Polish culture

Polish guide Ok. Lets start with the most important places

Bielsko-Biała & Czechowice-Dziedzice Coat of arms of Bielsko – Biała (left and center) and Czechowice - Dziedzice (the right one )

Basic facts about Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała is a city in southern Poland with 180,307 inhabitants (1999).Situated in the Silesian Voivodship (since 1999), previously capital of Bielsko-Biała Voivodship ( ).Cahrming, spread at the foot of Beskid Mountains, the town is one the the most interesting towns in the south of Poland, wilingly visited by tourists. The quests are attracted to Bielsko - Biala, known as "little Vienna", not only by the beuty of the town's architecture, but also the fascinating ladscapes of the surroundong mountains.

History The city of Bielsko-Biała was created on January 1, 1951 when the adjacent cities of Bielsko and Biała were unified. Bielsko, which for centuries belonged to the Duchy of Cieszyn, was founded in From 1457 the Biała river was the border between Silesia and Little Poland. Silesia belonged to Austria, Little Poland to Poland. In 1723 on the opposite bank of the river the city of Biała came into being. In 1772 Biała was annexed by Austria and included in the crownland of Galicia. In 1918 both cities became part of reborn Poland, though a significant part of the population was ethnic German. During World War II the city was annexed to the Third Reich and its Jewish population sent to Auschwitz. After the liberation of the city by the Red Army in 1945, the ethnic German population was expelled.

The Bielsko-Biała Museum has its main location in the historical Bielsko Castle Towering in the Bielsko-Biała city centre, the Castle is the oldest and largest construction of historical importance, erected in the old town of Bielsko. A legend says that in its place there used to be a settlement of robbers who attacked travelling merchants. The Opolski Prince, Casimir (1229/30) of the Piasts is said to have conquered that fortalice, wiped out the robbers and had the hunting palace erected in that place, which over the years grew into a magnificent castle around which the city of Bielsko developed.

Cable car The cable car is suitable for transport of the people with reduced mobility on wheelchairs, as well as strollers, pushchairs, bicycles, and other kinds of luggage.

Technical details: Length of the route 1810 m Height difference 449,13 m Diameter of the carrying line 38 mm Journey time 6,05 min. Time slots between cars 25,4 sec Number of passenger cars 35 szt Location height of the bottom station 509,72 m. above the sea level Location height of the top station 958,85 m. above the sea level Speed 5m/second Capacity 850 people/h

Bielsko - aerial photos

PRESENTATION ZAKOPANE & KRAKÓW

Kraków (Cracow) Kraków is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland, with a population of 756,336 in 2007 (1,403,247 in the Kraków-Tarnów unincorporated area). Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish scientific, cultural and artistic life. As the former national capital with a history encompassing more than a thousand years, the city remains the spiritual heart of Poland. It is a major attraction for local and international tourists, attracting seven million visitors annually. Wawel Castle from the Vistula river

Kraków

Church Mariacki in Kraków

View in Kraków

Krakow- Garlery

View on Krakow

Zakopane Zakopane is a town in southern Poland, informally known as "the winter capital of Poland," lies in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains, the only alpine mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains. Zakopane has the highest elevation (800-1,000 m) of any town in Poland.

Morskie oko (literally Marine Eye )

Zakopane- Restaurant

VALLEY 5- Mere

Wielka Krokiew during contest Wielka Krokiew (The Great Krokiew) is a ski jumping venue in Zakopane, Poland. It is a regular venue in the FIS Ski jumping World Cup.

Wielka Krokiew in the summer

View in Zakopane

Silesia Execution: Korpiela Izabela

Silesia

Silesian regional dresses

Wrocław is one of the most important cultural and intellectual centres in Poland, about the centuries-old tradition. Not only a substantial amount of theatres, museums, cinemas and an art galleries working in the culture, but also a considerable amount of various and original artistic events determine the prestige of the city, often of international rank.

Katowice Spodek in Katowice

Chorzów ZOO in Chorzów One of the biggest stadiums in Poland is in Chorzów

Opole National music festival Polish in Opole (KFPP Opole) – Polish music festival organised every year in Opole, usually in June. Suming the artistic season up constitutes (from Opole to Opole) of Polish environment of authors and performers of songs.

The Historical region, on the border of Czech and Polish, of capital in Cieszyn.

Tricity is an urban area consisting of three Polish cities: Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot. They are situated adjacent to one other, in a row, on the coast of the Gdańsk Bay, Baltic Sea, in Eastern Pomerania (Pomeranian Voivodeship), northern Poland. Tricity The Tricity metropolitan area has a population of over 1 million people.

Gdańsk Old town is the city at the centre of the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Poland. It is Poland's principal seaport as well as the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is also historically the largest city of the Kashubian region.

Długa street Riverside

Gdańsk by night

Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport at Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea. Gdynia is a relatively modern city, there are not many historical buildings. The oldest building in Gdynia is the 13th century St. Michael the Archangel's Church in Oksywie. (on the left)

However, what attracts most tourists in Gdynia deals with its recent past. In the harbour, there are two anchored museum ships, the ORP B ł yskawica destroyer and the Dar Pomorza Tall Ship frigate.

There are also two remarkable observation towers, one at Góra Donas, the other at Kolibki. The third one, on the 38th floor of the Sea Towers building, will be probably opened to visitors in Gdynia is remarkable for this construction, since at 141 meters of height, it is the tallest residential building in Poland and the country's tallest skyscraper outside of Warsaw.

Sopot The third city of Trójmiasto (Tricity) metropolitan agglomeration. with a population of approximately 40,000. Sopot is a large health- spa and tourist resort destination,well known for the longest wooden pier in Europe, the Molo (at meters), from which one can see the Gulf of Gdańsk. The city is also famous for its Sopot International Song Festival, the largest such event in Europe after the Eurovision Song Contest.

Sopot International Music Festival also known as Intervision, is the biggest international song contest, bringing together contestants and guests who are stars with world recognition.

Wooden Pier in Sopot

As a tourist resort, Sopot is currently undergoing a period of intense development, including the building of a number of five star hotels and spa resorts on the waterfront. The crooked house Grand Hotel – One of the city landmarks Balneological resort in Sopot

Mazurek Dabrowskiego Jeszcze Polska nie zginela, Kiedy my zyjemy. Co nam obca przemoc wziela, Szabla odbierzemy. CHORUS Marsz, marsz, Dabrowski, Z ziemi wloskiej do Polski, Za twoim przewodem Zlaczym sie z narodem. Przejdziem Wisle, przejdziem Warte, Bedziem Polakami, Dal nam przyklad Bonaparte, Jak zwyciezac mamy. CHORUS Jak Czarniecki do Poznania Po szwedzkim zaborze, Dla ojczyzny ratowania Wracal sie przez morze. CHORUS Dabrowski's Mazurka Poland has not yet succumbed. As long as we remain, What the foe by force has seized, Sword in hand we'll gain. CHORUS March! March, Dabrowski! March from Italy to Poland! Under your command We shall reach our land. Cross the Vistula and Warta And Poles we shall be; We've been shown by Bonaparte Ways to victory. CHORUS As Czarniecki Poznan town regains, Fighting with the Swede, To free our fatherland from chains, We shall return by sea. CHORUS