Pilgrimige Sites

Czestochowa is the leading Polish pilgrimage site and home to the Jasna Gora Monastery, housing the miraculous icon of Black Madonna. Locator: 90 miles from Krakow

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is a UNESCO site and the second largest shrine in Poland, after Czestochowa. Passion plays are performed here during Holy Week. Locator: 20 miles south of Krakow

Swieta Lipka boasts the most beautiful Baroque church in Poland, the Church of the Visitation sanctuary with its 18th century organ, masterpiece altar and frescos. Locator: northeast Poland, about 120 miles from Gdansk

Niepolkalanow, just outside Warsaw, is home to the Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a Franciscan monastery founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe; at present it is one of the most important places of pilgrimage in Poland.

Famous Cathedrals

Warsaw: The oldest of the city’s churches, St. John’s Cathedral was built in the early 15th century; razed to the ground in the war, it was completely reconstructed in the 20th, as were most of the Old Town buildings.

Krakow: Crowning Wawel Hill is the 14th century Royal Cathedral, where Polish kings were crowned and later buried in cavernous crypts. Cardinal Karol Wojtyla presided here before he became Pope John Paul II.

Gniezno: The town’s pride is the Cathedral, the last of several churches built on this site since 966; following World War II, the structure was rebuilt according to the original Gothic design. The focal point is the shrine of St. Adalbert, including his exquisite red-marble tomb.
Locator: 170 mi. west of Warsaw.

Gdansk: St. Mary’s Basilica, located in the middle of the main town, is believed to be the largest brick church in the world, accommodating some 25,000 people.
Locator: 200 mi. north of Warsaw.

Wroclaw: The monumental Ostrow Tumski Cathedral, a three-aisled Gothic basilica, was built between the 13th and 15th centuries. Although severely damaged during the war, its reconstruction included interiors refurbished with art works collected from other churches. Locator: 220 mi. north of Warsaw.

Jewish Heritage Sites

Krakow: A walk in the Kazimierz Quarter takes you to the 1557 Remu Synagogue, its adjoining Old Cemetry and the Jewish Museum (formerly the Old Synagogue). One might even pass by the Memorial honoring the victims of Plaszow camp. Schindler’s List was filmed on location in this quarter.

Warsaw: Remains of the Warsaw Ghetto are few, namely the restored Nozyk Synagogue, and the Jewish Cemetery. Of particular interest are the exhibits at the Jewish Historical Institute that focus on the history of the material and spiritual culture of Polish Jews from their beginnings to the present day.

Tykocin: In this picturesque village in eastern Poland, the 17th century Tykocin Synagogue is the oldest preserved structure in Poland and the second largest synagogue, after Krakow.
Locator: 150 mi. northeast of Warsaw.

Lubin: In the 18th century, the town was Europe’s center of Hasidic study. Its Jewish Cemetery is considered to be the oldest in Poland.
Locator: 120 mi. southeast of Warsaw.