Siewierz is a small town with a great history: the ruins of the castle of the bishops of Kraków tower over the market square, and Siewierz was once the capital of its own duchy. The quiet surroundings on the edge of the Jura encourage short walks and cycling trips.
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Hidden gemCastles
Siewierz
"Beat, steal, kill – but steer clear of Siewierz": this old Polish saying comes from the harsh court that sat in this castle. For almost 350 years the ruins on the Czarna Przemsza river were the capital of an unusual mini-state, the Duchy…

Landmarks
Siewierz
"From Siewierz came a cart, carrying painted maidens" – almost everyone in Poland knows this song from the repertoire of the Śląsk Song and Dance Ensemble. In Siewierz you can actually see the maidens: two bronze figures of dancing girls i…

Museums
Siewierz
South of the parish church in Siewierz, at 5 Kościuszki Street, stands a neat manor house with a mansard roof and dormers – the Old Commune Building. Since 2005 it has housed the Chamber of Tradition and Old Culture, a small museum about t…

Lakes
Siewierz
Beneath the surface of Przeczyce Reservoir lies the flooded valley of the Czarna Przemsza river, along with remains of field fortifications from the 1930s and the Second World War. The reservoir was created in 1963, when a dam blocked the…

Churches & monasteries
Siewierz
The Church of St Barbara and St Valentine in Siewierz is a small masonry church from 1618, built through the efforts and money of the town's burghers for a hospital that had operated here since 1515. It stands south of the Market Square, i…

Churches & monasteries
Siewierz
For centuries Siewierz belonged to the bishops of Kraków, who also ruled here as dukes of Siewierz – and the Church of St Matthias the Apostle bears their mark at every turn. Above the portal hangs the coat of arms of Bishop Kajetan Sołtyk…

Monuments & mounds
Siewierz
On the market square in Siewierz, two bespectacled gentlemen sit on a bronze bench: the composer Stanisław Hadyna and the poet Zdzisław Pyzik. They wrote the song "Od Siewierza jechał wóz" ("A Cart Was Coming from Siewierz"), performed for…

Churches & monasteries
Siewierz
In the cemetery in Siewierz stands the little stone Church of St John the Baptist – one of the oldest churches in Poland. It was probably built in 1144 or 1164, and the magnate Piotr Włostowic is regarded as its founder. The building measu…

Old towns & squares
Siewierz
For almost three and a half centuries this square was the centre of a duchy ruled by the bishops of Kraków. Siewierz Market Square was laid out when the town received its charter in 1276, and it still keeps its medieval plan, with streets…