Łańcut Castle

The Castle in Lancut is one of the most beautiful aristocratic residences in Poland. It is famous for its exquisite residential interiors and extremely interesting collection of horse-drawn vehicles. The palace complex is surrounded by an old, picturesque English-style park with numerous pavilions and outbuildings, once closely associated with the daily life of the Łańcut residence. The greatest attraction in the park is the Orchid House, where visitors can admire a wonderful collection of orchids which used to be the highlight of the place.

RR: 10 Countries RR (20)
Date: Jan 8

Warsaw

Warsaw, capital of Poland, has one of Europe's highest concentrations of skyscrapers, and the Varso Tower is the tallest building in the European Union.

Distance: 1,147 km

Travel time: 15 days

Kadzidłowo Wild Animal Park

The Kadzidłowo Wild Animal Park is a zoo located in Kadzidłowo in the Pisz Forest , within the Masurian Landscape Park. The park covers approximately 100 hectares and is home to over 400 animals representing over 100 species. The park's primary goal is to provide opportunities to learn about native species. Its location in forest meadows allows the animals to live in conditions close to their natural habitats .In addition to educational and tourist activities, an important mission of the Wild Animal Park is to protect endangered species and reintroduce them to Polish nature.

Tag: Album tag
Date: August 22

Kraków

Kraków’s Rynek Główny (Central Square) is the nerve centre of the city’s medieval Old Town. Forever a hive of activity, this 40,000 square foot medley of café’s, museums, clubs, pubs, music bars, souvenir shops, historical landmarks, hotels and hostels, is punctuated with some of the most magnificent middle age architecture the city has to offer.

Unesco: Historic Centre of Kraków
Many thanks Gian Luca and Rafaella!
Date: August 11

Lady with an Ermine

The Lady with an Ermine is a portrait painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. Dated to c. 1489–1491, the work is painted in oils on a panel of walnut wood. It is now housed at the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków, and is one of Poland's national treasures.

Many thanks Gian Luca and Rafaella!
Date: August 11

The Royal Castle

The Royal Castle in Warsaw is a state museum and a national historical monument, which formerly served as the official royal residence of several Polish monarchs. Situated in the Castle Square, at the entrance to the Old Town, the Royal Castle holds a significant collection of Polish and European art. The imposing façade, built of brick, is 90 metres long and faces the Castle Square. At each end of the façade stands a square tower with a bulbous spire. The Sigismund's Tower is located in the centre of the main façade, flanked on both sides by the castle. This 60m high clock tower  has always been a symbol of the Polish capital and source of inspiration for the architects of other buildings in Warsaw. 

Unesco: Historic Centre of Warsaw

Distance: 1,186 km

Travel time: 19 days

Włocławek Cathedral

Włocławek is a city in central Poland along the Vistula River, bordered by the Gostynin-Włocławek Landscape Park. It is the main cultural and economic center of eastern Kuyavia.

The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is located on a small hill at the outlet of the Zgłowiączka river to the Vistula river, and constitutes a landmark of Włocławek’s Old Town. The church is made of brick, features a basilica layout, three naves and an elongated chancel of the same width as the main nave. It is one of the greatest treasure troves of funerary art in Poland. The interior of the cathedral is topped with stellar vaults with sculpted Gothic Revival keystones.

RR: 10x10 RR
Date: Jan 1

Błędne Skały

Błędne Skały is a rock formation at an altitude of 853 m above sea level, forming a picturesque labyrinth, located in south-western Poland in the Table Mountains National Park. The rocks are here about 6 to 11 meters high. It is one of the greatest attractions of these mountains, also called the rock city, due to the narrow, high corridors and spectacular rock formations.

RR: 10 Countries RR (20)
Date: Nov 24

Cracow Gate

Cracow Gate, known as 'Brama Krakowska', stands as a prominent symbol of Lublin's rich history and architectural splendor. Erected in the 14th century, this stunning Gothic-style gate served as a crucial entry point to the city and is one of the few remnants of Lublin's medieval fortifications. This gothic city gate is a protected monument in Poland.

Distance: 1,261 km

Travel time: 15 days

Świdnica Peace Church

he Holy Trinity Church of Peace in Świdnica is the largest wooden Baroque temple in Europe. It is notable for its immense historical, artistic and research value, forming an important, tangible manifestation of the historical and cultural legacy of both the region of Silesia and Europe. The Church of the Holy Trinity in Świdnica was built between 1656 and 1657 on a Greek-cross ground plan. The church features a polygonal vestry on its eastern side, as well as entrance halls of varying architectural projections and sizes. The exquisite 18th-century wooden altar dominates the Baroque interior of the church. 

Unesco: Churches of Peace in Jawor and Świdnica
Tag: Album Tag
Date: Sept 15

Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines

The deposit of rock salt in Wieliczka and Bochnia has been mined since the 13th century. This major industrial undertaking has royal status and is the oldest of its type in Europe. The site is a serial property consisting of Wieliczka and Bochnia salt mines and Wieliczka Saltworks Castle. The Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines illustrate the historic stages of the development of mining techniques in Europe from the 13th to the 20th centuries: both mines have hundreds of kilometers of galleries with works of art, underground chapels and statues sculpted in the salt, making a fascinating pilgrimage into the past. The mines were administratively and technically run by Wieliczka Saltworks Castle, which dates from the medieval period and has been rebuilt several times in the course of its history.

