Sadly, my hometown does not have too many interesting buildings as it was almost completely ruined during WWII.
Showing posts with label Poland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Poland. Show all posts
Friday, May 27, 2011
Church in My Hometown
Here is a photo of the church in my hometown to which I was going frequently as a kid:
Sadly, my hometown does not have too many interesting buildings as it was almost completely ruined during WWII.
Sadly, my hometown does not have too many interesting buildings as it was almost completely ruined during WWII.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Gniezno - Poland Was Born Here
Gniezno was one of the first Polish capitals. Here, the first Polish kings were crowned.
According to a legend, many many years ago three brothers - Lech, Czech and Rus - decided to explore the northern-eastern part of Europe looking for a good place to settle. Lech decided to start his kingdom on a hill with an old oak and an eagle on top. He picked the white eagle as his emblem and because of the eagle nest (in Polish, nest = gniazdo) to call it Gniezdno (today: Gniezno). The other brothers went further to find a place for their people. Czech went to the South, where he found Czech Republic, and Rus went to the East, where he found Ukraine.
Around 940 AD Gniezno became one of the main fortresses of the early Piast rulers and around then Mieszko I (Prince of Poland) is thought to have moved the capital from Poznan to Gniezno. (From there the capital was later moved to Cracow).
Gniezno cathedral was a royal coronation site for the first Polish kings:
According to a legend, many many years ago three brothers - Lech, Czech and Rus - decided to explore the northern-eastern part of Europe looking for a good place to settle. Lech decided to start his kingdom on a hill with an old oak and an eagle on top. He picked the white eagle as his emblem and because of the eagle nest (in Polish, nest = gniazdo) to call it Gniezdno (today: Gniezno). The other brothers went further to find a place for their people. Czech went to the South, where he found Czech Republic, and Rus went to the East, where he found Ukraine.
Around 940 AD Gniezno became one of the main fortresses of the early Piast rulers and around then Mieszko I (Prince of Poland) is thought to have moved the capital from Poznan to Gniezno. (From there the capital was later moved to Cracow).
Gniezno cathedral was a royal coronation site for the first Polish kings:
Monday, May 23, 2011
Baroque Church in Gasawa
On the way back from Biskupin we stopped in the village of Gasawa to visit a wooden baroque St. Nicolas Church. The church was built in 1625 and it hosts a unique collection of multi-layered mural paintings, the most recent of which comes from 1807.
Unfortunately we only managed to see the church from the outside. To see its collection of murals one needs to ask a local priest to open it for you. We did manage to find a priest, but he was in a hurry to get somewhere so he couldn't have opened the church for us. He said that the next time we are in the area, we should give him a call a day or so in advance and make an appointment with him.
St. Nicolas Church in Gasawa:
Unfortunately we only managed to see the church from the outside. To see its collection of murals one needs to ask a local priest to open it for you. We did manage to find a priest, but he was in a hurry to get somewhere so he couldn't have opened the church for us. He said that the next time we are in the area, we should give him a call a day or so in advance and make an appointment with him.
St. Nicolas Church in Gasawa:
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Biskupin in Snow
Biskupin is the most famous archaeological site in Poland. The site was probably established in 700 BC (over 2700 years ago) by people of the Lusatian culture.
It was discovered in 1933 by local students who noticed strangely-looking wooden poles sticking out from the lake. In subsequent years the site was reconstructed and today it serves as a life-size model of Iron Age fortified settlement.
The settlement was divided into thirteen rows of huts, separated by timber roads. There was a total of around 100 huts, each around 70 - 90 m2, occupied by 800 to 1000 people.
The settlement was located on the island on the Lake Biskupin to provide better protection for its inhabitants. Additionally, there was also a wooden breakwater in the lake and a 3 meters high, 3.5 meter wide and 550 meters long fortification made up from a series of wooden boxes filled with dirt and stones. Only a small part of the fortification and two rows of houses were reconstructed thus far, but they give you a good idea of how Biskupin must have looked 2700 years ago.
During spring, summer and autumn, Biskupin is visited by thousands of people a day, mostly teenagers from secondary schools from all over Poland. I still remember my class trip here and even my parents remember theirs!
Biskupin has not changed much since I saw it last, except for the lake now being frozen due to winter... The other thing that was different about it was also lack of any other tourists and hardly any footsteps on the snow... There are benefits to sightseeing during winter :)
Biskupin in winter:
Inside the huts:
It was discovered in 1933 by local students who noticed strangely-looking wooden poles sticking out from the lake. In subsequent years the site was reconstructed and today it serves as a life-size model of Iron Age fortified settlement.
The settlement was divided into thirteen rows of huts, separated by timber roads. There was a total of around 100 huts, each around 70 - 90 m2, occupied by 800 to 1000 people.
The settlement was located on the island on the Lake Biskupin to provide better protection for its inhabitants. Additionally, there was also a wooden breakwater in the lake and a 3 meters high, 3.5 meter wide and 550 meters long fortification made up from a series of wooden boxes filled with dirt and stones. Only a small part of the fortification and two rows of houses were reconstructed thus far, but they give you a good idea of how Biskupin must have looked 2700 years ago.
