Things to do in Gniezno
Gniezno lies in Greater Poland, about 50 kilometres east of Poznań, and is regarded as Poland's first capital. It is the city of St Adalbert and the seat of the primates, and in 1025 Bolesław the Brave was crowned in its cathedral. The main sight is Gniezno Cathedral on Lech Hill, home to the Romanesque bronze Gniezno Doors depicting the life of St Adalbert. The Museum of the Origins of the Polish State by Lake Jelonek explains the early days of the country, and the Archdiocesan Museum shows the treasury and religious art. Railway fans can ride the Gniezno narrow-gauge railway. One day is enough. Take the train from Poznań or Bydgoszcz, or drive the S5 expressway. Gniezno is on the Piast Trail, so it combines easily with Ostrów Lednicki and Biskupin.
Map of attractions in Gniezno
All 15 places on one map: see what is close together and plan your route.
All attractions (15)
Churches & monasteries
Gniezno Cathedral
Gniezno
Gniezno Cathedral (Gniezno is pronounced roughly "GNYEZ-no") – formally the Primatial Basilica of the Assumption and St. Adalbert – is where the story of Poland as a Christian kingdom begins. Its first archbishopric was founded here in the…
90–180 min Free entry
Hidden gemMuseums
Museum of the Origins of the Polish State in Gniezno
Gniezno
The Museum of the Origins of the Polish State in Gniezno (say "GNYEZ-no") is the best place to understand why this small city in western Poland is called the country's first capital. Archaeological finds, Romanesque art and 19th-century hi…
90–120 min
Landmarks
Gniezno Doors
Gniezno
The Gniezno Doors are a pair of Romanesque bronze doors inside Gniezno Cathedral and one of the most important medieval artworks in Central Europe. Cast in the late 12th century, they tell the life and martyrdom of St. Adalbert in eighteen…
Technical monuments
Gniezno Narrow-Gauge Railway
Gniezno
The Gniezno Narrow-Gauge Railway is one of the oldest small railways in Greater Poland – its history began in 1884. The former network linked Gniezno with Witkowo, Powidz and Anastazewo; today trains run seasonally only on a short section…
Lakes
Lake Jelonek in Gniezno
Gniezno
Gniezno Cathedral reflected in the still water of Lake Jelonek is a view that 19th-century artists were already drawing: a lithograph of Gniezno seen from the lakeshore was made after a drawing by Napoleon Orda, and in 1865 Stanisław Łukom…
Free entry
Lakes
Lake Winiary, Gniezno
Gniezno
Lake Winiary, known to locals simply as "Łazienki" (the Baths), is the largest body of water in Gniezno. It lies north-east of the city centre, between the Tysiąclecia and Winiary housing estates, and in summer serves as the town beach. A…
Free entry
Churches & monasteries
Franciscan Church and Friary in Gniezno
Gniezno
In the side aisle of the Franciscan church, in the former oratory of the Poor Clare nuns, lie the remains of Blessed Jolenta (Yolanda) – a Hungarian princess, sister of St Kinga and grandmother of King Casimir the Great. Kings Sigismund th…
Churches & monasteries
Church of St John the Baptist in Gniezno
Gniezno
On the vault corbels a fox stalks some geese, a pelican feeds its young, and St Menas with his camels, a 3rd-century martyr, looks down from a corbel – a reminder of the Middle Eastern roots of the order that once ran this church. The Goth…
Churches & monasteries
Holy Trinity Church, Gniezno
Gniezno
The Holy Trinity parish church (fara) stands on ul. Farna, a few dozen metres south of Gniezno's Market Square, on Maiden Hill (Wzgórze Panieńskie). It is one of the oldest churches in the city and for centuries was the burghers' most impo…
Museums
Archdiocesan Museum in Gniezno
Gniezno
The Archdiocesan Museum in Gniezno (Muzeum Archidiecezji Gnieźnieńskiej) holds the treasury of Gniezno Cathedral, one of the oldest and richest church collections in Poland. In a building just behind the cathedral on Lech Hill you can see…
Museums
Museum of Technical Heritage in Gniezno
Gniezno
The Museum of Technical Heritage is a small private museum of motorcycles and old technology in the former cavalry barracks on Wrzesińska Street in Gniezno. It is run by enthusiasts from the ClassiC Gniezno Association, who restore the exh…
Technical monuments
Gniezno Roundhouse (Parowozownia Gniezno)
Gniezno
The Gniezno Roundhouse (Parowozownia Gniezno) is a historic steam locomotive depot next to the main railroad station in Gniezno, western Poland, and one of the largest surviving depot complexes in Europe. Two vast fan-shaped engine sheds,…
Monuments & mounds
Monument to Bolesław the Brave, Gniezno
Gniezno
The Monument to Bolesław the Brave stands on Lech Hill, on the square in front of Gniezno Cathedral and opposite the Primate's Palace. The bronze figure of Poland's first crowned ruler, wearing a crown and resting on a sword, is 4.75 m tal…
Free entry
Old towns & squares
Market Square in Gniezno
Gniezno
Gniezno Market Square (Rynek, say "RIH-nek") is the heart of the old town in Gniezno, a small, friendly square lined with pastel townhouses, from which cobbled Tumska Street runs straight up to the cathedral on Lech Hill. Rebuilt after a g…
Free entry
Historic sites
Lech Hill (Gniezno)
Gniezno
Lech Hill in Gniezno (Wzgórze Lecha) is where Poland, quite literally, began. This low rise above a lake in west-central Poland held the stronghold of the early Piast dukes, the seat of the country's first archbishop and the cathedral wher…
Free entry