A walk through the residential areas of Poland. Polish village, food prices, private house, Warsaw, Poland, village To emigrate on horseback

August 2015. Poland. Polish village near Warsaw Mysiadło (Myszczadlo). We leave the yard and go to Auchan (Auchan).

I'll show you a little of the village where we live. This is the first Strefa (Strefa I - a network of routes for ease of movement - author's note) - right next to Warsaw, so the transport tariff is calculated as for Warsaw. That is, we only buy a monthly subscription for the first Strefa - it costs 110 zlotys - and go. Although this is not Warsaw. If you write letters here, send boxes, then your final destination will be Myshchadlo. At first I actually thought that we were living in Warsaw, because the first Strefa, buses, everything was as it should be.

The houses on our street are, of course, old, but new ones have already been built on the next street. There is a Catholic statue of Jesus here, on Sundays Catholics come to pray at it, and services are often held. They built a house nearby in just six months.

We walk along this path every day to the stop, and then go to work. Walk to the stop at a fast pace for 7 minutes, at a slow pace for 10-13.

There is a przedszkole (kindergarten) here, I think there are two of them. There are a lot of children, because there are a lot of families. A beautiful, large school from the European Union was built in Myshchadlo. Thank God, we got into it because we are registered here, we have meldunek (registration). And if we have it, then at our place of registration we are provided with a free school, it is considered a state school. But the school is completely new, I’ll film it, just as September 1st is just around the corner! And today is August 13th. We will soon take the baby to 1st grade. There is also a football field nearby, but the grass on it has dried out this year.

There is an airport nearby, and all the planes fly past us. Here is a beautiful view of our lake. The first thing that caught my eye after Ukraine (we came from Kyiv) were the large trees. There are ducks on the lake in summer and winter, but more in winter. People feed them. There is also free Wi-Fi here, when we didn’t have internet, we came here and used it. By winter last year, exercise equipment was installed near the lake.

On the opposite side of the road from the lake there is Panska's hut, it is more than 150 years old, and an old, old huge oak tree, before it was unfenced, you could come closer and hug it; and now this oak tree has been fenced off and a sign “Pomnik przyrody” (natural monument) has been hung on it. In general, trees are treated very carefully here! To cut down a tree or plant one, you need a permit.

We live in a private house, and in the owner’s yard there was an apricot tree that began to get sick, stopped bearing fruit, and the leaves turned white. The owner realized that there would be no use and he needed to cut it down. In order not to go to the urząd (government) and get permission to cut down this apricot tree, because according to the plan it should grow here, the owner uprooted it and planted a young apricot in the same place. This is how trees are treated.

And we continue to go to Auchan. In this area there is also Decathlon, Fashion House - everything is within close proximity, you can easily reach it on foot.

The most interesting part of the journey through rural Eastern Europe begins. The Baltic states, even though I had only been to one country before, are still very Soviet, everyone speaks Russian... Poland is a different matter. Poland has been in the EU exactly as long as the three Baltic countries - nine. But despite their common socialist past, the countries developed slightly differently. So what have they done in a little less than a quarter of a century without the “big brother” of the USSR?

One and a half thousand kilometers "zigzag", of course, is too short to understand this country. But to get into it - just right, especially since Chevrolet and I tried to choose the smallest, narrowest, but very beautiful roads!

1 I left Lithuania while it was still dark, in thick fog. It's good that Baltic drivers drive politely and keep speed, especially in bad weather.

2 Another conditional checkpoint. Of course, there is no one there and the passage is free. What a beautiful world without borders! I can imagine how much time I would have lost on exactly the same trip if there were borders between each country. Although I imagine it very well, two and a half years ago I traveled through seven Balkan countries in a month and crossed borders many, many times. (*see travel Balkan stars
)

3 Poland. Previously, these letters meant a completely different world for Soviet people. Getting to Poland was a happiness that was not available to everyone. And even now it should be more “European”. Let's see.

4 After a couple of kilometers there is a pedestrian crossing right on the highway. Because it is foggy, a woman in a bright uniform with a large stop sign stands at the crossing and helps to cross the road.

5 This was not the case in the Baltic states. In Russia - even more so. And it’s unlikely that it ever will be.

6 I like the interior of the Captiva, it turned out to be quite American and recognizable. Although why didn’t they change the nameplate on the steering wheel in the restyled version? In modern Chevrolets it is different.

