Lublin: Old Town, Poland

Lublin is the capital of the Lubelskie Voivodeship, the ninth city in Poland in terms of the number of inhabitants. The city has officially existed since the beginning of the 14th century (it was founded by King Władysław Łokietek). The earlier settlement was dated back to the 6th century. As usual, we are interested in the area of the Old Town. It used to be a ruin, but it has been efficiently renovated for several years and it is really impressive - we invite you to watch the video and read the article!

Lublin - parking nearby the Old Town

Of course, we wanted to stay as close to the Old Town as possible. We chose the Castle Square (1, GPS: 51.2512498, 22.5702085), located - as the name suggests - next to the castle. Parking is paid, you must specify the parking time at the parking meter and buy a ticket. Be careful of pressing the extension button too quickly! At some point, the parking meter begins to increase the time itself - fortunately, you can reverse it.

Other parking lots in the vicinity of the Old Town are the Targ Pod Zamkiem parking lot (2, GPS: 51.2469330, 22.5735796) and the parking lot near the Krakowska Gate (3, GPS: 51.2485395, 22.5660421).

Towards the main square

After leaving the car at the Castle Square, we went up the stairs leading to the castle, and then turned right onto Zamkowa Street, leading towards the Grodzka Gate (A, GPS: 51.2497068, 22.5699348), through which we entered the Old Town. We walked along Grodzka Street, passing Plac Po Farze (it's a square) on the left (B, GPS: 51.2487054, 22.5692988) - the place of medieval church of St. Michael. Due to the progressive ruin caused, among others, by fires, as well as the establishment of the cathedral, the church was demolished in the nineteenth century. Currently, only its foundations are visible in this place. You can also watch the model of the church and find out what it used to be like.

We continue walking the Grodzka Street, passing renovated tenement houses. A really great job has been done to bring the Old Town back to its splendor! There are still some tenement houses to be renovated, but the current condition of the Old Town is something amazing. If you are interested in what the Old Town looked like during World War II, click on the gallery of Dziennik Wschodni. You can also visit the Kurier Lubelski gallery to see how Lublin has changed over the years.

Lublin - the main square

The Main Square in Lublin (C, GPS: 51.2478894, 22.5678897) is not very large, but it's interesting because of the various townhouses that surround it. In the middle of the square is erected imposing building of the Old Townhall, which served as the Crown Tribunal since 1578. To be honest, it makes a bit of a hassle to see the entire market square, but of course we are not going to petition for the demolition of the Old Townhall 😊.

As usual, we walk around the square admiring the decorations on tenement houses, and then we go down the narrow streets. Finally, we appear on Bramowa Street and head towards Brama Krakowska (Krakowska Gate).

Brama Krakowska and Krakowskie Przedmieście

Brama Krakowska - Krakowska Gate(D, GPS: 51.2475729, 22.5664189) is a real tourist attraction. It is a very characteristic building with which we can immediately associate Lublin - it's simply its symbol. It is a well-preserved fragment of the city walls from the 14th century. After passing the Krakowska Gate, we arrive at Plac Łokietka, from which the pretty Krakowskie Przedmieście Street (E, GPS: 51.2475236, 22.5651516) leads up to the Saski Garden. The Saski Garden is a large park that is an attraction not only for the youngest. A great place to rest - especially on hot summer days.

Trynitarska Tower, Lublin Cathedral

We return to the Old Town and go the Jezuicka Street to the Trinitarska Tower (F, GPS: 51.2471393, 22.5680506), which is a bell tower about 40 meters high. It is a part of the Jesuit buildings and used to be just a monastery gate. After passing through the gate, on the left we notice a large building of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist (G, GPS: 51.2467899, 22.5687072), built in the baroque style at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. Its interior, full of paintings and sculptures, is really impressive.

The Lublin Castle

We leave the visiting the royal castle ((H, GPS: 51.2505226, 22.5721043) at the very end of our stay in Lublin. The castle was built in the 12th century, but was rebuilt many times, and even used as a prison (we saw something similar in Sandomierz). It currently houses the National Museum.

Interesting is the Romanesque defense tower, which offers a beautiful panorama of the entire Old Town. The castle can of course be visited - tickets are also available online. More information on this subject (including ticket prices) on the website of the Lublin Castle (warning: not fully in English!).