internationally

recognised as a Biosphere Reserve under

UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere

Programme in 1993 (the Polish part had been

so designated in 1976).

Warsaw Rising Museum

Opened in 2004, on the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of

the Warsaw Uprising, the museum pays tribute to all those

who fought and died for their country’s independence.

Housed in a former tramway power station, the modern

museum guides visitors through interactive displays, video

footage and photographs.

University of Warsaw Library

The facade of the building, which resembles a line of open books, is one of the most interesting examples of contemporary architecture in Warsaw. The roof garden is open to the public.

National Museum

The museum contains a rich collection of exhibits from

antiquity to modern times. The building originates from the

inter-war period. During the World War II it secretly stored

some of the Royal Castle treasures. It organizes numerous

temporary exhibitions presenting art from all over the world.

The Vistula-side building wing is the Museum of the Polish

Army presenting the history of Polish military featuring an

interesting outdoor exhibition.

Old Town

Walking the streets of the Old Town and New Town allows you

to rest from the bustle of central city life. Atmospheric alleys,

squares, and cosy cafés create a unique sense of history, and

in the summer, the Old and New Town Squares become stages

for musical and theatrical performances and open-air galleries.

Warsaw Zoological Garden

Established in 1928, the garden is now inhabited by several

thousand animals, yet the real personalities of the Warsaw

Zoo are the brown bears whose area is located outside the

garden, near Solidarności Avenue, and can be viewed by

passers-by.

Praga District

Right-bank Warsaw has recently gained the status of an

artistic district where the post industrial buildings and

townhouses have been turned into art studios, theatres or

fashionable clubs. Ząbkowska Street or 11 Listopada are a

perfect illustration of the revival going on in the only

district of Warsaw that remained fairly intact after the war.

History of the City

In Warsaw today, archaeological traces of several early

Middle Age castles are found on the Vistula River, the

oldest of which - originating in the 10th and 11th centuries

– were situated on what is known today as the area of

Bródno. Slightly less aged is Jazdów, known as the home of

the Prince's Castle. The city‘s history itself, however, is

believed to have begun with the creation and development

of Old Warsaw (Stara Warszawa), which was set on what is

today known as the Old Town (Stare Miasto). Mazovian

Prince Bolesław II brought prosperous traders to the Old

Town, and his headquarters were based there, as well.

Places related to Fryderyk Chopin

Fryderyk Chopin is undoubtedly the best known resident of Warsaw. He spent the first 20 years of his life in the city. Here he studied music, learned the manners of society and gave his first concerts. Walking the streets of Warsaw you will pass buildings where he stayed or which he visited. There are many places which are a homage paid to his talent and Warsaw boasts the world’s largest Chopin memorabilia collection.

Wilanów Park-Palace Complex

The summer residence of King Jan III Sobieski and then Augustus II as well as subsequent aristocratic families. It is an excellent representation of European Baroque at its height and a homage to the former greatness of the Republic. The palace is surrounded by a grandiose, two level Baroque Italian garden and a romantic park in English style. Wilanów is the venue of important cultural events and concerts. The former stables house the Poster Museum.

Palace of Culture and Science

Completed in 1955 as a ‘gift from the Soviet people’, the building is the embodiment of Socialist Realist architecture. It is still the tallest building in Poland and fulfils the role of a cultural centre accommodating theatres, museums, a cinema and a concert hall. The highest viewing platform in Warsaw, on the 30th foor, offers an excellent panoramic view of the city.

Łazienki Królewskie Park-Palace Complex

The park and palace complex at Łazienki are one of the most beautiful of this type in Europe. Established in the 17th century, the landscape gardens feature many interesting architectural monuments, the most important of which include the Palace on the Island built for King Stanislaw August Poniatowski – Poland’s last monarch. It served as his summer residence and was famous for the Thursday dinners.

