Gorlitz is on the German-Polish border. This is taken from the Polish side looking forwards the German side. The Polish town is called Zgorzelec but is very different. The second picture is my favourite building in Gorlitz, built in 1550, with its two sundials. It used to be the Ratsapoteke or Town Hall Pharmacy, but …
Category Archives: Poland
Postcard #23 – Churches of Peace in Swidnica and Jawor
I did not post a photo yesterday because my server was down which was frustrating because we visited one of the most extraordinary churches I have ever seen – not the outside, which was not particularly impressive, but the inside. Unfortunately, there is a lot of lighting which does not make it easy to take photos; …
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Postcard #22 – The Panorama, Wroclaw
The Panorama, measuring 15 x 114 metres and executed by a group of painters headed by Jan Styka, was originally presented in Lviv in a special round building in 1894. Depicting the Battle of Raclawice, it was taken to Wroclaw after World War II but the subject was considered too patriotic by the Soviets and …
Postcard #21 – Rural houses in Poland
When cycling around the Polish countryside, we’ve seen a lot of old timber houses but the roofs are always fibre cement, flat iron and occasionally currugated iron which obviously can’t be the original material. Today we visited a very interesting outdoor museum near Opole on our way from Krakow to Wroclaw and we were able …
Postcard #20 – The Barbican, Kraków
The photo I would have liked to post today was not possible. We visited Wawel Castle which has the most extraordinary stamped and dyed leather-covered walls but unfortunately no photos are allowed and we were under close surveillance. The barbican above, built in 1498, is just outside what remains of the city walls which were …
Postcard #19 – Krakow
Unlike Warsaw and despite the terrible extermination of 200,000 Jews who were confined to a ghetto, Krakow remained relatively undamaged at the end of World War II, sparing most of the city’s historical and architectural legacy. Above is the Renaissance Cloth Hall in the main Market Square, and below, Wawel Castle, which we intend to …
Postcard #18 – Lancut Castle
Today we stopped off in Lancut on our way from Zamosc to Krakov and I fell in love with this extraordinary castle. It’s nothing special from the outside but the inside is amazing. My photographs do not do it justice. We have seen so many castles in the last 20 years that we’ve become a …
Postcard #17 – Armenian Houses in Zamosc
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 …
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 …