What to See in Poland - Top Sights and Attractions

Former palace and museum with guided tours. The Royal Castle in Warsaw is a royal residence that formerly served throughout the centuries as the official home of Polish monarchs. It is situated in Castle Square, at the entrance to the Warsaw Old Town. The personal offices of the king and the administrative offices of the royal court were located in the Castle from the 16th century until the final partition of Poland in 1795.

Initially, the fortified complex served as the residence of the Masovian dukes. In the early 1600s, it was designated to replace Wawel Castle in Kraków as the seat of the King, Parliament (Chamber of Deputies and Senate), and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The medieval Gothic structure was remodelled into Italian mannerism by architects Matteo Castelli and Giovanni Battista Trevano. The Baroque easternmost wing was designed by Gaetano Chiaveri and completed in 1747.

The Royal Castle witnessed many notable events in Poland's history; the Constitution of 3 May 1791, first of its type in Europe and the world's second-oldest codified national constitution, was drafted here by the Four-Year Parliament. The edifice was redesigned into a neoclassical style following the partitions of Poland. Under the Second Polish Republic (1918–1939), it was the seat of the Polish head of state and president.

The Second World War brought complete destruction to the building; in September 1939 it was targeted and ignited by Luftwaffe fighter aircraft, and then detonated by the Nazis after the failed Warsaw Uprising in 1944. In 1965, the surviving wall fragments, cellars, the adjacent Copper-Roof Palace and the Kubicki Arcades were registered as historical monuments. Reconstruction was carried out in the years 1971–1984, during which it regained its original 17th century appearance. In 1980, the Royal Castle and surrounding Old Town became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today, it serves as a museum annually visited by over 500,000 people, and one of Warsaw's most recognizable landmarks.^[1]

Medieval royal castle museum complex. The Wawel Royal Castle is a castle residency located in central Kraków, Poland, and the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the world. Built at the behest of King Casimir III the Great, it consists of a number of structures from different periods situated around the Italian-styled main courtyard. The castle, being one of the largest in Poland, represents nearly all European architectural styles of medieval, renaissance and baroque periods. The Wawel Royal Castle and the Wawel Hill constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in the country.

The castle is part of a fortified architectural complex erected atop a limestone outcrop on the left bank of the Vistula River, at an altitude of 228 metres above sea level. The complex consists of numerous buildings of great historical and national importance, including the Wawel Cathedral where Polish monarchs were crowned and buried. Some of Wawel's oldest stone buildings can be traced back to 970 AD, in addition to the earliest examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture in Poland. The current castle was built in the 14th-century, and expanded over the next hundreds of years. In 1978 Wawel was declared the first World Heritage Site as part of the Historic Centre of Kraków.

For centuries the residence of the kings of Poland and the symbol of Polish statehood, Wawel Castle is now one of the country's premier art museums. Established in 1930, the museum encompasses ten curatorial departments responsible for collections of paintings, including an important collection of Italian Renaissance paintings, prints, sculpture, textiles, among them the Sigismund II Augustus tapestry collection, goldsmith's work, arms and armor, ceramics, Meissen porcelain, and period furniture. The museum's holdings in oriental art include the largest collection of Ottoman tents in Europe. With seven specialized conservation studios, the museum is also an important center for the conservation of works of art.^[2]

Castle in Kraków, Poland. The Wawel Royal Castle is a castle residency located in central Kraków, Poland, and the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the world. Built at the behest of King Casimir III the Great, it consists of a number of structures from different periods situated around the Italian-styled main courtyard. The castle, being one of the largest in Poland, represents nearly all European architectural styles of medieval, renaissance and baroque periods. The Wawel Royal Castle and the Wawel Hill constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in the country.

The castle is part of a fortified architectural complex erected atop a limestone outcrop on the left bank of the Vistula River, at an altitude of 228 metres above sea level. The complex consists of numerous buildings of great historical and national importance, including the Wawel Cathedral where Polish monarchs were crowned and buried. Some of Wawel's oldest stone buildings can be traced back to 970 AD, in addition to the earliest examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture in Poland. The current castle was built in the 14th-century, and expanded over the next hundreds of years. In 1978 Wawel was declared the first World Heritage Site as part of the Historic Centre of Kraków.