Zamość- a Renaissance ideal town,

proof of the genius of Bernardo Morando and the

Great Crown Hetman Jan Zamoyski - is a magic

place where the beauty of architecture and

contemporary cultural life create a unique

atmosphere.

Summer pavement cafes, autumn colours of fallen

leaves, spring greenery and winter severity

effectively emphasise the Renaissance perfection

of Old Town houses and inner yards where

residents and visitors can listen to jazz or classical

music concerts, see art exhibitions or participate in

theatrical happenings.

The Great Market Square with its monumental

town hall and beautiful Armenian houses as well

as Wodny and Solny

Markets together with the preserved remains of

the old, invincible Zamość Fortress constitute a

unique urban complex inscribed on the UNESCO

World Cultural Heritage List. Artistic events

which have been organised in Zamość enhance the

uniqueness of these places.

Showplace:

THE TOWN HALL

It was built at the turn of the 16th and 17th

centuries according to Bernardo Morando's

design. In 1639 - 1651 the town hall was

thoroughly remodelled by Jan Jaroszewicz and

Jan Wolff. The edifice was enlarged and made

higher by adding three storeys with a high attic.

The facades have Mannerist proportions, regular

divisions and rich architectural décor. In the

18thcentury a guardroom and a fan-shaped

double stairway supported by arcades were built

in front of the town hall. In 1770 the town hall

tower was topped with a slender dome with a

lantern.

THE GREAT MARKET SQUARE The Great Market Square belongs to the most

beautiful 16th century squares in Europe. In every

frontage of the square there is a complex of

arcaded houses that used to belong to Zamość

merchants. The square measures exactly 100

meters in both width and length. It is here that the

two main axes of the old town cross.

THE CATHEDRAL BELL TOWER It was built in the Baroque style in the second half

of the 18th century according to Jerzy de Kawe's

design. In the passageway there are plaques

commemorating the martyrdom of the inhabitants of

Zamość Region (children, partisans and Siberian

deportees) during World War II. The bell tower

houses three historic bells. The biggest and the

oldest one is known as "Jan" and was named after its

benefactor Jan Zamoyski Sobiepan. The second one

called "Tomasz" was founded by Tomasz Józef

Zamoyski in 1721 and the third bell called

"Wawrzyniec" was founded by Wawrzyniec

Sikorski in 1715.

THE SYNAGOGUE

It is one of the most beautiful Jewish temples built

in Poland in the Renaissance. It was erected about

1610 in the Renaissance style and its main part is a

large prayer hall (11.5 m x 12.2 m). A lofty dome

with moulded ribs constitutes the vault. In the

17th century two buildings for women were added.

The synagogue sustained severe damage during

World War II: the northern part of the building for

women was damaged and the southern building

destroyed completely. All the liturgical accessories

were removed from the synagogue. After the end of

the war the building underwent a thorough

renovation and the southern building for women was

rebuilt. In the 1970s the attics were reconstructed,

stucco work was restored and polychrome

decorations were uncovered.

WALERIAN ŁUKASIŃSKI'S PRISON CELL When the New Lvov Gate was built in 1821 the Old

Lvov Gate was turned into casemates. Above the

portal traces of an inscription „PRISON" are still

visible; the inscription dates back to the times of the

Congress Kingdom of Poland. Next to the exit there

is a plaque with a low-relief of Walerian

Łukasiński's (1786 -1868) bust. Łukasiński was a

patriotic activist and the founder of National

Masonry and Patriotic Society); he was a prisoner

in Zamość fortress from 1824 - 1825. The plaque

features Łukasiński as a prisoner chained to a heavy

gun with an inscription „There is no force that could

defeat a true love for the country"

BASTION NO. 7 A military structure located at the bend of the town's

fortifications. Its aim was to reinforce the already

existing defensive structures. It has a shape of a

pentagon surrounded with a wall embankment. The

front parts of the bastions are 71 and 77 m long. In

the first half of the 19thcentury casemates were built.

