Photos South West Poland

POLAND - OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

PART 3 - South West - Silesia - Nysa, Otmuchów, Klodzko, Swidnica, Ksiaz, Legnica

Bill Biega's
Photo
Collection

Click on any illustration with colored border to see it full size. Then click on "Back" button to return to this page. You can start from Wroclaw or Cracow to tour the small towns, palaces and castles of Silesia. Here are some photos of places you should see - Nysa, Otmuchów Castle, Paczków Walled Town, Kłódzko (Klodzko,) Swidnica, Książ (Ksiaz) Castle, Legnica, Kórnik Castle. Kudowa Zdrój and Table Mountain. They will give you an appreciation of the beauty of smaller Polish towns with a rich cultural history. See South Poland Tour 2002 for more details, places to stay, how to get there.
Nysa was badly damaged in WWII. The brick Gothic cathedral has survived. The separate belfry dates back to early 16thC. Note interesting interior details.
Otmuchów is a charming 16thC. town perched on a hillside between two lakes. Its Gothic castle, overlooking the town, belonged to the Bishops of Wroclaw. Recently it has been tastefully restored as a picturesque hotel.
Paczków is a walled town that retains the layout of the 13thC. when it was built, although many of its houses were constructed later in the Renaissance style. Unfortunately many have been replaced with 19thC. structures.
Klodzko lies on a steep hill overlooking the narrow river valley. A Gothic bridge with Baroque statues crosses it to the Franciscan church. A mark in the church shows the highest level ot the disastrous flood in 1997.
Kudowa Zdroj is a popular spa on the Czech border. A bizarre attraction is the Chapel of Skulls adjacent to the Czermna parish church. People cross back and forth across the border for shopping.
*The densely forested Table Mountains (Góry Stołowe) loom behind the spa. Strangely shaped rock formations are the major attraction of this National Park.*		Photo courtesy Dr. Zbigniew Wolinski
In the 14thC. Świdnica was the capital of an independent Duchy. The richly decorated Church of SS. Stanisław and Wenceslas dates back to this period. The Plague Column and a fountain adorn the Market Square.
The huge castle Książ sits on a cliff overlooking a huge park. The interior was denuded by Hitler's army and finally by the Soviets. But worth a visit to see the outside and the park.
Legnica was also capital of a rich, independent duchy in the 13thC. The Gothic Cathedral dates back to that time. It towers over the Baroque Town Hall in the Market Square. The huge Duke's Castle has been remodelled many times.
Kórnik, near Poznan, has miraculously survived the wars with its great art collection intact. A moat separates the castle from a park with a rich collection. Detail of one of the inlaid floors.

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Go back to Part 2 - Southern Poland;
or Part 1 - South East Poland
Return to Photo album index for other Photo Albums.
Also see Marek Wojciechowski's greatest collection of photos of Polish castles, churches and palaces anywhere on the Internet.

Last update November 2002