7 I drive along the highway for a bit. They exist in Poland. Directly - Russia, Kaliningrad region. But I don't need to go there. Someday, another time. And without stupid boundaries.

8 Autumn foggy morning in the Polish wilderness. It smells very tasty, I want to tell you!

9 The neat little villages are left behind.

10 Not far from a town called Elk, an elk appears on the road. More precisely, a moose cow. He jumps over the wooden fence and begins to slowly cross the road, his heels clicking on his long legs. (and Elk in English is elk. Funny coincidence)

11 I noticed the moose from afar, so she did not pose any danger. I stopped to take a photo of her. The forest beauty turned around to look before disappearing into the bushes. Didn't I turn around to see if she turned around?

12 The roads are most often good. There is no trash along the roadsides. And this is perhaps the only thing that distinguishes the local nature and environment from Russia.

13 There are a lot of cows. We don't have that much in the fall. It's cold already.

14 Mu! Ventspils says hello.

15 Do you believe that a real steam locomotive can suddenly and loudly pass along such a half-abandoned railway? No? But in vain.

16

17 Sometimes the road leads through the outskirts of very different cities. I don’t even remember them, although I want to go straight to some residential area and take a walk there. See how Poles live in Soviet box houses. But not at this time. Travel is “rural”, about small places. And not multi-apartment anthills.

18 Polish cities look very different. Some are very well-groomed, some are completely shabby. But where did the inscription " Kosovo This Serbia"? Well, yes, I don’t like Albanians either.

19 There are a lot of traffic cameras. They are in almost every village. Drivers drive carefully. I think the relationship is obvious. I have a radar detector with me, which I thought about using in Russia, but even there I couldn’t get it. You know, it’s easy not to violate. And I advise you.

20 Just some Polish village that I dropped in for a minute.

21 Beauty!

22 One very interesting shoot went wrong for me. It’s my own fault: I entered the first village of Petrovo that came across into the navigator, although there are a dozen of them in Poland. I began to realize that something was wrong only a couple of kilometers away. As a result, I arrived, talked with local residents and realized that I had come to the wrong place. I photographed them for memory. I’ll say briefly about communication, but separately: in Poland they don’t speak Russian, and you hardly know Polish. But communication is possible, and very easy. To understand Poles fluently, you need to speak a little Ukrainian (these languages ​​are even more similar) and use your imagination. For example, you can guess what “gurtovnya” or “zayazd” is without a dictionary.

23 Everything is clear, right? Restaurant, overnight stay.

24 Sometimes it's funny. They don't write motel, but "motelik". You probably know about the ugly beauty. And almost all Slavic peoples call the theater a disgrace.

25 An interesting tradition in Poland. It is customary to park old airplanes near gas stations. Like decoration, but still - why airplanes? I've seen this happen many times, and always right next to gas stations.

26 The towns and villages themselves are much neater than ours. Not surprised.

27 In some places it is very similar to Belarus. I’m also not surprised, they are not shy about learning from the Poles, and half of the country was once Poland.

28 Beautiful, neat, pleasant. This is the case in almost every village. You won't be able to guess the country from a photo. They don't live richly here at all. But you don’t need a lot of money to live with dignity. It's just a matter of accuracy and attitude towards yourself and your land.

29 Bicycles are sold near the roads. As I understand it, they are more in demand here than plush Chinese toys of poisonous colors.

30 This is still possible to meet.

31 But simultaneous road repairs are underway throughout the country. They are not just patched up, but expanded and reconstructed.

32 The end result is these beautiful highways. And the speed limit here is not even 130, but 140 kilometers per hour.

33 We are turning onto local roads again. It will be more interesting further!

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Belarusian Ivan Borovik once worked as a railway driver, and now he is retired. Ivan is 65 years old and lives in the Polish town of Orlya, 30 kilometers from the state border with the Republic of Belarus. If Borovik wanted, he could cover this distance in his old Skoda in 20 minutes. It would have taken him another two hours to complete customs formalities. Here it is, the ethnic homeland, behind that border pillar! The paradox is that Belarusian Ivan has never been to Belarus in his life, and there are many like him. Thousands of residents of the Polish Podlasie speak a language similar to Belarusian, live in villages at the entrance to which there are signs with Belarusian names, and consider themselves Belarusians. How are they there in the EU, what connects them with our country? About this in the report Onliner.by.

We are driving from Bialystok towards Vysokoye, and on the road we notice a sign “Cats”. This is a small village with two streets, three dozen huts and several rich mansions. Monday, working hours, Koshki is deserted. We will look for Belarusians here to find out why they consider themselves such.

