Lublin Province
The Lublin Region – a beautiful and exotic region in Europe, right the centre of the continent, and at the same time on its periphery. For centuries this is an area at the cultural crossroads of East and West, combining the traditions of Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Judaism as well much more oriental ones: Greek, Armenian, Tartar…
Representatives of those nations once inhabited the ideal Renaissance city of Zamość, due to its exceptional architectural features called the Padova of the North. They also contributed to the growth of Lublin, the first of the region and still the largest municipality of Eastern Poland, as well as its chief scientific and cultural centre.
The Lublin Province is a region of clean, unpolluted nature, vivid country traditions and crafts, as well as magnificent monuments of the past, not to be found elsewhere.
Zamość – a Renaissance city, called the Padova of North, was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. An ideal city, built according to Renaissance treaties by the Italian architect Bernardo Morando for Chancellor Jan Zamoyski. The team of a great artists and a patron-intellectual created in the second half of the 16th century a work of their live – a unique city, combining beauty with functionality (after the fashion of the human organism).
Every summer it becomes an important centre of culture, organizing large-scale open-air events: the Hetmański Fair, the Zamość Theatre Summer of the Eurofolk International Folklore Festival .
Kazimierz Dolny is one of the oldest towns of the Lublin Region. Kazimierz, for at least centuries a favourite
place of painter plainairs, has become the most popular tourist centre in the Lublin Region. For over 30 years Kazimierz has slso been host to the best-known folklore event in country, the festival of Folk Bands and Singers. Every June both market squares of the town on the Vistula turn into a stage for a review of authentic country vocal and instrumental music accompanied by a unique fair of folk arts and crafts. In July, on the other hand, Kazimierz sees the arrival of cinema lovers for whom for 10 years the Summer Film Festival has been organized. For a whole week under two big tents, and in the evenings also under open skies, in the scenery of the little market, there are the projections of film selected from the catalogues of numerous foreign and national festivals, retrospections of old pictures and presentations of independent artists.
Puławy – colled the Polish Athens, is famous for its Classicist-Romantic palace-and-park complex of the Czartoryski family (18th – 19th century). On a high escarpment over the Vistula, Prince Adam Czartoryski with his wife Izabella née Fleming created an original settlement composed of structures in the spirit of the Antique: the main palace, the little Marynka Pallace, the Most Holy Virgin Mary church, the Sybil Temple. The complex also includes Neo-Gothic and Oriental objects. The Romantic character of the settlement is completed by the English landscape park with a labirynth of grottoes, arcade gateways and terrace stairways. Two hundred years ago, in the Gothic House and the Sybil Temple, Izabella Czartoryska sey up the first Polish museum.
Łódź and Łódź Province
Łódź Province is the region where all the roads from the north to the south and from the east to the west meet. This region is equally close to any nook of our county.
Łódź region can offer various attractions, which will satisfy even the most demanding tourists. Vast scenic parks, nature reserves, enchanting valleys of the Pilica and Warta rivers attract everyone who like resting in bosom of nature. In beautiful surroundings you can admire precious monuments of architecture – churches, castles, bishop’s and magnate’s palaces and various example of wooden architecture. Each of sub regions of Łódź province carefully cultivates the local folklore – so such activities as embroidery, paper-cutting, wickerwork are still vivid. You can admire works of sculptors, blacksmiths, hand weavers and potters. Folk groups are very active such as folk bands and folk artists – singers, folk musicians and storytellers.
Łódź – the capital of the Łódź region is a city that can be either loved or hated. It is a still vivid lesson of the modern history taught by Łódź museums. It is a must to see how the history of old factories intersperses with the contemporary, high technology. Finally, you are bound to take a stroll down Piotrkowska – the main promenade of the city – with magnificent Art Nouveau and eclectic edifices and palaces of the former industrialists. After that take a rest in the shade of the pavement café or sip your beer in one of hundreds of pubs in Łódź.
Malbork (Pomerania Region)
Malbork – the city of Mary, the old capital of the Teutonic Knights, the biggest Gothic fortress in Europe. The castle in Malbork is the world’s biggest castle complex covering an area of 21 hectares and it is believed to be the biggest brick construction to have been built by human hands. In 1997 it was added to UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List. It is famous as a masterpiece of defensive and residential architecture from the late Middle Ages. Since 1961 the fortress on the Nogat has belonged to the Castle Museum. The museum’s tasks include taking care of the monumental substance of the castle, conducting scientific research and conservation work, accumulating and providing access to the collections and conducting educational activities. The Castle Museum has 23 collections, including art, artistic craftwork, architecture and history. Among the most interesting are the collections of amber artefacts, militaria, coins, architectural details and sculptures. Apart from its basic activities the museum is also committed to organizing symposia, meetings of professional groups, banquets workshops and adventure events in the castle. Every year it has organized an open air spectacle entitled “The Siege of Malbork”. Anyone who likes adventures is invited to take a “walk through the Middle ages”.