Inside there are shooting galleries. The bastion was

destroyed in 1866 when the fortress was being

closed down. In 1977-1984 it was reconstructed in

its original shape. The tip of the bastion used to be

decorated with Tomasz Zamoyski's cartouche,

which is now placed on town hall stairs.

THE ARSENAL Originally a one-storey building, erected by

Bernardo Morando in the 1580s and situated north

of the Zamoyski Palace it was one of the first public

buildings in the town. External stairway placed over

the portal leads to a low ground floor of this 63-

meter long building. At present it houses a military

museum. On the ground floor there is a permanent

exhibition of 17th century arms: cold steel, firearms

and protective weaponry of cannons and an

exhibition presenting the history of Zamość fortress

including a model of the town.

THE ZAMOYSKI PALACE The former residence of the Zamoyski family

erected by Jan Zamoyski in 1579-1586 according to

Bernardo Morando's design is situated at the western

end of the main axis of the town and used to be

separated from the town with its own fortifications.

It was a 60-meter long one-storey "front' building

which had monumental fan-shaped stairs leading to

the first floor. The palace also had a four-sided

tower ‘the belvedere' with an observation terrace. In

the 18th century the palace was rebuilt in the

Baroque style. The tower was made lower, its attic

was demolished and it was topped with a triangular

gable with sculptures on the corners. The palace

building was covered with mansard roofs and was

joined to the back outbuildings with one-storey

galleries. In 1809 the palace ceased to be the seat of

Zamość entailers and in 1821 both the palace and

the town were sold to the State Treasury. The former

rich décor was destroyed while the building was

being turned into an army hospital after 1831. In

1918, when Poland became independent, the palace

was taken over by the town court.

KRAKÓW

History of Kraków

Archaeological excavations prove that

Wawel Hill was inhabited as early as the

Old Stone Age. The Mounds of Krakus and

Wanda, the legendary rulers of the

settlement inhabited at their time by the

Slavic tribes of Vistulans, probably come

from the 7th

century.

The first documented reference to Kraków

can be found in records from 965 of the

Cordova merchant Abraham ben Jacob. He

mentions a rich burg city situated at the

crossing of trade routes and surrounded by

woods. In the pre-Piast period two dates

related to the history of the City appear.

Between 876 and 879 the Great Moravian

Prince Svatopluk captured the future

Lesser Poland, and after 955 Prince

Boleslav the Cruel, brother of St.

Wenceslas, introduced the Czech rule.

In the 10th

century Kraków was

incorporated to the Polish state, although it

is difficult to verify whether it took place

during the reign of Mieszko I in 990 or

Boleslav the Brave in 999.

Colours and symbols

The coat of arms of the Royal Capital City

of Kraków depicts a red brick wall on a

blue field with three towers crowned with

crenellation with three battlements each,

black embrasures and windows, the middle

of which is higher and broader. The wall

features a gate with open golden doors with

lily-shaped fittings and raised golden

harrow. The gate's arch bearss a crowned

White Eagle with a gold beak and claws.

The coat of arms shield has the

Renaissance shape traditional for Kraków

topped with a crown with lily-shaped

fleurons closed with an arch with a ball and

a cross at the top.

The coat of arms stamp of the Royal

Capital City of Kraków is round, and the

stamp field features the coat of arms, while

the rim has the following inscription:

STOŁECZNE KRÓLEWSKIE MIASTO

KRAKÓW (ROYAL CAPITAL CITY OF

KRAKÓW).

We invest in culture

Kraków's attractiveness stems not only

from its places but also the people who

build the City's culture, trying to take into

account the needs of a diverse group of

inhabitants and guests. It is also home to

many festivals, many of which have rich

traditions and regular audiences. Every

year new projects emerge, including ones

initiated by Mayor Jacek Majchrowski:

Misteria Paschalia, Sacrum-Profanum,

Museum Night, The Festival of Polish

Music presenting the works of Polish

music in world's greatest performances,

and the Nations' Drama Festival.