Podlasie is a special region of Poland, which has been divided more than once by big powers. People here are confused in many ways about who they are. Belarusians and Ukrainians lived in the Bialystok region, they were deported and returned, Polonized, oppressed, and then given the right to self-expression. Even now, when neighboring countries cannot have any territorial claims on the region, there is a struggle for the “souls” of local residents. Ukrainians believe that the local people speak a dialect of their language, and call themselves Belarusians by mistake, due to historical habit and pressure from Poland. When a couple of years ago in the Orla commune appeared signs duplicating the names of villages in Belarusian, the active Ukrainian minority expressed indignation about this. There would be something to share!

- Who are we? We are all Belarusians here,- argue the old women standing in the middle of the street. They lively discuss the arrival of a car with Belarusian license plates.

- You guys brought diesel fuel and cigarettes?

The pensioners have misunderstood, but they can be understood. Belarusian fuel and tobacco are regularly delivered to Polish border villages. The cheapest cigarettes like Minsk are sold for 5-6 zlotys (about $2). It's funny that it is speculator traders who carry out multicultural communication between representatives of the same people separated by a border. This bridge is thin and unreliable.

Lyubov Konstantinovna lives with her husband. She is 78, he is 81. Between them they receive about $700 in pensions.

- Is this money?- says Grandma Lyuba. - Some people earn more, but we would have collapsed if it weren’t for our own farm. The children live in Belsk and help. Life was hard. She worked at a gas park. The three of us: father, mother and me. They cultivated 20 hectares of land and bent their backs. And recently I fell, broke my leg, I can barely walk.

The daily life of a Polish village in the outback is not much different from life in a Belarusian village. In the evenings, old people watch TV, during the day they come across a “car shop”, and on weekends they walk to church. There are few children in Koshki - four go to school. Young people moved to the cities. Pensioners have transferred the land they own to their children in order to receive “rent”. They are trying to cultivate the hectares they own on their own. There are no particular drinkers, but there are those who do drink.

- Do you know anything about Belarus - what is happening there now? - we ask the grandmother.

- One good guy, his name is Seryozha, he came from Belarus. I carried diesel fuel. He said that now you can live if you spin. He told me that he built a house for himself near Brest. We stopped taking diesel fuel from him, and he doesn’t travel anymore. What's going on there, what do we care? Previously, the TV showed a Belarusian channel, but now they played something there and there is no channel - you need a decoder.

- If there is no case, why do you call yourself Belarusian?

- I have a Polish passport, everything is Polish. But what kind of Polish am I? Belarusian!- the pensioner stands her ground.

We will ask a dozen more people about nationality. But we won’t hear a concrete answer.

Ivan Ivanovich was born in 1931, his wife Anna is a little younger. They named one son Marek, and the second, in our opinion, Slavik.

- How is Lukashenko doing? They say on Polish television that Barzo is chasing you!- the owner of the house jokes.

- Do you think that there is order in Poland? So listen,- he continues. - Socialism was bombed. We were robbed, banks, factories - everything is in Western hands. They destroyed what was there, but they didn’t quickly build a new one. Do you know what my pension is? 900 zlotys! Take it and give it a hundred a month for electricity and another 50 for water! We have our own pigs, chickens, cow, and that’s how we live. Not luxurious, no, don’t be too jealous. There are also those who have 50 cows and three cars, but don’t know what to do with the money. But there are not many of them.

According to our interlocutors, life in Belarus is going quite well. True, they themselves did not see this happy life - only on Belarusian television. I especially liked “Slavic Bazaar”; I couldn’t stop watching it. Everything is like the good old days, they tell us. If grandfather Ivan had been given free rein, he would have revived popular socialism in Poland without thinking too much about it.

- Everything is private with us, you say, but with you it’s state-owned? Maybe it's good, maybe it's bad,- Ivan Ivanovich does not calm down. - In order to make a road here, you have to buy the land from the owner and pay a lot of money. And they are making a freeway here - they don’t ask anyone! They gave the command and they built it. Even the Poles say that your roads are better.

Ivan’s son Marek is in no hurry to compare life in neighboring countries and remarks philosophically: “It’s good where we are not.”

- I have my own company, I deal with transport insurance,- he says. - My wife works at a bank. Her salary is 800-900 dollars, mine is more. I also have 10 hectares of land, and there is no income from it. Let's spin a little. You can live.

