Attractions and places of interest

29-10-2007 14:49


	KRASICZYN The famous castle of the Krasicki family from the early 17th century, one of the most valuable monuments in Poland, called „a gem of Polish Renaissance”. Next to the castle there is an 18th-c. parish church. On the other side of the road to Sanok one can see the buildings of the old brewery of the Sapieha family (the last owners of the castle) and the magnificent park that surrounds the castle. On the hill over Krasiczyn (above a small Jewish cemetery) in the forest one can see some bunkers of the Molotov Line. On the hill opposite there are three mounds built, as legend has it, by the people from the old town of Krasiczyn, to commemorate the visit of King Sigismund III Vasa.
	KALWARIA PACŁAWSKA Founded in the 18th century on a hill over the valley of the River Wiar by Andrzej Maksymilian Fredro, governor of Podolia and castellan of Lviv, who brought here the Franciscan friars. The sanctuary in Kalwaria since 1679 has housed the miraculous image of Mother of God from Kamianets Podilskyi. For three centuries tens of thousands of pilgrims have been coming here every year in mid-August for the church fairs famous in the whole region. Kalwaria Pacławska has earned itself the name of the Jasna Góra of the Podkarpackie province. The present Baroque church and adjacent monastery were founded by Szczepan Dwernicki between 1770 and 1775. Next to the sanctuary stand distinctive arcaded houses from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. On the hill sloping towards the valley of the Wiar there are forty-two 19th-c. roadside shrines (some of them on the other side of the river) linked by paths where one can see groups of pilgrims.
	BOLESTRASZYCE In the area of the old estate of the Michałowski family in Bolestraszyce there is the largest arboretum in south-eastern Poland. Taking a stroll along the paths and ponds visitors will see thousands of plant species (often very rare) from all over the world. In the preserved manor house and the surrounding park the eminent artist Piotr Michałowski created his works. Near the arboretum there is an important feature of the Fortress of Przemyśl – the ruins of the armoured fort XIII „San Rideau” of 1892-1896. Be careful! Walking around the fort can be dangerous.
	SIEDLISKA Fort I „Salis-Soglio” in Siedliska was built between 1882 and 1886. It is an unusual example of an artillery fort, which, despite having been blown up on 22 March 1915 is one of the best-preserved and most attractive features of the outer ring of the Fortress of Przemyśl. In the area of the fort the following items have survived: a brick entrance gate, barracks in the gorge part with casemates, ammunition stores and lift shafts, artillery emplacements and shelters for the crew on the rampart. The fort is situated only several dozen metres from the Ukrainian border. On its other side there are still six auxiliary forts of the described complex. When visiting Fort I „Salis-Soglio” it is also worth seeing the nearby (on the way to Medyka) armoured fort XV „Borek” from 1897-1900. Both forts (like all the main forts of the outer ring of the Fortress) are part of the black tourist route and the fortress cycle route.
	KUŃKOWCE Fort VIII „Łętownia”. It dates back to the years 1854-1855, when the Austrians built one of their artillery earthworks on a hill west of Przemyśl. The fort obtained its present shape between 1881and 1882. The area of the fort is well-developed. During the season one can see an interesting exhibition inside devoted to the Fortress of Przemyśl. How to get to the fort: from the Przemyśl-Dynów road turn right in Kuńkowce and go up the road following the signs of the black fortress route. From the district called Lipowica (where the routes cross) turn left and follow the black fortress route to the peak and then downhill towards the fort.
	POSADA RYBOTYCKA The 15th-c. St. Onuphrius Orthodox church made of brick. It is the oldest Orthodox church in Poland. In the past there was a small monastery next to it. Inside the church the 16th-c. Byzantine polychromy has survived. Abandoned after 1945, the church is now a part of the Przemyśl branch of the National Museum. If you want to go inside, contact someone in the next-door house. The River Wiar which flows nearby is a natural border between the region of Pogórze Przemyskie (the Przemyśl Plateau) in the Western Carpathians and the small mountain group called Góry Sanocko-Turczańskie, which belongs to the Eastern Carpathians.
	KRZYWCZA Now a village, once a town dating back to the 14th century. Krzywcza used to be the seat of one of the oldest Roman-Catholic parishes in the region. The present church, built after 1625, was converted in the 18th century in the Baroque style. The belfry was also added then. Near the church there still stands a manor house (which now houses a health centre) with the remains of a 17th-c. defensive embankment. At the main road from Przemyśl there is a desolate 19th-c. Greek Catholic church. Krzywcza has also retained some old wooden houses.
	BABICE Once a town, dating back to the 15th century. At the road to Dubiecko there is the brick-and-stone late-18th-c. Holy Trinity church with a Baroque interior. The square at the main road from Przemyśl once used to serve as the town’s market square. Only a few 19th-c. houses have remained of the original development; unfortunately the wooden townhall has not stood the test of time. On the hill over the River San, at the road to Bachów, there is a desolate wooden Greek Catholic church from 1839, which stands in the place of the original church. Babice has also retained the 19th-c. complex of the Dembiński family’s estate buildings with a scenic park.