Tricity (Pomerania Region)
Tricity – Gdańsk, together with the picturesque Sopot and economically dynamic Gdynia forms
a unique conurbation called the Tricity.
Sopot is the most popular polish summer resort, very popular with its wooden pier, The Forest Opera and Monciak.
Sopot pier is the longest wooden pier in Europe (511,5 m long), which divides Sopot beach in half and is the site for healthy walks, concerts and the jetty for passenger ships. Through the binoculars installed at the end of the pier you can enjoy wonderful views of the sea, ship, Westerplatte, Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia. This is also an excellent vantage point for the water sports taking place on the Bay of Gdańsk.
The Forest Opera is the place which has welcomed the world’s greatest artists during the international Sopot Festival. The roofed open-air amphitheatre situated in the uncommonly picturesque forest, is one of the most beautiful and acoustically outstanding stages in Europe. Currently the auditorium can hold some 4.500 people and the exceptionally large stage can hold an orchestra of over 100 musicians.
Monciak (Monte Cassino Heroes Street) is the most famous pedestrian precint in the country. The character of the the streei is created by the Art Nouveau buildings and the inimitable, especially friendly atmosphere generated by people. In the summer you can see street theatres, musicians and portrait- painters here.
Gdynia is young and thriving port (founded in 1926). Once limited to the harbor area, today it is a rich and dynamic
city and trademark of the Polish coast. Gdynia is one of the most beautiful located Polish cities: it is picturesquely spread over seven hills and surrounded by woods, with the sea at its feet, and sandy beaches in the very centre. Only here can one admire such a unique amalgamation of sea, forests and hills. Gdynia and its environs draw visitors with a wide choice of tourist attractions. Due to its unique location, Gdynia offers excellent vantage points, walks stretching along the coastline, as well as marinas and yacht clubs.
Every year The Summer Stage of Witold Gombrowicz Municipal Theatre is organized on the beach Gdynia-Orłowo. The scenery is provided by the beach, the sea and Orłowo pier, illuminated by shafts of lights from the setting sun and the discreet lights of the lampposts. The manual musical accompaniment is provided by the murmur of the sea and the cries of the seagulls. Every year plays by Shakespeare, Gombrowicz, Chekhov and other dramatists are presented here. Cabaret soirees, song recitals and other open-air events also take place on the Summer Stage.
Zakopane and Podhale Region (Małopolska Province)
Zakopane – the winter capital of Poland, is a legend and a mountain resort with a specific Highland atmosphere. There are several dozen ski-hoists on the slopes; a funicular takes skiers to the top of Mt Gubałówka, and a chairlift to the summit of Mt Butorowy Wierch. Excellent skiing conditions are found on the slopes of Mt Kasprowy Wierch with two chairlifts for more experienced skiers. The artificial snow and night lit slopes of Mt Nosal have been attracting more and more skiers in recent years. The Mt Nosal center has a chairlift and several Tatrapoma ski hoists on its lower slopes. The area has a car park, restaurants and a number of outlets with sports gear for hire. Fans of winter sports and those who enjoy active rest and recreation have the local skating rinks, cross-country trails as well as the infrastructure built around the Wielka Krokiew ski jump, and the three smaller ski jumps nearby. Enthusiasts of mountain climbing know that there are many special paths that lead to alpine walls.
Authentic and vibrant Highland folklore is another attractions of Zakopane and of the whole Podhale region. Cultivated by many local families, Highland folk culture and art are the result of Polish, Slovakian, Hungarian and Balkan traditions mixed with elements of Carpathian folklore. Physical strength with a mixture of local astuteness and an attachment to the fatherland are the result of life in difficult conditions, harsh winters, in bygones times. This has changed today and Highland music is now influenced by reggae, jazz and rock. The Tatra Centre of Highland Culture regularly hosts regional groups and bands and give concerts in country-inns, some hotels and holiday homes.
Folk art, as seen in original artistic creations, predominates in galleries and workshops where artists can be seen at work. Visitors can buy wood carvings, souvenirs made of leather or metal, as well as paintings on glass. Painting on glass as a form of artistic expression is very popular. More than a hundred professional artists live in Zakopane and create sculptures, paintings, drawings and tapestries.
Krupówki Street ranks fifth among the most famous streets in Poland. More than one kilometer long, it creates a mall where people of different nationalities meet in search of entertainment. Business people do business, artists paint portraits, and tourists take strolls. Once a year the street is crowded with sheep that depart for their seasonal grazing grounds up in the mountains.