For centuries the residence of the kings of Poland and the symbol of Polish statehood, Wawel Castle is now one of the country's premier art museums. Established in 1930, the museum encompasses ten curatorial departments responsible for collections of paintings, including an important collection of Italian Renaissance paintings, prints, sculpture, textiles, among them the Sigismund II Augustus tapestry collection, goldsmith's work, arms and armor, ceramics, Meissen porcelain, and period furniture. The museum's holdings in oriental art include the largest collection of Ottoman tents in Europe. With seven specialized conservation studios, the museum is also an important center for the conservation of works of art.^[3]

Gothic cathedral and national sanctuary. The Wawel Cathedral, formally titled the Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus, is a Roman Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it is part of the Wawel Castle Complex and is a national sanctuary which served as the coronation site of Polish monarchs.

The current Gothic cathedral is the third edifice on this site; the first was constructed and destroyed in the 11th century and the second one, constructed in the 12th century, was destroyed by a fire in 1305. The construction of the existing church began in the 14th century on the orders of Bishop Nanker. Over time, the building was expanded by successive rulers resulting in its versatile and eclectic architectural composition. There are examples of Romanesque, Gothic, Romanesque, Baroque, Neoclassical and Neogothic elements in the Cathedral's façade and interior. The exterior is adorned by side chapels and representative mausoleums, most notable being the golden-domed Sigismund's Chapel.

It is the official seat of the Archbishop of Kraków and of the Archdiocese of Kraków. A symbol of Polish statehood and faith, the Cathedral hosts important religious events and annual celebrations. Karol Wojtyła, who in 1978 became Pope John Paul II, the day after his ordination to the priesthood offered his first Mass as a priest at the Wawel Crypt on 2 November 1946, and was ordained Kraków's auxiliary bishop in the Cathedral on 28 September 1958.^[4]

Royal collections in summer residence. Łazienki Park or Royal Baths Park is the largest park in Warsaw, Poland, occupying 76 hectares of the city center.

The park-and-palace complex lies in Warsaw's central district (Śródmieście) on Ujazdów Avenue, which is part of the Royal Route linking the Royal Castle with Wilanów Palace to the south. North of Łazienki Park, on the other side of Agrykola Street, stands Ujazdów Castle.

Originally designed in the 17th century as a baths park for nobleman Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski, in the 18th century Łazienki was transformed by Poland's last monarch, Stanislaus II Augustus, into a setting for palaces, villas, classicist follies, and monuments. In 1918 it was officially designated a public park.

Łazienki is visited by tourists from all over Poland and the world, and serves as a venue for music, the arts, and culture. The park is also home to peacocks and a large number of squirrels.^[5]

Museum devoted to 1944 Warsaw Uprising. The Warsaw Uprising Museum, in the Wola district of Warsaw, Poland, is dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. The institution of the museum was established in 1983, but no construction work took place for many years. It opened on July 31, 2004, marking the 60th anniversary of the uprising.

The museum sponsors research into the history of the uprising, and the history and possessions of the Polish Underground State. It collects and maintains hundreds of artifacts — ranging from weapons used by the insurgents to love letters — to present a full picture of the people involved. The museum's stated goals include the creation of an archive of historical information on the uprising and the recording of the stories and memories of living participants. Its director is Jan Ołdakowski, with historian Dariusz Gawin from the Polish Academy of Sciences as his deputy.

The museum is a member organisation of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience.^[6]

Established zoo with conservation focus. The Wrocław Zoological Garden, known simply as the Wrocław Zoo, is a zoo on Wróblewskiego Street in Wrocław, Poland. It is the oldest zoo in Poland, having been opened in 1865 as the Breslau Zoological Garden while the city was part of Prussia. It is also the largest zoo in Poland. The zoo covers 33 hectares in downtown Wrocław. It is home to about 10,500 animals representing about 1,132 species. In terms of the number of animal species it is the third largest zoological garden in the world.

The Wrocław Zoo is the most visited zoo in Poland and the fifth most visited zoo in Europe.