The commune of Orlya is an analogue of our village council. The settlement is a Belarusian agricultural town upgraded to level 100, which has shops, cafes, a gas station, ATMs, a hospital, a school, a kindergarten... The Polish “village council” even has its own website.

Of course, “the most beautiful places” is a somewhat subjective concept. But the attractions collected in this review will show how diverse the country is and how much you can see while traveling around Poland. Here we are talking about those places that are very convenient to visit if you don’t have much time - say, one day or a weekend.
1. Zywiec Lake. This is an artificial reservoir near the town of Żywiec in the Silesian Voivodeship. Although it serves economic purposes - there is a hydroelectric power station here - the lake is distinguished by its unique beauty, and therefore attracts a huge number of tourists. There are piers, beaches, you can surf and go yachting. A particularly beautiful view of the lake opens from Mount Żar, which belongs to the Lesser Beskids.

2. Koniaków, Istebna, Jaworzynka. This is the so-called Beskydy Truive. All three villages are part of the magnificent landscape of the Silesian Beskids, and are connected by one main road and several smaller roads. These places are also very famous for their traditions: local music and lace weaving skills are especially famous.


3. Skansen in the city of Sanok in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. This is one of the largest open-air museums in the country. On an area of ​​38 hectares there are almost 100 wooden buildings in the spirit of local traditions.


4. Torun. This is one of the most beautiful and oldest cities in Poland. Toruń is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The city is also well known for the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus. And Torun is also the capital of... gingerbread!


5. Gniezno. It is the first capital of Poland. The first Polish archbishopric was formed here and the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is located here - one of the most revered and famous Polish churches. How pleasant it is to wander through the narrow streets, the heart of which is the ancient Market Square!


6. Kamenczyk waterfall in the town of Szklarska Poreba (Elenegur County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship). This is the highest waterfall in the Polish Karkonosze Mountains. The water falls in a frame in three steps from a height of 27 meters. Behind the waterfall there is an artificial cave in which there is a large accumulation of amethysts and pegmatite. This cave is called “Golden Pit”. The waterfall itself is located at an altitude of 846 meters above sea level.

7. The village of Zalipie in the Lesser Poland region of Poland. It is famous for the fact that almost everything in it is painted! Local traditional patterns can be seen everywhere: on houses, fences, swings, furniture, stoves, trees, even kettles and washing machines! By the way - this is also a local feature - basically all the artists in Zalipye are women.


8. Bydgoszcz lies on the Brda River. The unofficial name of the city is “Bydgoszcz Venice”. And it’s hard to argue with this: looking at the centuries-old buildings reflected in the clear river waters and at the boats and boats slowly sailing through the city, you begin to feel like you’re in a medieval fairy tale. To the east of the city is the Bydgoszcz Canal, the oldest existing waterway in the country, connecting the Vistula and Odra.


9. Zegrzyn Lake. If the weather is good on a summer weekend, it means that the beaches near the lake, located 30 km from Warsaw, will be full of tourists. This artificially created reservoir on the Narew River is today one of the most popular Sunday destinations among residents of the capital and surrounding areas.


10. Routes for horseback riding in the Low Beskids. The so-called Transbeskid route is the longest among mountain routes of this kind. Its length is 400 km. When you travel along this road, you can meet colorful villages, picturesque valleys, mountain ranges, and magnificent national parks.


11. Palace in Bozkow near the town of Nowa Ruda (Lower Silesian Voivodeship). This beautiful 18th century building has been abandoned for several years now. But perhaps that is why it attracts tourists with its mystery and enigma.


12. Soltykov Jets. This is a natural reservoir in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In addition to magnificent vegetation, there are also deposits of minerals and paleontological fossils.


13. Lake Turkusovo on the western coast of the Baltic. It is located on the site where chalk has long been mined. The color of the lake is somewhat unusual - blue with a green tint. This color is obtained due to the play of sunlight, which, penetrating into clean water and reflecting from the minerals located at the bottom of the reservoir, gives this effect. There are walking paths around the lake. If you climb the nearby hill, you can see not only this lake, but also the Baltic Sea itself.


14. The village of Zhelazova Wola near Warsaw. Frederic Chopin was born and spent his childhood here. Nowadays, in the house where the future composer lived, there is a museum, and near it there is a park and garden laid out in the 30s of the last century.


15. Rafting along the beaver route. This is a real treat for kayaking enthusiasts. The route passes through the West Pomeranian and Lubusz Voivodeships and is located among picturesque forests and rivers.


