World Heritage Sites in Poland – UNESCO

6. Historic Centre of Warsaw

During the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944, more than 85% of Warsaw’s historic centre was destroyed by Nazi troops. After the war, a five-year reconstruction campaign by its citizens resulted in today’s meticulous restoration of the Old Town, with its churches, palaces and market-place. It is an outstanding example of a near-total reconstruction of a span of history covering the 13th to the 20th century.

For a relatively small area of the Old Town Square are the most valuable monuments in Warsaw Royal Castle, Sigismund’s Column, the Cathedral of St. John, as well as the market adjacent to its tenements. Today, looking at these buildings is hard to believe that almost 70 years ago, in their place were only ruins. During World War II the city was razed to the ground almost entirely, bombed, blown up monuments of the Old Town began painstakingly reconstructed in the first post-war years. Old Town has been listed by UNESCO as an example of faithful reconstruction, which uses preserved fragments of the walls. It was the world’s first reconstruction of the historic part of the city, carried out on such a large scale.

7. Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: the Mannerist Architectural and Park Landscape Complex and Pilgrimage Park

In situated several dozen kilometers from Krakow, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, is the most famous Polish sanctuary Passion-Marian, called “Polish Jerusalem.” For more than four years, successive generations of pilgrims make pilgrimages to go the route of the Cross in Jerusalem reflects the route of Christ’s Passion. The founder of the sanctuary was Nicholas Zebrzydowski, Krakow province governor, whom the local terrain associated the shaping of Jerusalem. He entrusted to the care of the sanctuary Bernardynom, which soon established church and monastery. Then the surrounding hills built 42 chapels and churches that map presented in the Gospel of the topography of Jerusalem. The whole area is divided into two parts, which he called “paths”: “paths of the Lord Jesus” and “paths of the Virgin Mary.” Both have almost the same route, they differ only as the direction of the march.

8. Medieval Town of Toruń

Torun owes its origins to the Teutonic Order, which in the mid-thirteenth

Torun owes its origins to the Teutonic Order, which in the mid-thirteenth century. Built a castle that will serve as a base for the conquest and evangelization of Prussia. The town belonging to the Hanseatic League, and soon began to play an important role trade. Its rank is evidenced by numerous impressive, the fourteenth and fifteenth-century public buildings and private (including Copernicus House), rising in the Old and New Town.

9. Muskauer Park

Lying in Polish and German park is the largest and most famous park in the English style in both countries, considered one of the greatest achievements of garden architecture in nineteenth-century Europe. Park occupies approx. 5.45 km² on both sides of the river Lusatian Neisse. On the German side is 200 hectares of the park (including the center of the park in Bad Muskau German), Poland has some 800 hectares and is located around Łęknica. Both parts of spina border crossing and a wooden bridge on the Neisse. Endless meadows, picturesque lakes and rivers, winding paths – though it seems that this landscape was formed only nature, it is a garden a work of art created by a German Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau. The intention of the authors was to be the place where harmoniously merged with nature, culture and technology.

10. Old City of Zamość

Zamosc is a rare example of an almost fully preserved Renaissance city, built on the so-called. “Greenfield“, based on the theories of the Italian “ideal city”. The founder designed from the ground up in the sixteenth century, the city was hetman Jan Zamoyski, one of the richest men in the history of the world, and at the same educated connoisseur of art. To realize the dream urzeczywistniających Italian concept called. “Ideal city” invited the Italian architect Bernardo Morando. Thus arose one of the best teams in Europe, urban and architectural. It includes m.in .: three markets, the residence palace, the academy, town hall, arsenal, collegiate and townhouses. In addition to the collegiate Morando also created six temples for each of the denominations represented by the townspeople of Zamosc. A characteristic feature of the works of Morando is combining elements of local art, architecture Italian, Dutch and Armenian. With time, the city Zamoyski became an impregnable fortress, with a reliable defense system, which consisted of, among others, a team of seven interconnected walls, bastions.

11. Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines

Wieliczka Salt Mine was entered in 1978. As one of the first 12 objects in the world. In 2013, the entry has been extended to the Salt Mine in Bochnia and Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka, changing the name of the entry. Royal Salt Mines in Wieliczka and Bochnia are the entry standard. Deposits of rock salt in Wieliczka are operated from the thirteenth century. The mine extends to 9 levels and has 360 km of sidewalks, which are carved in salt altars, statues and other works of art; stages of an exciting pilgrimage to the past of this large-scale industrial projects. Zone of the Historic Mine in Bochnia are the three windows: Sutoris (from the mid-thirteenth century.), Campi (from the mid-sixteenth century.) And Trinitatis (from the beginning of the twentieth century.) And 9 levels located below the surface. Precious heritage of spiritual culture are the Bochnia miners underground chapels and places of worship.

12. Wooden Tserkvas

Wooden churches in the Polish and Ukrainian Carpathian region is a testament to the temples which separate building traditions, rooted in the tradition of the Eastern Church.

Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage List includes 16 elected church, eight of which are on the territory of the Polish (Małopolska and Podkarpackie) and eight in Ukraine (in the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Transcarpathian region). In Poland they are: the Orthodox church  in Radruż, Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God in Chotyniec, the Orthodox church in Smolnik, the Orthodox church in Turzańsk (Podkarpacie) and the Orthodox church in Powroźnik, the church of the Mother of God in the Welfare Owczary, the Orthodox church in Kwiatoń, the Orthodox church in Brunary Wyżne (Lesser).

13. Wooden Churches of Southern Małopolska

Trail of Wooden Architecture in Malopolska is up to 1500 km long, out of all located on the historic buildings deserves special attention group of wooden churches. After the Norwegian stave churches called Stave Church is the oldest cluster of wooden churches in Europe (part dates from the fourteenth century).

14. Białowieża Forest

Bialowieza Forest is situated on the territory of the Polish and Belarus is a vast expanse of primary forest, where there are both conifers and deciduous. The area listed extends over numbering 141 885 ha. It is a unique place from the point of view of biodiversity conservation. There is here the largest population of European bison, a species that symbolizes the Forest.

In 1979. On the World Heritage List was entered part of the Bialowieza National Park. Belarusian part of the Bialowieza Forest was registered in 1992. As an extension of an entry. Since 1992. The two parts of the forest are one object border. In 2014, a World Heritage has been extended, especially on the Polish side (from the surface of 5.069 ha to 59,576.09 ha). There was also a change of name (ang. Bialowieza Forest, before Bialowieza Forest / Belovezhskaya Pushcha)

Read more:

https://themigrationbureau.com/2017/01/21/poland-travel-guide/