Tourist router

Wawel Royal Castle : Wawel is a

limestone hill in the centre of Kraków upon

the Vistula River with a complex of

impressive historical monuments of unique

historical and artistic values. This

extraordinary sanctuary determines the

Poles’ identity, is their national and

cultural symbol. Wawel used to be the seat

of Polish rulers, their necropolis and place

where the Polish history took shape.

St. Mary's Tower also known as the

Straży (Guard), Budzielna (Waking),

Alarmowa (Alarm) and Hejnalica (Heynal)

Tower – is the only tower in the world

from which a trumpeter has played the

Heynal (bugle call) to the four quarters of

the globe every hour throughout the whole

day for over six hundred years. In order to

see and hear these marvels one has to

climb 239 steps to the height of 54 metres.

St. Mary’s trumpeter needs two and a half

minutes. We do not have to hurry that

much. What is most important is that up

there we are expected by the always cordial

heynal guards, the last magicians of

Kraków.

Jewish Kazimierz : Kraków’s Kazimierz

is a special place, because it has been

shaped by the close neighbourhood of

Christianity and Judaism lasting for several

centuries. The Jews came to Kazimierz in

the 2nd

half of the 14th

century, and till the

first years of the 19th

century they had lived

there in the separate “Jewish town” whose

limits largely followed today’s Miodowa,

Św. Wawrzyńca, Wąska, Józefa and

Bożego Ciała Streets. It was an

autonomous enclave governed by rabbis

and elected elders that recognised only the

king’s supremacy held on his behalf by the

Kraków voivode.

Streets of the Old Town : In the 14th

century Kraków had 42 named streets. The

earliest references in documents are about

Grodzka, Wiślna, Floriańska, Bracka and

Sławkowska. By the beginning of the 19th

century the names of the streets had been

spontaneously devised by the city

inhabitants usually on the basis of

topography and tradition.

Kalwaria

Zebrzydowska

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is an exceptional cultural monument in which the natural landscape was used as the setting for a symbolic representation in the form of chapels and avenues of the events of the Passion of Christ. The result is a cultural landscape of great beauty and spiritual quality in which natural and man-made elements combine in a harmonious manner. The Counter Reformation in the late 16th century led to a flowering in the creation of Calvaries in Europe. Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is an outstanding example of this type of large-scale landscape design, which incorporates natural beauty with spiritual objectives and the principles of Baroque park design.

Work on building the Calvary was begun in 1600 by Mikolaj Zebrzydowski, the Voyevode of Cracow, who built the Chapel of the Crucifixion on the slopes of Żar Mountain. Together with a small hermitage, this was used by him for personal meditation The layout was the work of the distinguished mathematician, astronomer, and surveyor Feliks Żebrowski. He based it on the landscape of Jerusalem at the time of Christ, using a system of measurement that he developed to enable the urban landscape of Jerusalem to be reproduced symbolically on the natural landscape. This makes use of the natural topography, the Lackarańska Mountain representing the Mount of Olives and the Żar Mountain Golgotha, for

example

At the beginning of the 18th century the Czartoryski family, the owners of the park, built a palatial residence near the pilgrim church, but

this was largely destroyed in the 19th century.

At the end of World War II the plot on which the palace had stood, together with some surviving outbuildings, passed into the ownership of the state, which used it for the construction of a theological college.

Historical archives show that Kalwaria Zebrzydowska had many distinguished royal and noble visitors as well as countless pious pilgrims.

Many were attracted by religious performances and ritual that were staged there. As early as 1613 Mikolaj Zebrzydowski had received permission to found a religious fraternity to organize religious ceremonies of this kind. Local people joined the Bernardine monks at Easter to take part in dramatic enactments of Christ's Passion. These religious performances were discouraged during the Austrian occupation of this region, but they were revived after 1947. In addition to the Passion procession at Easter, there is a similar event at the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in August.