	DUBIECKO A former town of 15th-c. origin. In the past the village of Dubiecko belonged to the noble families of Kmita, Stadnicki, Krasicki and Konarski. In the 1st half of the 16th century a castle was built here, surrounded with a towered wall. In 1735 the castle saw the birth of Ignacy Krasicki, who was to become a bishop and a Polish „prince of poets”, the most distinguished author of the Polish Enlightment era. At the end of the 18th century in the place of the original castle the mansion which still exists was built. Before visiting the mansion and the surrounding park one needs to obtain the present owner’s permission. Dubiecko has also preserved a Roman Catholic and a Greek Catholic church from the 1st half of the 20th century. The Greek Catholic church, abandoned after the Second World War, now houses Kresowy Dom Sztuki (the Art Centre of the Polish Eastern Frontier).
	BACHÓRZEC It dates back to the 14th century. Bachórzec used to belong to several famous noble families, like the Kmitas, Stadnickis, Wapowskis, and in the end the Krasicki family, in whose hands it remained until 1944. The ruins of the Krasickis’ estate complex have survived with the older 18th-c. annexe converted in the 20th c. and the newer estate manor of 1808. The oldest monument in Bachórzec is St. Catherine wooden parish church built between 1760 and 1763.
	PIĄTKOWA In this village dating back to the 15th century, the St. Demetrius wooden Greek Catholic church from 1732 has survived, regarded to be one of the most attractive churches in the Podkarpacie region. In Piątkowa there is also a brick and stone church built before the Second World War. Like other villages in the Przemyśl Plateau, Piątkowa used to have many more residents at that time than today.
	BIRCZA A former town whose origins go back to the 15th century. Until 1876 it was even the capital of a separate administrative unit called powiat. Bircza has preserved the Humnicki family palace from the 1st half of the 19th century, which underwent a not-too-fortunate conversion in the 2nd half of the 20th century. On the hill over the market square there is an early-20th-c. church, and right next to it a nature monument – a magnificent several-hundred-years old oak tree. The vicinity of Bircza is famous for abundance of virgin nature. One can see here ancient fir and beech forests (including the „Krępak” reserve) with plenty of species of fauna and flora.
	KRZECZKOWSKI MUR It is a rockslide revealing geological strata of the Carpathian flysch west of the Krzeczkowa village. The easiest way to get there is by road. From Przemyśl go towards Sanok, past Olszany turn to Krzeczkowa. When the village buildings end, follow the road to the crossroads in the forest. From there, follow the signs of the blue tourist route leading towards Dynów.
	PRAŁKOWCE A place near Przemyśl which existed already back in the 15th century. In the local 19th-c. church, former Greek Catholic church, there is the famous image of Mother of God of Zbarazh. Painted on copper plate, the picture for over 300 years until the Second World War was kept in the Bernardine church in Zbarazh (now Ukraine), where king John III Sobieski used to pray before it. On the hill over Prałkowce there is one of the main forts of the outer ring of the Fortress of Przemyśl – artillery fort VII „Prałkowce” from 1882-1886.
	KRUHEL WIELKI Dating back to the 15th century, the place, adjacent to Przemyśl, is situated on a hillside. Above the village for many centuries limestone was mined, and sometimes even marble. At the upper end of the village stands a wooden Greek Catholic church from 1630. Partly reconstructed a few years ago, the church is one of the oldest monuments of that kind in Poland. Nearby there is also a small neo-Gothic church from the early 20th century.
	MEDYKA This place is mostly known for the Polish-Ukrainian border crossing. It dates back to the 14th century. A frequent visitor to Medyka was king Władysław Jagiełło. In the 19th century, up to the Second World War, the owners of the Medyka estate were a renowned Pawlikowski family, who assembled in their mansion an impressive collection of art and national heritage. The Pawlikowskis also ran a model farm with a gardening school. Of the old Pawlikowski estate not much has survived; only the 19th-c. house surrounded by ponds and a scenic park. In Medyka it is also worth seeing a wooden parish church from 1607.
	LESZNO This place in the past used to bear the name of Poździacz. Here one can see a wooden Greek Catholic church of 1737, utilized for several decades now as a Roman Catholic church.
	FREDROPOL An old town founded in the 17th century in the area of the Kormanice village by Andrzej Maksymilian Fredro. In 1672 in Kormanice the townspeople of Przemyśl beat a Tartar army camp, releasing many hostages. The old buildings of Fredropol have not defied time, but the ruins of the Fredro family castle in Kormanice have survived. One can see them after obtaining permission from the present owner of the land.
	ŚREDNIA On the peak of the forested hill over the village of Średnia there is the oldest in Poland burial mound of the Corded Ware culture. The small mound, where archaeological excavations revealed some burial places, is almost 5 000 years old. Archaeologists claim then that it is older than the famous Cheops pyramid. The best way to get there: having passed the last buildings of Średnia turn left into a dirt road (the green route from Przemyśl to Dynów runs along it). The mound is one kilometre away on the right-hand side.
	KOPYSTAŃKA The highest mountain of the Przemyśl Plateau (541 m above sea level). From its peak, crowned with a metal cross, there is a breathtaking panorama of the Przemyśl Plateau and the mountain group called Góry Sanocko-Turczańskie. The best access to the peak is along a dirt road from Rybotycze following the signs of the yellow route, or from Brylińce following the red route through Kopyśno.