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Churches & monasteries
Racibórz
The Dominican friary that stood beside Racibórz's market square for almost six centuries is gone; only its church survives. St James's Church, in the north-eastern corner of the square, burned at least four times, yet it kept its medieval…
Churches & monasteries
Korzkiew
On the high altar stands a small Gothic reliquary which, according to its inscription, holds a splinter of the True Cross and a piece of the table from the Last Supper. The Church of the Nativity of St John the Baptist in Korzkiew was buil…
Churches & monasteries
Siemiatycze
On the chancel vault you can still see the Lis (Fox) coat of arms of the Sapieha family, who built this church in the 17th century. The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Siemiatycze is the town's oldest and most valuable monum…
Churches & monasteries
Wasilków
The Święta Woda Sanctuary (roughly "SHVYEN-tah VOH-dah", meaning "Holy Water") in Wasilków, just north of Białystok in northeastern Poland, is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the Podlasie region. A white church of Our Lady of S…
Churches & monasteries
Poznań
The Cathedral Lock is a nearly 200-year-old piece of the Prussian Poznań Fortress on the River Cybina, right next to Ostrów Tumski, the cathedral island. This former fortified weir, now linked by a glass footbridge to the Gate of Poznań he…
Churches & monasteries
Gdańsk
Oliwa Cathedral in Gdańsk (Archikatedra Oliwska, pronounced roughly "oh-LEE-vah") is a former Cistercian abbey church, the longest church in Poland and home to a famous Rococo organ whose carved angels and stars actually move as it plays.…
Churches & monasteries
Częstochowa
The Archcathedral of the Holy Family in Częstochowa (say "chen-stoh-HOH-vah") is one of the largest churches in Poland: a neo-Gothic red-brick basilica with twin spires over 80 m (260 ft) tall, standing just a few minutes' walk from the ci…
Churches & monasteries
Szczecin
The Cathedral Basilica of St. James in Szczecin (pronounced roughly "SHCHEH-cheen") is the city's mother church and one of the great brick Gothic landmarks of the Baltic coast. Its spire rises just over 110 meters (361 ft), making it the s…
Churches & monasteries
Kraków
The Dominican Basilica in Kraków – the Basilica of the Holy Trinity on Stolarska Street – is a soaring Gothic brick church just a few minutes from the Main Market Square. Dominican friars have been based here since 1222, and the church is…
Churches & monasteries
Kraków
The Franciscan Basilica in Kraków – formally the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, on All Saints' Square (plac Wszystkich Świętych) – is one of the oldest churches in the Old Town and a must for anyone who loves Art Nouveau. Its interior…
Churches & monasteries
Legnickie Pole
The Basilica and Abbey in Legnickie Pole (say "leg-NEETS-kyeh POH-leh"; German: Wahlstatt) is a Baroque former Benedictine monastery in Lower Silesia, built on the site of the Battle of Legnica — the 1241 clash in which a Polish-led army w…
Churches & monasteries
Trzebnica
The Basilica and Sanctuary of St. Hedwig in Trzebnica (say "tsheb-NEE-tsah") is Silesia's oldest shrine and the resting place of St. Hedwig of Silesia, patron saint of the region. A Romanesque brick church from the early 13th century, the…
Churches & monasteries
Inowrocław
Locals in Inowrocław still call this church "the Ruin", even though it has had a roof again for more than a century and serves as a parish church. Built of granite blocks between 1180 and 1230, it is the oldest church in the town and one o…
Churches & monasteries
Dobre Miasto
The Collegiate Basilica in Dobre Miasto (DOH-breh MYAH-sto, "Good Town") is a 14th-century Gothic complex and the second largest church in Warmia, northern Poland. A red-brick church with a tall tower stands inside a compact quadrangle of…
Churches & monasteries
Pułtusk
The Collegiate Basilica of the Annunciation in Pułtusk (pronounced "poo-WTOOSK") is one of Mazovia's finest churches and an official Polish "Monument of History". The Gothic and Renaissance building is famous for the "Pułtusk vault", a Ren…
Churches & monasteries
Kołobrzeg
The Co-Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Kołobrzeg (say "koh-WOH-bzheg") is the Baltic resort town's greatest monument: a five-aisled Gothic brick church whose massive tower block rises over the old town. Inside are rare medieval tre…
Churches & monasteries
Chełm
The white towers and green dome on top of Chełm Hill are visible from far away, and the building itself bears the marks of three Christian traditions. It was built in the 18th century as a Uniate (Greek Catholic) cathedral, turned into a R…
Churches & monasteries
Sejny
The Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Sejny (SAY-nih) is one of only two churches in Poland built in the Vilnius Baroque style, and it is well worth a stop if you are exploring far northeastern Poland. Its twin-tower…
Churches & monasteries
Wambierzyce
A monumental stone staircase leads up to the basilica in Wambierzyce: 56 steps, with 33 in the central flight symbolising the years of Christ's life. Above it rises a palace-like façade 52.5 m high, its balustrade lined with statues of the…
Churches & monasteries
Kodeń
The Basilica of St Anne in Kodeń (say KO-den-yuh) is a late Renaissance church with a Baroque facade, home for more than 300 years to the icon of Our Lady of Kodeń, called the Queen of Podlasie and the Mother of Unity. It stands on the mar…
Churches & monasteries
Rybnik
Two soaring towers with copper spires can be seen from almost anywhere in Rybnik. The neo-Gothic Basilica of St Anthony, informally called the Cathedral of the Rybnik Land, is considered the tallest church in Upper Silesia – Polish sources…
Churches & monasteries
Zawiercie
Five red-brick towers above central Zawiercie are a reminder of the days when the town grew up around a huge cotton mill. The neo-Gothic Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul was built for the workers of the Zawiercie Joint-Stock Company (TAZ)…
Churches & monasteries
Gdańsk
St Bridget's Basilica in Gdańsk is a Gothic church in the Old Town known as the "church of Solidarity". In the 1980s it was one of the key centers of anti-communist opposition in Poland, and today it also draws visitors with its monumental…
Churches & monasteries
Ziębice
In German the church was called "Münster auf dem Berge", the minster on the hill, and the town itself Münsterberg. St George's Basilica has towered over the town since the second half of the 13th century, with a separate, free-standing bel…