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is located in the Lesser Poland Voivodship (Malopolska), 40 km to the south-west of Krakow. It developed alongside the River Cedron, between two majestic mountains – Lanckoronska (555 m above sea level) and Zar (527 m). This small town has a population of around 4,000 people.

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is beautiful place where you can admire amazing nature and architecture in Poland. This place is really worth to see.

Memorial and Museum

AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU

The unloading ramp and the main gate called the "Gate of Death. (Archiwum Państwowego Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau)

All over the world, Auschwitz has become a symbol of

terror, genocide, and the Holocaust. It was established

by Germans in 1940, in the suburbs of Oswiecim, a

Polish city that was annexed to the Third Reich by the

Nazis. Its name was changed to Auschwitz, which also

became the name of Konzentrationslager Auschwitz.

The direct reason for the establishment of the camp was

the fact that mass arrests of Poles were increasing

beyond the capacity of existing "local" prisons. Initially,

Auschwitz was to be one more concentration camp of

the type that the Nazis had been setting up since the

early 1930s. It functioned in this role throughout its

existence, even when, beginning in 1942, it also became

the largest of the death camps.

One of the babies that was among the liberated prisoners of KL

Auschwitz. (Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Archives)

A 10 year old girl from Hungary liberated in Birkenau by the Red

Army on January 27, 1945. (Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

Archives)

The concealment of the crime and removal

of evidence by the perpetrators

Despite the fact that the tens of thousands of prisoners

who survived Auschwitz were witnesses to the crimes

committed there; despite the fact that they left behind

thousands of depositions, accounts, and memoirs;

despite the fact that considerable quantities of

documents, photographs, and material objects remain

from the camp—despite all of this, there are people and

organizations who deny that hundreds of thousands of

people were murdered in this camp, that gas chambers

operated there, or that the crematoria could burn

several thousand corpses per day. In other words, they

deny that Auschwitz was the scene of genocide.

Bodies found by the Soviet soldiers while liberating the camp in January 1945. (Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Archives)

Medical experiments in Auschwitz

The participation of numerous German physicians in

criminal medical experiments on concentration camp

prisoners was a particularly drastic instance of the

trampling of medical ethics. The initiators and facilitators

of these experiments were Reichsführer SS Heinrich

Himmler, together with SS-Obergruppenführer Ernst

Grawitz, the chief physician of the SS and police, and SS-

Standartenführer Wolfram Sievers, the secretary general

of the Ahnenerbe (Ancestral Heritage) Association and

director of the Waffen SS Military-Scientific Research

Institute.

A photo taken by the members of Soviet medical team documenting criminal experiments performed on prisoners in the camp.

(Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Archives)

During the Second World War, Nazi doctors pandered to the expectations of the Third Reich leadership by supporting the regime’s demographic policies. They initiated wide-ranging research on methods of mass sterilization that would be applied to peoples regarded as belonging to a lower category.

A hand of a prisoner with signs of an experiment made by Dr Emil Kaschub. He used various toxic substances to inject and see what it

causes. The aim of his "research" was to find methods of faking injuries among German soldiers. (Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

Archives)

Experiments were planned at the highest levels to meet the

needs of the army (some were intended to improve the state

of soldiers’ health) or postwar plans (including population

policy), or to reinforce the bases of racial ideology (including

advancing views as to the superiority of the “Nordic race”).

Aside from experiments planned at the highest levels, many

Nazi doctors experimented on prisoners on behalf of German

pharmaceutical companies or medical institutes. Others did so

in pursuit of their personal interests, or to advance their

academic careers.

Children, victims of Dr Josef Mengele's experiments. Picture taken in camp photo studio. (Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Archives)

The number of victims

Auschwitz Concentration Camp was set up for Poles, and

Poles were the first political prisoners there. The number

of prisoners grew steadily as a result of the constant

arrival of new transports. In 1940, nearly 8 thousand

people were registered in the camp. In 1941, over 26

thousand people were registered in Auschwitz (about 15

thousand Poles, 10 thousand Soviet POWs, and more

than 1 thousand Jews).