16. Moshni Castle. Located in the Opole Voivodeship, the architectural ensemble is one of the main attractions of Upper Silesia. Nowadays there is a center for the treatment of diseases of the nervous system, but part of the castle is open to the public.


17. Lake Nidzke. This glacial lake is one of the least untouched lakes in Masuria. Those who value contact and harmony with nature will especially like it here.


18. Rafting on the Dikaya (Divoka) Orlitsa River. Traveling along this river is not an easy task and is more suitable for those who have some experience. It is quite rocky, very cold and incredibly beautiful - an extreme pleasure for rafting lovers. The Wild Eagle flows in the Sudetes through the territory of Poland and the Czech Republic.


19. Museum of characters... before bed. Here are the heroes of the Polish analogues of the program “Good Night Kids”. The only museum of its kind is located in Rzeszow. And it’s not even clear who is more interested here - children or adults...


20. The city of Bielsko-Biala in the Silesian Voivodeship. One of the most beautiful Polish cities with many old buildings and, of course, the central Market Square. By the way, there are two unusual monuments here - to heroes... of cartoons. These are the dogs Rex and Bolek and Lolek, beloved by the Poles.

21. Ruins of Rabztyn Castle in Lesser Poland Voivodeship. This is a knight's castle from the 13th century. Part of it has been restored, but from most of the structure only the skeletons of the walls remain. Which, however, attracts a huge number of tourists. There are many legends associated with the castle. For example, that deep underground there is another castle - large and beautiful. And that its inhabitants sleep there. And only once a year they wake up, open the doors of luxurious halls and sit down at tables covered with delicious dishes. And then everything goes to sleep again - until next year...


22. Sheep Mountain. It is the second highest mountain in the Silesian Beskids. Its height is 1220 meters. Paths running through virgin nature lead to its top, where the geodetic station and observation point are located. And the view from the mountain is simply fabulous!


23. Vistula Žuławy. In northern Poland, several tens of kilometers from the sea, the Vistula leaves a large amount of river sediment, thereby forming sand dunes - they separate Żuławy from the Baltic Sea. A significant territory of Zulawy is located below sea level, and therefore an extensive network of dams and canals was built there - it is considered one of the densest in Europe.


24. Icons in Lancut. The town of Lancut in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship is famous for the Lubomirski Castle from the 17th century. To this day it has been preserved in excellent condition. The largest collection of icons in Poland is kept here. There are about 2,500 of them in the castle. Most of these icons were transferred after the war from destroyed churches located in the north-eastern part of Poland.


25. The village of Krasiejów in Opole County, Opole Voivodeship. Traces of ancient amphibians and reptiles were found here, and a paleontological pavilion was built at the site of the discovery. Now “Jurapark” is open there - an amusement park “inhabited” with dinosaurs.


26. Lavender fields. And not in Provence, but near Olsztyn! The lavender field near New Kavkov has existed since 2001. And although it is sometimes difficult for enthusiasts who grow this plant - after all, the local climate is not as suitable for lavender as Provençal - every year you can observe luxurious blooms here. At the same time, farmers try not to use chemical fertilizers and pesticides. And when the season ends, bouquets and sachets are made from dried flowers.


27. Underwater quarry in Piechcin (Kuyavia-Pomeranian Voivodeship). At its bottom lie real treasures - yachts, sailing boats, even two Fiat 126s in almost perfect condition. It is especially interesting here when there has been no rain for some time and the water is completely clear. This is one of the few quarries in Poland where diving is possible.


28. Mouth of the Warta (Lubskie Voivodeship). This is a kingdom of wild animals and birds living near water. There are 270 species of the latter here. All of them are under protection - after all, there is a national park here. In 2009 it was voted the best European tourist destination.


29. Underground bunkers in Szczecin. It is believed that there were almost 800 of them here! After the Second World War, 160 were opened. One of the most interesting is the anti-aircraft bunker. It is located at a depth of 17 meters and even had its own water supply. The thickness of its walls is 3 meters. There could be 2,500 people in the bunker at the same time.


30. Center of Slavs and Vikings in Wolin. Walking through this scansen is like traveling back in time. There are recreated huts from the early Middle Ages, where members of Slavic brotherhoods sometimes spend time. You can go into each of these houses and get acquainted with the interior. A festival of Slavs and Vikings takes place here every year.

