There are five very colourful 17th century Armenian houses on the market square in Zamosc, whose style combines Italian and oriental influences. The blue house is decorated with a young married couple while the yellow shows a polychrome Virgin of Mary slaying Evil in the form of a dragon. The red house depicts the Archangel Gabriel …
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Postcard #16 – Wooden Churches around Zamosc
We came across this wooden church by accident today and have no information about it. However, the second one in Tomaszowie Lubelskim had a sign in English. Built in 1627, it is considered to be one of the most important wooden baroque churches. It was refurbished in 1727 and rebuilt after both world wars. You …
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Postcard #15 – Lublin & Zamosc
This rather strange castle in Lublin in eastern Poland was built in the 16th century and rebuilt in the English neo-gothic style after a fire in the early 19th century. From 1820 to 1945 it was a prison. Its saving grace is a Byzantine chapel which dates back to the 15th century. Ce château un …
Postcard #14 – Malbork & Warsaw (Varsovie)
Two entirely different experiences today – Malbork, the largest mediaeval castle in Europe, covering 21 hectares and home to the Teutonic Order and a statue of Marie Curie in Warsaw where we are having a one-night stop. Deux expériences totalement différentes aujourd’hui : Malbork, le plus grand château médiéval en Europe, avec une surface de …
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Postcard #13 – Gdansk Crane
It was omewhat overcast today when we visited Gdansk but fortunately it didn’t rain. The crane you can see just behind the tall ship is one of the city’s icons and was also used as an entrance gate. First mentioned in 1367 the original structure burnt down in 1442 before its current design was created in 1442-1444. As a …
Postcard #12 – The Baltic
We had a fried seafood lunch overlooking the Baltic Sea today with a view à these typical Polish boats and at least three brides and grooms with their photographer in tow, yet we were quite far from the nearest town. We were also intrigued to see swans swimming in the sea. Below a tall ship …
Postcard #10 – Trompe l’œil in Poznan
You may remember my trompe l’œil photo taken in Germany but I think this one taken on Ostrow Tumski (Cathedral Island in Poznan is a whole other dimension. It wasn’t mentioned in either of our guidebooks! Below is Poland’s first cathedral, built in 968 but destroyed and rebuilt several times. Vous vous rappelez peut-être de …
Postcard #9 – Saint Michael the Archangel – Rogalinek
We came across this early 18th century wooden church when cycling from Poznan to Rogalin today, the only interesting thing along a difficult route intended for 20-year-old mountain bikers. The Parish Church of Saint Michael the Archangel is one of the few Marian sanctuaries of the Poznań Archdiocese. The shrine is dedicated to Our Lady …
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Postcard #8 – Poznan, Poland
It was a long day today – 500 k by car with quite a lot of roadworks around Berlin but we still had time to visit the main square of Poznan, Poland, Stary Rynek or Old Market Square while the light was still sufficient. The building in the centre is the town hall. It is one …
Postcard #7 – Bad Sulza
When we cycled past this building today, we were most intrigued. We still aren’t entirely sure because all the information was in German and I haven’t been able to find out much more on the web. Bad Sulza means “salt baths” and photos inside the building show men loading salt into the section on the …