Poland Travel Guide

Travelling around Poland can prove to be a fascinating journey to the past. Full of dates, names and facts, but also puzzles, such as the still unanswered question of where Mieszko I was baptised. Could it have been in the palace in Ostrow Tumski in Poznan, sensationally discovered in 1999? Or maybe at the baptistery on Ostrow Lednicki? Or perhaps in Regensburg?

History is in fashion! All of Poland’s one-time capitals – Gniezno, Plock, Krakow, Warsaw – are places not to be missed when journeying along the historical trail. However, it is also worth visiting the mythical capital, Kruszwica , the seat of King Popiel. There are also several unofficial capitals: Mieszko I’s favourite, Poznan, and Biecz, where Wladyslaw Lokietek found refuge. In 1652 the honour of being the country’s temporary centre fell to Nieporet. The whole royal family moved there when Warsaw was overcome by the plague.

Today, almost every self-respecting castle organises knights’ tournaments, which provide an opportunity to immerse oneself in the atmosphere of a bygone age, even if only for a moment. This idea was pioneered at the castle of the Teutonic Order in Gołub-Dobrzyn, where the annual New Year’s celebrations are visited by the ghost of Anna Wazowna, former mistress of the castle. The castle in Ilza specialises in staged reconstructions from the period of regional disintegration, while the fort in Gniew similarly commemorates the time of the Swedish invasions.

The activities of the chivalry movement in Poland are not limited to castles. Every year on 15 July in the fields near Grunwald, the greatest battle of the Middle Ages is played out. Other regular reconstructions of battles include: the Battle of Olszynka Grochowska in February, the Battle of the Bzura in Brochow in September and the Night of November in Warsaw.

You can also visit places dedicated to specific historical events. The Panorama Raclawicka in Wroclaw is a three-dimensional painted work showing Tadeusz Kosciuszko’s victorious battle at Raclawice. The Museum of the Warsaw Rising documents the events of the heroic uprising in the Polish capital, and the permanent exhibition entitled “Road to Freedom” at the Gdansk Shipyard reminds us of important dates in the history of the Solidarity movement.

Source : Poland.travel