During spring, summer and autumn, Biskupin is visited by thousands of people a day, mostly teenagers from secondary schools from all over Poland. I still remember my class trip here and even my parents remember theirs!
Biskupin has not changed much since I saw it last, except for the lake now being frozen due to winter... The other thing that was different about it was also lack of any other tourists and hardly any footsteps on the snow... There are benefits to sightseeing during winter :)
Biskupin in winter:
Inside the huts:
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Torun By Day and Night
Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. It is also a birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, the one who "stopped the Sun and moved the Earth".
The city is famous for having preserved almost intact its medieval spatial layout and many Gothic buildings, all built from brick, including monumental churches, the Town Hall and many burgher houses. Luckily, Toruń, unlike most other historic cities in Poland, escaped substantial destruction in World War II and thanks to that almost all buildings in the Old Town are originals, not reconstructions. Because of those reasons it is considered to be one of Seven Wonders of Poland and it is a UNESCO's World Heritage Site.
A few pictures from Torun:
The city is famous for having preserved almost intact its medieval spatial layout and many Gothic buildings, all built from brick, including monumental churches, the Town Hall and many burgher houses. Luckily, Toruń, unlike most other historic cities in Poland, escaped substantial destruction in World War II and thanks to that almost all buildings in the Old Town are originals, not reconstructions. Because of those reasons it is considered to be one of Seven Wonders of Poland and it is a UNESCO's World Heritage Site.
A few pictures from Torun:
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Poznan - Fara
Embarrassingly, during the five years that I lived in Poznan, I never visited the Fara Church. It is one of the most beautiful baroque churches in Poland. It was built in the second half of 17th century and it features a 16th-century crucifix and the Virgin Mary, as well as magnificent baroque ornamentation.
During this year's visit to Poland I finally repaired my mistake and went there together with Anil and Agnieszka. It was definitely worth a visit, and I would strongly recommend it to anybody. BTW On Saturdays at 12:30 pm there are free pipe organ concerts.
Beautiful mural at the ceiling:
The main altar:
Pipe organs:
The Fara is located at the end of the short Swiętosławska Street, located at the south-eastern corner of the Old Market Square:
During this year's visit to Poland I finally repaired my mistake and went there together with Anil and Agnieszka. It was definitely worth a visit, and I would strongly recommend it to anybody. BTW On Saturdays at 12:30 pm there are free pipe organ concerts.
Beautiful mural at the ceiling:
The main altar:
Pipe organs:
The Fara is located at the end of the short Swiętosławska Street, located at the south-eastern corner of the Old Market Square:
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Poznan - Old Town Hall's Goats
Every day at noon Poznan's Old Town Hall goats (Poznanskie koziolki) butt each other's heads to the entertainment of tourists and locals alike. I decided that also Anil should experience the spectacle, so on our second day in Poznan we went to Old Market Square.
I was very surprised that despite the cold there were several hundred people waiting in front of the Town Hall for the goats to make the appearance. At noon the clock struck twelve times and immediately afterward two goats appeared and started butting each other, also twelve times. At the same time a trumpeter started playing a traditional bugle call.
According to a legend the goats were added to the Town Hall's clock due to an unfortunate cooking incident. A cook, while preparing a banquet for some local dignitaries, burnt a roast deer and tried to cover up for his mistake by stealing two goats from a nearby meadow. The goats managed to escape and ran up the town hall tower, where they began to butt each other. They were so loud that they attracted attention of both townspeople and dignitaries waiting for their dinner. Luckily, the dignitaries found the goats so entertaining that they decided not only to pardon them and the cook, but also decided that two mechanical goats should be incorporated into the new Town Hall's clock.
The Old Market Square's Town Hall in Poznan was originally built in the late 13th century, but it was rebuilt in mannerist style by Giovanni Battista di Quadro in the middle of 16th century:
The mechanical goats:
The tower's trumpeter:
Prozerpina Fountain in front of Old Town Hall, a popular meeting point:
I was very surprised that despite the cold there were several hundred people waiting in front of the Town Hall for the goats to make the appearance. At noon the clock struck twelve times and immediately afterward two goats appeared and started butting each other, also twelve times. At the same time a trumpeter started playing a traditional bugle call.
According to a legend the goats were added to the Town Hall's clock due to an unfortunate cooking incident. A cook, while preparing a banquet for some local dignitaries, burnt a roast deer and tried to cover up for his mistake by stealing two goats from a nearby meadow. The goats managed to escape and ran up the town hall tower, where they began to butt each other. They were so loud that they attracted attention of both townspeople and dignitaries waiting for their dinner. Luckily, the dignitaries found the goats so entertaining that they decided not only to pardon them and the cook, but also decided that two mechanical goats should be incorporated into the new Town Hall's clock.
The Old Market Square's Town Hall in Poznan was originally built in the late 13th century, but it was rebuilt in mannerist style by Giovanni Battista di Quadro in the middle of 16th century:
The mechanical goats:
The tower's trumpeter:
Prozerpina Fountain in front of Old Town Hall, a popular meeting point:
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