As a result of the inclusion of Auschwitz in the process of the mass extermination of the Jews, the number of deportees began to soar. About 197 thousand Jews were deported there in 1942, about 270 thousand the following year, and over 600 thousand in 1944, for a total of almost 1.1 million. Among them, about 200 thousand people were selected as capable of labor and registered as prisoners in the camp.

Liberation

While they were leading the Auschwitz prisoners onto

the evacuation marches and afterwards in January 1945,

the SS set about their final steps to remove the evidence

of the crimes they had committed in the camp. They

made bonfires of documents on the camp streets. They

blew up crematoria II and III, which had already been

partially dismantled, on January 20, and crematorium V,

still in operational condition, on January 26. On January

23, they set fire to “Kanada II,” the complex of storage

barracks holding property plundered from the victims of

extermination.

CENTENNIAL HALL

Centennial Hall is a unique venue on the map

of Poland, where history harmoniously

interacts with modernity. It was designed by

Max Berg, an outstanding city architect, and

recognized as one of the top masterpieces of

the 20th century architecture. The designer

assumed that the Hall was to serve citizens of

Wrocław and visitors to Lower Silesia's capital

city, and it continues to perform this function

successfully. Multi-purpose space, unusual

structure, unique and spacious location

represent just a few of its strengths.

Centennial Hall complex currently is one of the

most desired venues among domestic and

foreign organizers of major exhibitions,

conferences, cultural, sport and congress

events.

HALL’S FUNCTIONS

The Hall's inscription on UNESCO World

Heritage List in 2006 emphasized the rank of

this facility. Undoubtedly it is one of the most

characteristic flagships of Wrocław in the

international scale, and exceptionally magic

site in the city where the charts of history

record its multi-generational experience.

Local, domestic and international sporting

events are held in the Centennial Hall. The

main deck's space may be arranged to serve as

a court for team games (volleyball, basketball

and handball), as well as a tennis court or

dance floor for dance competitions.

PERGOLA

Pergola – a 640 meter-long structure built in

1913 in the shape of a semi-ellipse as an

integral part of the Centennial Hall's Exhibition

Grounds. It consists of 750 columns covered

with open lattice trusses and overgrown with

luxuriant vines. Pergola surrounds Wrocław

Multimedia Fountain. Similarly to Szczytnicki

Park, it is a favorite walking site for Wrocław

residents and often provides setting to photo

sessions, such as wedding ones.

FOUNTAIN

The largest fountain in Poland and one of the

largest in Europe. Its grand opening was held

on 4 June 2009 and accompanied the

twentieth anniversary of the first free election

in the post-war Poland. It is situated in the

picturesque landscape of Szczytnicki Park, next

to the Centennial Hall complex and Wrocław

Congress Center, and attracts interest of

domestic and foreign tourists. It covers the

surface of nearly 1 hectare, and 800 lights and

300 water jets have been arranged in its bed.

Water show is synchronized with music, which

creates amazing artistic impression. During

winter, the fountain's basin is used as an ice-

rink covering approximately 230m2.

DISCOVERY CENTER

Centennial Hall's specifically adapted interiors

compose an educational, discovery and

recreational path, which consists of four main

facilities (apart from Visitor's Center/Tourist

Information), Oval Room, Historical and

Discovery Room, and Gallery. All the path's

elements create a consistent complex which

comprehensively presents architectonic and

historical features of the Centennial Hall,

Wrocław, region and other sites inscribed on

UNESCO List. The space is furnished with a

wide range of multimedia equipment and it

inspires and encourages visitors to obtain

better understanding of this facility's

phenomenon.

