Things to do in Lower Silesia
311 attractions in Lower Silesia, including Książ Castle, Racławice Panorama in Wrocław and Church of Peace in Świdnica.
All attractions (311)
Castles
Książ Castle
Wałbrzych
Książ Castle (pronounced roughly "kshonzh") in Wałbrzych is the largest castle in Lower Silesia and the third-largest in Poland, after Malbork and Wawel. Perched on a rocky spur above a wooded gorge in southwestern Poland, it was home to t…
120–240 min
Museums
Racławice Panorama in Wrocław
Wrocław
The Racławice Panorama in Wrocław (say: rats-wah-VEE-tseh, VROTS-wahf) is a vast 360-degree painting of the Battle of Racławice, fought on April 4, 1794, during Poland's Kościuszko Uprising against Russia. Displayed in a purpose-built rotu…
60–90 min
Churches & monasteries
Church of Peace in Świdnica
Świdnica
The Church of Peace in Świdnica (pronounced roughly "shvid-NEE-tsah") is the largest wooden Baroque Protestant church in Europe and, together with its twin in Jawor, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001. Set in Lower Silesia in southwes…
45–75 min
Technical monuments
Centennial Hall
Wrocław
Centennial Hall in Wrocław (Hala Stulecia, pronounced roughly HAH-lah stoo-LEH-chah) is a vast reinforced-concrete event hall built in 1911–1913 to a design by Max Berg. When it opened, its ribbed dome — about 65 meters across — was the la…
60–120 min
Landmarks
University of Wrocław
Wrocław
The main building of the University of Wrocław stretches 171 metres along the Oder – and according to the original plans it was meant to be even longer, with three towers. The Jesuits built it between 1728 and 1739 on the site of a former…
45–90 min
National parks
Karkonosze National Park
Karpacz
Karkonosze National Park (kar-ko-NO-sheh) protects the highest part of the Polish Giant Mountains, from Śnieżka (SHNYESH-kah, 1,603 m), the highest peak of the Sudetes, to glacial cirques, mountain lakes, peat bogs and waterfalls above the…
180–480 min
Hiking & tourist trails
Main Sudetes Trail
Świeradów-Zdrój
The red-blazed trail across the Polish Sudetes passes Śnieżka and Śnieżnik but does not climb to their summits. That is a legacy of communist times, when the border zone was tightly guarded and the waymarks were kept away from the frontier…
9000–20000 min Free entry
Mountains & peaks
Śnieżnik
gmina Stronie Śląskie
On 2 January 2020 the Austrian Alps — the peaks of Schneeberg and Heukuppe, almost 290 km away — were photographed from the summit of Śnieżnik. At the time it was the longest-distance view ever recorded in Poland. Śnieżnik (1,425 m), the h…
Churches & monasteries
Wrocław Cathedral
Wrocław
Take a close look at the south wall of Wrocław Cathedral and you will see a distinct step in the masonry. It is the mark of a medieval mistake: when the new Gothic nave was built in the 14th century, its axis ended up a dozen or so centime…
National parks
Stolowe Mountains National Park
Karłów
Table Mountains National Park (Park Narodowy Gór Stołowych; "GOOR stoh-WOH-vikh") protects Poland's only table mountains: a flat-topped sandstone plateau on the Czech border, carved by erosion into rock mazes, deep crevices and mushroom-sh…
Castles
Czocha Castle
Sucha
For more than forty years Czocha Castle did not appear on any map. From 1952 it housed a military holiday centre, and as a classified military site it was left off official maps until the 1990s — one of the best-known castles in Lower Sile…
120–180 min
Old towns & squares
Market Square in Wrocław
Wrocław
Laid out in the 13th century on a flat rise above the Oder, beside a trade route running across Europe from east to west, this square measures roughly 204 by 170 metres. Wrocław's Market Square covers 3.64 hectares, making it one of the la…
Free entry
Churches & monasteries
Świdnica Cathedral (Cathedral of St Stanislaus and St Wenceslaus)
Świdnica
The tower of Świdnica Cathedral is 101.21 m high — the tallest church tower in the whole of Silesia and the sixth tallest in Poland. Beneath it stands one of the largest churches in Lower Silesia: a Gothic basilica that the Jesuits filled…
Churches & monasteries
St Elizabeth's Basilica (Garrison Church) in Wrocław
Wrocław
In the mid-15th century this church's tower, spire included, stood 130.5 m tall — the highest in Silesia and among the tallest structures in the world at the time. Today's tower, rebuilt after a series of fires, is 91.46 m high and the thi…
Castles
Grodziec Castle
Grodziec
Around 1800 Count Hans Heinrich VI von Hochberg restored part of the ruins at Grodziec, filled the rooms with memorabilia and opened them to visitors — at the time the castle was regarded as the first historic monument in Europe adapted sp…
Churches & monasteries
Church of Peace in Jawor
Jawor
The Church of Peace in Jawor (pronounced YAH-vor) is a vast half-timbered Lutheran church built in 1654–1655 in the small Silesian town of Jawor, southwest Poland. Plain as a barn from outside, it hides a dazzling interior of painted galle…
Churches & monasteries
Skull Chapel, Kudowa-Zdrój
Kudowa-Zdrój
From the outside it is a small Baroque chapel between a church and a bell tower in Czermna. Inside, the walls and vault are covered with about 3,000 closely packed skulls and bones. In total, the Skull Chapel and the crypt beneath its floo…
Castles
Bolków Castle
Bolków
On the side facing the Nysa Szalona river, Castle Hill drops away in a 90-metre slope, while to the east it slopes gently down into the town. On top, at 396 metres above sea level, stands Bolków Castle – one of the largest strongholds of t…
Hidden gemMuseums
Museum of Papermaking in Duszniki-Zdrój
Duszniki-Zdrój
Lower Silesia once had around 100 paper mills. Only one survived — in the spa town of Duszniki-Zdrój, on the Bystrzyca Dusznicka river. Since 1968 it has housed the Museum of Papermaking, and handmade paper is still produced in its vat roo…
Hidden gemFortifications
Fort Srebrna Góra
Srebrna Góra
Srebrna Góra Fortress (say "SREB-nah GOO-rah"; German Silberberg) is the largest and best-preserved mountain fortress in Poland, built by Prussia in 1765–1777 above a pass between the Owl Mountains and the Bardo Mountains in Lower Silesia.…
Hidden gemCastles
Grodno Castle
Zagórze Śląskie
The castle rises out of the forest on the summit of Choina hill, 450 metres above sea level, with Lake Bystrzyca spread out below. Grodno Castle in Zagórze Śląskie guarded the valley of the Bystrzyca river, which separates the Owl Mountain…
Hidden gemNature
Barycz Valley
Ruda Sułowska
The Barycz Valley is the largest landscape park in Lower Silesia and one of Europe's biggest fishpond complexes. Along the slow-moving Barycz River, between Żmigród and Przygodzice, hundreds of ponds, dykes, riverside woods and wet meadows…
Free entry
Hidden gemFortifications
Kłodzko Fortress
Kłodzko
Kłodzko Fortress (pronounced roughly "KWOTS-ko") is one of the largest and best-preserved fortresses in Poland, spread over a hill above the old town of Kłodzko in Lower Silesia, close to the Czech border. Over more than 30 hectares you wi…
120–180 min
Hidden gemNature
Błędne Skały
Kudowa-Zdrój
Błędne Skały (roughly "BWEN-deh SKAH-wih", meaning "Errant Rocks") is a sandstone rock maze in Table Mountains National Park in southwestern Poland, on the edge of the spa town of Kudowa-Zdrój and close to the Czech border. At about 853 m…