Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Castles
Szamotuły
Behind the castle in Szamotuły stands a brick tower where, according to tradition, Halszka of Ostroh – a princess and granddaughter of King Sigismund the Old, forced to marry Łukasz III Górka – was held for 14 years. Górka Castle is now a…
Castles
Poznań
The Royal Castle in Poznań (roughly "POZ-nahn") crowns Przemysł Hill, a few minutes' walk from the Old Market Square in this western Polish city. It was the seat of Przemysł II, crowned King of Poland in 1295, and today houses the Museum o…
Castles
Sieraków
Of the great Opaliński residence on the Warta river, only the ground floor of one wing survived, used for years as an ice house. When richly decorated family sarcophagi were brought out of the crypt of Sieraków’s former Bernardine church i…
Castles
Gołuchów
Gołuchów Castle (say: go-WOO-hoof) is a fairy-tale château in western Poland that has housed a branch of the National Museum in Poznań since 1951. Rebuilt in the 19th century by Princess Izabela Działyńska, née Czartoryska, in the spirit o…
Castles
Konin
Bishop Andrzej Łaskarz (1362–1426) built a brick castle and a Gothic church on the shore of Lake Gosławskie in 1418–1426. The castle survived as a ruin, served for years as a brewery or distillery and, after restoration in 1978–1986, becam…
Castles
Kórnik
Kórnik Castle (say "KOOR-neek") is a fairy-tale neo-Gothic residence surrounded by water, about 20 km southeast of Poznań in western Poland. Its walls have stood for almost 600 years without ever being destroyed, and today they hold a muse…
Castles
Koźmin Wielkopolski
Koźmin Wielkopolski Castle is a Gothic stronghold from the second half of the 14th century that the Górka family turned into a Renaissance residence and that has housed a succession of schools since the 19th century. Above the plastered wi…
Palaces
Rokosowo
Corner towers with battlements, a dry moat and a coat of arms above the entrance – from a distance the residence in Rokosowo looks like a knight's stronghold. In fact it is a Romantic palace of the Mycielski family from the mid-19th centur…
Churches & monasteries
Poznań
The Golden Chapel in Poznań (pronounced "POZ-nan"), also called the Chapel of the Polish Kings, is a dazzling Byzantine-style mausoleum inside Poznań Cathedral, dedicated to Mieszko I and Bolesław the Brave, the first two rulers of Poland.…