SZCZYTNICKI PARK

One of the oldest municipal parks in Europe. It

holds a historical complex of Centennial Hall,

historical Pergola, Wrocław Multimedia

Fountain, Regional Center for Business

Tourism as well as Japanese Garden, St. John

Nepomucen's Church, Four-Dome Pavilion and

Planetarium. 100 hectare space holds about

320 tree and shrub species, which secure the

Park's 4th rank in Europe as regards its natural

values. It is a favorite recreational site of

Wrocław residents.

Churches of Peace in Jawor and Świdnica (the 17th

century) in Silesia are the largest timber-framed

religious buildings in Europe. The Thirty Years’ War

(1618-1648) was concluded with the failure of

Protestants in Silesia, who were deprived of all

churches. Under the Peace of Westphalia they were

allowed to build three churches, of which the two

in Jawor and Świdnica survived until today. The

buildings made of wood and clay, without towers,

surprise with their splendid interiors.

The attention is drawn to richly decorated emporas

– boxes for Protestant gentry. The church in

Świdnica can hold 7.5 thousand people, and in

Jawor – 6 thousand. The church in Glogów burned

in 1758, the other two in Jawor and Swidnica were

restored by Polish-German cooperation.

The architect responsible for all three was Albrecht

von Sabisch. The churches had to be big enough to

be a true place of refuge for the Protestant

population. He designed wooden buildings that had

never been seen before in complexity and size.

CHURCH IN JAWOR :

CHURCH IN SWIDNICA :

Churches of Peace belongs to UNESCO World

Heritage.

As I wrote, Churches are placed in Jawor and

Swidnica in Silesia

In conclusion I’d like to add that these churches are

really worth to see. They are beautiful, full of

splendor and kind of magical atmosphere.

The Muskau Park The Muskau Park is the

largest and one of the most

famous English gardens of

Germany and Poland.

Situated in the historic Upper

Lusatia region, it covers 3.5

square kilometers of land in

Poland and 2.1 km2 in

Germany.

A fortress on the Neisse river at

Muskau was first mentioned as

early as in the 13th under the rule of

Margrave Henry III of Meissen.

The founder of the adjacent park

was Prince Hermann von Pückler-

Muskau (1785-1871), the author of

the influential Hints on Landscape

Gardening and owner of the state

country of Muskau since 1811.

After prolonged studies in

England, in 1815 during the time

when the northeastern part of

Upper Lusatia fell to Prussia, he

laid out the Park. As time went by,

he established an international

school of landscape management

in Bad Muskau and outlined the

construction of an extensive

landscape park which would

envelop the town "in a way not

done before on such a grand

scale".

The works involved remodelling

the Baroque "Old Castle" -

actually a former castle gate - and

the construction of a Gothic

chapel, an English cottage, several

bridges, and an orangery

designed by Friedrich Ludwig

Persius. Pückler reconstructed the

medieval fortress as the "New

Castle", the compositional centre

of the park, with a network of

paths radiating from it and a

pleasure ground influenced by

the ideas of Humphry Repton,

whose son John Adey worked

at Muskau from 1822 on. The

extensions went on until 1845,

when Pückler due to his

enormous debts was

constrained to sell the

patrimony. The next year it

was acquired by Prince

Frederick of the Netherlands,

who employed Eduard

Petzold, Pückler's disciple and

a well-known landscape

gardener, to complete his

design. Upon his death in

1881, he was followed by his

daughter Princess Marie, who

sold the estates to the Arnim

noble family.

During the Battle of Berlin,

both castles were levelled and

all four bridges across the

Neisse were razed. The

Arnims were dispossessed by

the Soviet Military

Administration in Germany

and since the implementation

of the Oder-Neisse line in

1945, the park has been

divided by the state border

between Poland and Germany,

with two thirds of it on the

Polish side. Not before the

1960s the Communist

authorities slowly accepted the

legacy of the "Junker" Prince

Pückler. The Old Castle was

rebuilt by the East German

administration in 1965-72,

while the New Castle and the

bridges are still being restored.

YOU CANNOT MISS THESE PLACES COME AND SEE THEM

YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT !