During your travel to Poland what historic sites have you visited ?

The topic is explanatory :)

Malbork Castle + Lazienki in Warsaw of course.

Forgot about Gdansk (the city's main square). It used to be German city though.

It was German between:

1271-1282
1306-1454
1772-1807
1815-1920

The rest of the time - more than 800 years - it had been Polish

OK, makes sense. The history is so complex - so many countries used to belong to someone else.

Well, we`re talking here about Gdansk. During the 100 years out of the total 200 it belonged to the Germans - it was also the time when the Teutonic Order had its capital in Malbork Europe`s map looked this way:

I think the whole regions' of Western Poland are interesting. In the East there're less things to see...

Why`s that ?

pot.gov.pl/wydawnictwa/w17/Mapturgb.pdf

Krakow, castle, churches and most things of historic value, wonderful place very rich in history was there for over a week so was time to take it all in....am sure I will find more when I go back next year.

When I`m going to finish the thread about Warsaw one day - I`m going to start a similar one about Krakow - I know that that`s what you`re all waiting for :)

Never been that interested in going to Warsaw, would like to go skiing in Zakapone and visit Wraclaw and numerous other beautiful places, but to be honest I can go to London if I want to see something like Warsaw (I know it has a beautiful old part, but in the main it's just a big city)

Yes, you can tell me all about King Krak....oh my, that did make me laugh every time I heard it, very childish I know, but hey hoe we cant help what makes us laugh!

Have no' idea.

Well, the legend of Krak, the dragon, and the guy who poisoned the dragon is not much of a heroes story :) - at least compared to other legends about dragons. But there might be actually some truth about that story, cose it is almost sure that Krak really existed - he wasn`t a king or anything similar - he was probably a warlord who ruled over the area around Krakow somewhere around the 600 or 700s. There`s also the dragons den that you`ve probably seen...

I find it pitty - that in the UK many of the old castles, palaces and churches are being left as ruins. Wouldn`t it be better if they would be reconstructed ?

About a month ago, I was in Krakow for 4 days, and Warsaw for another 4 days. Wawel castle and the salt mines in Krakow, plus a lot of walking around "Old" city. Old is in quotes because, while the design and foundation of the buildings may be old, the facades (street facing sides) seem to have been redone on most buildings. Even though it may be an exact duplicate of what the building looked like before, the effect is to make most of the buildings in Krakow look like they were built in the 1980's - 1990's.

In Warsaw, saw the Presidential Palace, Lazienki Krolewski (the big park with the peacocks), and Old town. Warsaw felt like any other big city, the palace was interesting, and the park was absolutely stunning. I spent less time in Warsaw being a tourist than I did "hanging out" with several English speaking natives who work with my cousin in Warsaw. Seeing the cultural differences that you simply can't see as a tourist was, to me, the best part of the trip.

I noted quite a few differences between Poland and the USA. I don't think a single store in Krakow had a door closer (device that slowly closes a door behind you). Perhaps half of the stores in Warsaw did. They all do in the US. None of the windows in Poland were screened, that I saw. Apparently Poland has a lot less flying bugs than the US. Cobblestones and paving blocks are the rule in Poland, where in the US it's concrete and asphalt (tarmac). Most homes and apartments don't have air conditioning in Poland. Refrigerators in Poland are much smaller than US refrigerators, probably because we generally shop once per week in the US, while in Poland shopping for your food every day or two is the norm. No one drinks the tap water, they're afraid to. Cars are much, much smaller in Poland. A 2.0 liter engine is considered quite large and powerful. Parking on the sidewalk is the norm in Poland (and even driving on the sidewalk seemed commonplace in Krakow, although I hear tell that Italy is much worse). In Warsaw, you'll see many buildings with some odd large stones among the brickwork, or very large stones sitting outside the building. This seems to be how they embrace their past in Warsaw, as most of the stones are from the foundations of the buildings that stood on that spot before the German army razed the city. Vodka is cheap, bourbon is expensive, Tyskie beer beats Budweiser and Coors hands down. I'd say there are about 3 times the percentage of smokers in Poland as America, and yet there are only 1/5th as many cigarette butts littering the ground. Everyone walks, a lot. And there are shoe stores in abundance. Small stores are the norm, unlike the US where we tend toward huge supermarkets and shopping malls.

The old town in Krakow is actually the original and everything you`ve saw there is 900-300 years old. Only the old town in Warsaw is a replica.


It depends where you go - I`ve got 3 large shopping malls in my area alone.

You're the owner :)?

What I`ve ment was - there are 3 shopping malls in my area. :)

Oh, ok :}

Well, while the building may be that old, sadly the doors, windows, gutters, brick facing and whatnot aren't. In the process of normal upkeep, and the redecorating that many stores do, the exterior of most of the buildings have been replaced with more modern materials. Oh, it looks the same generally. But it's obvious that stucco and wire mesh weren't around 200 years ago, and most of the brickwork has had the mortar replaced, and in many cases the bricks themselves were replaced. Unless you went inside and saw the lower levels and exposed foundations, you would be hard pressed to tell from the outside if the building were original, or a replica.

I just did a quick search on the internet. Within 6 miles (about 10 km) of where I live there are no less than 12 supermarkets (as in stores that sell groceries). Each store is at least 15,000 square feet or so (1300 square meters) up to 90,000 square feet. That's not counting "department" stores like the Geant store I saw outside of Warsaw that sell both food and other household items (clothing, toys, appliances, etc). I think that's mostly because the shopping habits are different between our two countries. From what I gathered, since the majority of people in Warsaw and Krakow use public transportation and walk between home and work every day, smaller stores make more sense as huge markets simply wouldn't get enough business, because consumers don't want to go out of their way to shop, nor do they want to carry lots of groceries on the bus or tram. Americans on the other hand, drive a ridiculous amount. There could be a store 500 meters away from home, and the average American wouldn't hesitate to drive there instead of walk there. We're generally a lazy bunch.

But it's those differences that, as a simple tourist, I would never have noticed. Only because I spent time with people who live in Warsaw was I able to pick out more of the differences in lifestyles. That was what I found so great about this particular trip. Seeing how much alike in large ways the US and Poland are (or at least the 2 big cities I saw), and yet how many small differences there are.

Yes - but if those buildings haven`t been renovated over and over again, the windows and the doors wouldn`t have been replaced then they would fall apart centuries ago. According to the law concerning real estates - the owner of a historic real estate is strictly forbidden to make any changes to the estate - he is obliged to keep the estate in a good shape and during renovations he has use the same materials that were used in the original buildings. All of the work that is being made on a historic building has to be monitored by the conservation office - the owner also has to receive an allowance to conduct construction work on the historic building he owns - which is not that easy. And if the owner brakes any of those rules he has to remove the result of the construction work on his own cost, pay a large fine or even go to jail. However sometimes it is impossible to find exactly the same materials, the same windows and the same doors that had been used 200, 300 or 500 years ago - in that case the city conservator allows to use materials that look similar to the original. And when it comes to the interior arrangements of the buildings then of course it is often being replaced by a modern interior. I myself was working in an office that was located in an 500 year flat as well as in an office that had been located in an 300 year old fortification - the interior was very modern however the whole building structure was original.


You`re right and that is a very good observation - however in my city, which has c.a. 400.000 inhabitants there are around 15 BIG shopping malls - and 2 even bigger mals are currently under construction. Many people say that this is too much because those malls take away the business from the smaller shops.

And when it comes to Warsaw - there are more shopping malls, most of them is located on the city outskirts where the people from the suburbs make their shopping using cars, however there are also some in the city center.


Well, I also believe that there also aren`t so many differences between us - Especially when it comes to the world view and the way of thinking - you`re the only people who are able to truly understand us :)

Oh, that quote above is why I mentioned specifically about the look of "Old" town in Krakow. I live in Philadelphia, and the historical society here sounds much the same as your office of conservation. I simply find it a shame that while the buildings may be hundreds of years old, some of the character of those buildings is missing because of the maintenance and renovations. Much better than not having those buildings survive at all though. My next time there, I'm hoping to see more of the outskirts of the city. I'm guessing that the houses where people live will have had much less work done to them. Stores tend to want a clean appearance, and as each building changes store tenants, the new store redecorates which tends to keep the building looking "fresh".

I`m of the opinion that it`s better to preserve and rebuild the old buildings - even if the reconstruction requrrers some minor changes that aren`t even noticed by most people. If you allow all of those palaces, castles and houses to be destroyed becaouse of old age - you`re destroying your heritage.

no,no,no i don't agree.i come from zamosc a middle- seized town in south-east poland.it has a wonderfull architecture.the town is not very old(built around 1580 by italian architect bernardo morando) but a lot of foreigners find it very attractive. check it out :)

ps what about bialowieza forest-the only natural forest in europe(you may see the european bisons there)?

I was in Bialowieza as a child (in the primary school I guess). It remined me of bisons -- they are cool! (not sure if dangerous). I think there are bison reservoirs near the Baltic sea in Poland, too.

I found a picture of a bison in Bialowieza:

In my most recent trip I visited: Szczecin, Gdansk, Malbork, Drahim, Kolobrzeg, Gaski, Chlopy, Sarbinowo and Mielno.

Most of these have historical sites but I'm not sure about Chlopy Sarbinowo and Mielno....just vaca spots.

I used to live not far from Oświęcim. A very sad place to visit.
You can learn a lot from older people. They have lots of stories from WWll.

just wanted to say that i went to krakow!!! and it was nothing short of beautiful! everything was so gorgeous to look at... i also went to the concentration camp... auchwitz berkanau (sorry i totally butchered that) and it was some of the most devestating things i had ever seen. anyone else visit?!

I've been to Warsaw, Krakow, Malbork, Pultusk, Wieliczka, Olsztyn, Torun, and wladyslawowo although I don't think that really fits into the historic site realm.

heh.nobody has been to my home town Zamosc.come on people it is a quite interesting place! you are all invited:) here you can find some information about zamosc gopoland.com/wheretogo/zamosc

there is even a small ski slope nerby:)
shrek.orbis.pl/html_3/indexH.php4?h=54&gr=21&st=311&j=2

I actually remember reading a little on your town. It looked worth checking out if I'm in the area. I love the towns that aren't main tourist destinations.

Jasna Gora.Czestochowa.Czarna Madonna,the Black Madonna the most Sacred place in Poland.
The castle in Pszczynna.Wawel in Krakow.
The Panorama in Wroclaw.