The zoo is an accredited member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).^[7]

Vast, Gothic-style brick landmark. St. Mary's Church, or formally the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Brick Gothic Catholic church located in central Gdańsk, Poland. With its volume between 185,000 m3 and 190,000 m3 it is currently one of the two or three largest brick churches in the world. Only San Petronio Basilica in Bologna, comprising 258,000 m3 is larger, Munich Frauenkirche and Ulm Minster also comprise 185,000 to 190,000 m3.

Between 1536 and 1572 St. Mary's Church was used for Catholic and Lutheran services simultaneously. From the 16th century until 1945 it was the second largest Lutheran church in the world.

It is 105.5 metres (346 ft) long, and the nave is 66 metres (217 ft) wide. Inside the church is room for 25,000 people. It is an aisled hall church with a transept. It is a co-cathedral in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gdańsk, along with the Oliwa Cathedral.^[13]

Poznań Fara, also known as the Parish Church or simply Fara, is a Roman Catholic basilica located in the heart of the Old Town district in Poznań, western Poland. It is one of the city's most recognizable landmarks, the most important Christian temple alongside the Cathedral and the finest example of Baroque architecture in Poland. The full name of the Church is Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Mary Magdalene and Saint Stanislaus. It is currently part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Poznań.

Built between 1651 and 1701, the structure was engineered by Polish and Italian masters in the Baroque style, who also incorporated Roman architectural aspects such as the monumental Corinthian columns in the interior. In the mid-18th century Pompeo Ferrari designed the main altar standing at 17 meters in height and the main entrance from the Old Town. In 1876 an organ constructed by Friedrich Ladegast was installed inside the Church. The Fara, like most of the city, was spared from destruction during World War II.^[14]

Nazi concentration camp. Majdanek was a Nazi concentration and extermination camp built and operated by the SS on the outskirts of the city of Lublin during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. It had seven gas chambers, two wooden gallows, and some 227 structures in all, placing it among the largest of Nazi concentration camps. Although initially intended for forced labor rather than extermination, the camp was used to murder people on an industrial scale during Operation Reinhard, the German plan to murder all Polish Jews within their own occupied homeland. The camp, which operated from 1 October 1941 to 22 July 1944, was captured nearly intact. The rapid advance of the Soviet Red Army during Operation Bagration prevented the SS from destroying most of the camp's infrastructure, and Deputy Camp Commandant Anton Thernes failed to remove most incriminating evidence of war crimes.

The camp was nicknamed Majdanek in 1941 by local residents, as it was adjacent to the Lublin ghetto of Majdan Tatarski. Nazi documents initially described the site as a POW camp of the Waffen-SS, based on how it was funded and operated. It was renamed by the Reich Security Main Office as Konzentrationslager Lublin on April 9, 1943, but the local Polish name remained more popular.

After the camp's liberation in July 1944, the site was formally protected by the Soviet Union. By autumn, with the war still raging, it had been preserved as a museum. The crematorium ovens and gas chambers were largely intact, serving as some of the best examples of the genocidal policy of Nazi Germany. The site was given national designation in 1965. Today, the Majdanek State Museum is a Holocaust memorial museum and education centre devoted entirely to the memory of atrocities committed in the network of concentration, slave-labor, and extermination camps and sub-camps of KL Lublin. It houses a permanent collection of rare artifacts, archival photographs, and testimony.^[23]

Fresh and seawater aquarium in 1970s space. Gdynia Aquarium is a public aquarium and sea museum operated by the National Marine Fisheries Research Institute in Gdynia, Poland. Previously called the Oceanographic Museum and Sea Aquarium of the Sea Fisheries Institute in Gdynia, the aquarium has a zoological garden status and is situated along Aleja John Paul II on the South Pier.

The museum has operated since 21 June 1971, although attempts were made to establish it in the 1920s and 1930s.

Exhibitions presented within the museum are on oceanography and hydrobiology, while the aquarium contains both sea and freshwater flora and fauna.

Educational activities were developed during exhibition modernizations. In 2005, a Cinema-Conference Hall was unveiled, as were rooms equipped with microscopes and computer equipment for conducting laboratory activities. In 2007 a Wet Room was opened - a place where one can put their hands into an open-top aquarium tank and touch fish. The Marine Education Section was expanded with a Preschool Room full of soft marine toys, which is very frequently visited by the youngest school children.^[29]