Discover 10 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Żywiec (Poland). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Old Castle in Żywiec, Co-Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Żywiec Brewery. Also, be sure to include Park Zamkowy in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Żywiec (Silesian).
Table of Contents
Old Castle in Żywiec
Also known as: Stary Zamek w Żywcu
Old Castle in Żywiec is a castle located in Żywiec, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland.[1]
Address: 34-310 Żywiec, Żywiec
Co-Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Also known as: Konkatedra Narodzenia Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Żywcu
Co-cathedral in Żywiec. The Co-Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also called Żywiec Cathedral, is the main Catholic religious building in the city of Żywiec, Poland, and the co-cathedral of the Diocese of Bielsko–Żywiec.
In 1470 the church was built in Gothic style and became a parish. In the sixteenth century the church was extended twice with the support of the Komorowski family, once owner of Żywiec. The first expansion took place between 1515 and 1542, with the extension of the chancel and nave. On October 9, 1547, the church was consecrated by the Bishop of Kraków with the title of the "Nativity of the Virgin Mary and St. Lawrence Martyr" in honor of the Extension Promoter church, Lawrence Komorowski. The subsequent expansion was carried out in the years 1582 to 1583 still focused on the ship, with the addition of a square tower, the Italian architect Giovanni Ricci.
The church was elevated to the co-cathedral of the Diocese of Bielsko–Żywiec, simultaneously with the erection of the new diocese on March 25, 1992, with the Bull "Totus Tuus Poloniae populus" of Pope John Paul II.[2]
Address: Zamkowa 2, 34-300 Żywiec
Żywiec Brewery
Also known as: Browar w Żywcu
Żywiec Brewery is one of the largest breweries and beer producers in Poland. Founded in 1856 in the town of Żywiec, the brewery manufactures pale lager with a 5.6% alcohol volume. Grupa Żywiec S.A. consists of five main breweries: Żywiec Brewery, Elbrewery, Leżajsk, Warka Brewery and Browar Namysłów. Currently, the Dutch Heineken Group, with a 65% shareholding, has control over its major operations. Harbin B.V. has 35% shareholding. The brewery has the capacity of producing 5 million hls a year, making it the largest brewery in Grupa Żywiec.[3]
Address: Browarna 88, 34-300 Żywiec
Park Zamkowy
Castle Park - park, former castle garden established in 1712 in Zywiec, entered as part of the castle complex in the register of immovable monuments of the Silesian province.
Little Beskids
Mountain range in Poland. The Little Beskids is one of the Beskids mountain ranges in the Western Beskids ranges of the Outer Western Carpathians in southeastern Poland. Within the range is the protected area known as Little Beskids Landscape Park.
Its highest mountain is Czupel, 933 m above sea level. Soła river running from south to north divides the mountain range into two groups.
Andrychów, Bielsko-Biała, Kęty, Kozy, Międzybrodzie Bialskie, Porąbka, Wilkowice are the main starting points of the blazed routes into the mountains.[4]
Kościół pw. Świętego Marka w Żywcu
St. Mark's Church - a church located in Zywiec, in the Śródmieście district, in the parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
It is located on Sienkiewicza Street, behind the County Hospital. The first wooden church was built in this place in 1591 as a votive shrine to propitiate for the reversal of a plague that had struck the city.
The brick church was built in 1885. On its tower there is an early Baroque wooden relief depicting St. Mark. The relief is painted with oil paints.
The old furnishings of the church included classicist wooden candlesticks, donated to the City Museum in Zywiec, and a Gothic triptych from the years 1445-1450, whose two preserved wings with images of four seated bishops, Our Lady of Sorrows and Christ of Sorrows were given to the National Museum in Krakow.
Address: Henryka Sienkiewicza, 34-300 Żywiec
Kościół pw. Przemienienia Pańskiego
Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord - a church located in Zywiec on the grounds of the Transfiguration of the Lord cemetery in the Śródmieście district.
The temple was erected in 1701 on the initiative of the alderman of Zywiec, Andrzej Komoniecki, and his wife, Zofia Kalfasowiczówna, as a small wooden chapel, expanded into a church in 1704. In 1850-1856 this church was replaced by a new brick building. The temple was built with funds from contributions of the citizens of Zywiec.
The church contained historical paintings, reliquaries, and the epitaph of Andrzej Komoniecki, but they were moved to the Municipal Museum in Zywiec.
Address: Komonieckiego 25, 34-300 Żywiec
Kościół pw. Świętego Krzyża
Holy Cross Church - a Gothic church in Zywiec, located in the downtown district, in the part of town called Rudza. It is a branch church of the Parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Zywiec.
The church dates back to the early 15th century, it is also called the Church of the Three Crosses. It was built in the Gothic style, extended during the Baroque period. In 1690, on the initiative of Father Wojciech Symelius, parish priest and dean of Zywiec, the presbytery was enlarged. Then a circular apse was added. In turn, in 1878, a chapel of the garden was built, and in 1910 - the tower. The nave is covered with barrel vaults, and the sloping roof is covered with shingles. In the main altar there is an early Baroque wooden crucifix. On the sides there are more recent statues of the Virgin Mary, St. John the Evangelist and St. Mary Magdalene. There are also several side altars in the church. Outside, by the apse, there is a Calvary with the Crucified Christ and the scoundrels on his two sides. These are Baroque sculptures made of wood and polychrome. Next to the church there used to be a cemetery where people sentenced to death by the city court were buried. Stone crosses were placed on their graves, but only one remains today.
Domek Chiński
Chinese House - a historic gazebo located in the Żywiec park, built in the second half of the 18th century by the Wielopolski family, constructed in the form of a Chinese House, with the Wielopolski family's coat of arms, Starykoń, visible above the roof. The house is a remnant of the old garden architecture, built on an octagonal plan and two-storey. On the first floor there is a café and on the first floor there is a gallery.
Ławeczka Alicji Habsburg
Alice Habsburg Bench in Zywiec - a sculpture in the form of a monumental bench, located in Zywiec Castle Park, near the Miniature Park.
The monument presents the figure of Alicja Habsburg née Ankarcrona - the Swedish-born morganatic wife of Karol Olbracht Habsburg, mother of Princess Maria Krystyna Habsburg. Alicja Habsburg lived in Zywiec from 1920 to 1945, and during World War II she was a member of the Home Army. Her life-size figure is shown seated, with a handkerchief bearing the Habsburg coat of arms in her hand. The author of the sculpture, made of bronze, is the sculptor Bronisław Krzysztof. The monument, unveiled in February 2012, was created as part of the Miniatures Park project, implemented by the Poviat Starosty in Żywiec.