Poland is one of the most famous countries in Central Europe. It has a rich history, and mentions of the country date back to the 1st century. Although tourists are not very keen to visit this country, there are many historical buildings, an extensive Baltic coastline, hills and lakes formed during the Ice Age. Here you can find rare representatives of flora and fauna that are not found anywhere else in Europe. Not only Warsaw and Krakow are worthy of tourists' attention. There are small beautiful towns in Poland and amazing villages that are worth visiting.

The free city of Sanok is located in the foothills of the Carpathians on the San River. The city not only has a rich history and architecture, but also has stunning panoramic views. This small town has been here for almost a thousand years. It houses Sanok Castle and one of the largest collections of icons in Central and Eastern Europe. Popular attractions include the Old Town and the Open Air Museum of Folk Architecture.

Wieliczka is located just a few kilometers from Krakow. It is home to one of the world's oldest operating salt mines.

This tiny town of just over 1,000 people is a true gem for history buffs. It contains almost all of the historical Polish wooden structures from the 19th century, built by the highlanders. Situated between the High and Low Tatras, the city is surrounded by evergreen forests.

Zlotoryja is supposedly the oldest city in the country. It is located on the banks of the Kachava. This area is also known as the “Land of Dormant Volcanoes”. It was once a famous gold mining town. The best way to view the city is from the bell tower of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, built in the 13th century. Outside the small medieval town is Basta Kowalska, also known as the Kuznetskaya Tower, which offers stunning panoramic views of the city. There is also a gold mining museum, which tells the story of the city's famous gold mining past.

The city of Bech is located in the foothills of the Carpathians. It was once considered one of the most significant trading cities in Poland. Here Vaclav Potocki wrote “The Battle of Khotyn”. The city is often called "Little Krakow". Its most important attraction is the parish church, built in the late Gothic style. Here you can walk along the narrow medieval streets, visit the Kromerówka Museum of Beck Land and admire the historical hall in the House of Hodor.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Yaroslav hosted the second largest fair in Europe. Traders from all over the world came here. The main attraction of the city are the cellars and underground storage facilities. Much of the city's extravagant past has disappeared, but the imposing buildings still remain reminders of times gone by. To learn more about the city's history and architecture, you need to visit the historical palaces and city fortifications. The Orsetti House houses a museum entirely dedicated to Yaroslav. Since 1375, an almost untouched layout of the city has been preserved.

The quaint but delightful city in the Wielkopolska Voivodeship is often called the “Pearl of Polish Baroque”. This was facilitated by the Baroque palaces and buildings located in the city. Much of the architecture was created by 17th century masters Ian Stair and Pompeo Ferrari. The buildings of the 18th and 19th centuries complement those built earlier. The most historically significant building in the city is Rydzyn Castle. Also interesting is the Baroque Church of St. Stanislaus, in which the founder of the city is buried.

It seems that this city is lost in time. Having gone through many battles and recovered from their consequences, it stands calmly as a reminder of the medieval atmosphere. The most famous building in the city is the Gothic Episcopal Castle. Back in the 14th century, the Church of St. Peter was built. There are remarkable buildings scattered throughout the city, such as the classical town hall built in the 19th century, the Church of St. John, the Jesuit complex of the 15th and 16th centuries and the Catholic shrine of St. Lipka, where pilgrims have flocked since the 17th century.

Polish kings and Lithuanian princes loved to stop in the city to taste alcoholic beverages. It once housed 36 beer taverns, 15 establishments for vodka lovers and 10 honey inns. This small town, located near the Narew River, is one of the oldest settlements. There are more than a hundred historical buildings here, including the Tikocin Castle and the Baroque Church of the Holy Trinity. The Jewish cemetery is one of the oldest in the country, and the Baroque synagogue is one of the best in Poland and a main attraction.

The city is located on the banks of the Vistula River, and was once an important grain trading center. And now it is considered one of the best preserved historical cities in the country. Since the 19th century, the small town has attracted creative geniuses from all over the world. Some even spent the whole summer here. The streets of the city are lined with art and sculpture galleries. Here you can see such famous buildings as the parish church of St. Bartholomew and John the Baptist, the remains of Kazimierz Dolny Castle, St. Anne's Church, as well as many historical granaries.

It is considered the winter capital of Poland. This small but charming town is full of restaurants and shops. The majestic, snow-covered Tatra Mountains bring glory to the city. People come here to relax throughout the year, but as soon as the first snow falls, thousands of ski lovers flock to Zakopane.

Based on materials from: touropia.com