Unesco: Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines
RR: 10x10 RR
Date: June 16

Bieszczady Mountains

Połonina Wetlińska is a mountain massif and polonyna located in the Western Bieszczady Mountains. It is one of the most frequently visited places in the Bieszczady Mountains. The highest parts of the massif are covered with typical Bieszczady meadows, below 1050 m there are beech forests, which are best preserved in the Tworylczyk valley. The Bieszczady National Park  is the third-largest national park in Poland, located in the extreme southeast corner of the country. In 2021, the national park became a UNESCO World Heritage Site as an extension to the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe.

Unesco: Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe
Tag: Missing Unesco tag
Date: Jan 31

Michael Archangel's Church

St. Michael Archangel's Church in Smolnik, a Gothic, wooden church located in the village of Smolnik from the eighteenth-century, which together with different tserkvas is designated as part of the UNESCO Wooden tserkvas of the Carpathian region in Poland and Ukraine. The construction of the temple was completed in 1791. It is a log building made of massive wooden beams. The high historical value of this small church stems from the fact that it is one of the few examples of Boyko-style church architecture preserved in the Polish Bieszczady Mountains.

Unesco: Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian region in Poland and Ukraine
RR: Unesco RR
Date: Dec 18

Christmas Tree

Christmas tree - Illustrated by Mia Stendal.
Thank you Justyna for the beautiful Christmas card from Poland!
Date: Nov 30

Church of Peace

The most precious monument in Jawor is the Church of Peace, which, along with the Church of Peace in Świdnica, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001. The Churches of Peace in Jawor and Świdnica, the largest timber-framed religious buildings in Europe, were built in the former Silesia in the mid-17th century, amid the religious strife that followed the Peace of Westphalia. Constrained by the physical and political conditions, the Churches of Peace bear testimony to the quest for religious freedom and are a rare expression of Lutheran ideology in an idiom generally associated with the Catholic Church.

Unesco: Churches of Peace in Jawor and Świdnica
Tag: Album Tag
Date: Nov 17

Auschwitz Birkenau

Auschwitz Birkenau was the principal and most notorious of the six concentration and extermination camps established by Nazi Germany. The fortified walls, barbed wire, platforms, barracks, gallows, gas chambers and cremation ovens show the conditions within which the Nazi genocide took place in the former concentration and extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest in the Third Reich. According to historical investigations, 1.5 million people, among them a great number of Jews, were systematically starved, tortured and murdered in this camp, the symbol of humanity's cruelty to its fellow human beings in the 20th century. 

Unesco: Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940-1945)
Tag: Unesco offer tag
Date: Oct 23

Assumption of Holy Mary Church

Assumption of Holy Mary Church in Haczów, a Gothic, wooden church located in the village of Haczów from the fifteenth-century, which together with different churches is designated as part of the UNESCO Wooden Churches of Southern Małopolska. The churches represent a unique example of the tradition of medieval timber-built churches in Roman Catholic culture. They were built using the horizontal log technique, which was commonplace in Northern and Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages. The churches constitute an example of dominant landmarks within rural settings, which determine their unique present-day landscape qualities, most of them are situated in picturesque mountain valleys. The church in Haczów is the largest wooden Gothic church in Europe, and simultaneously one of the oldest wooden framework churches in Poland.

Unesco: Wooden Churches of Southern Małopolska
Lottery: Unesco Postcards
Date: Sept 27

Białowieża Forest

The Białowieża Forest World Heritage site, on the border between Poland and Belarus, is an immense range of primary forest including both conifers and broadleaved trees covering a total area of 141,885 hectares. Situated on the watershed of the Baltic Sea and Black Sea, this transboundary property is exceptional for the opportunities it offers for biodiversity conservation. It is home to the largest population of the property’s iconic species, the European bison.

Unesco: Białowieża Forest
Tag: Missing Unesco tag
Date:  Feb 28

Wieliczka Salt Mine

The Wieliczka Salt Mine is a salt mine in the town of Wieliczka, near Kraków in southern Poland. From Neolithic times, sodium chloride was produced there from the upwelling brine. The Wieliczka salt mine, excavated from the 13th century, produced table salt continuously until 2007, as one of the world's oldest operating salt mines. It is now an official Polish Historic Monument and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its attractions include the shafts and labyrinthine passageways, displays of historic salt-mining technology, an underground lake, four chapels and numerous statues carved by miners out of the rock salt, and more recent sculptures by contemporary artists.

Unesco: Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines
Tag: Unesco offer tag
Date: Feb 23

Blue Cats - WT Poland

World Trip Poland: Mazurka, Castle Square, Warsaw.
Thanks a lot Joanna!
Date: Jan 15