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Poland UNESCO world heritage sites

Dolnoslaskie province [capital = Wroclaw]

Centennial Hall in Wroclaw at Wystawowa 1
The Centennial Hall, a landmark in the history of reinforced concrete architecture, was erected in 1911-1913 by the architect Max Berg as a multi-purpose recreational building, situated in the Exhibition Grounds. In form it is a symmetrical quatrefoil with a vast circular central space that can seat some 6,000 persons. The 23m-high dome is topped with a lantern in steel and glass.

Church of Peace in Swidnica at plac Pokoju 6
The Swidnica church is a shingled structure laid out in the form of a cross and contains not a single nail. The interior is a beautiful, peaceful place to sit in contemplation for a few minutes; the timber structure seems to possess an intimate inclusiveness that big stone churches sometimes lack. The baroque decoration, with paintings covering the walls and coffered ceiling, has been preserved intact. Along the walls, two storeys of galleries and several small balconies were installed, allowing some 3500 seated worshippers and 4000 standees.

Church of Peace in Jawor at park Pokoju 2
The conditions for construction included the use of non-durable materials (wood, clay, straw), without any stone or metal elements, the location outside the city walls, at a distance from cannon fire, the absence of decorative exterior elements, the absence of a tower, and the obligation to complete the church within one year.

Kujawsko-Pomorskie province [capital = Bydgoszcz]

Medieval Town of Torun
The Medieval Town of Torun is comprised of three elements: the ruins of the Teutonic Castle, the Old Town, and the New Town. The combination of the castle with the two towns, surrounded by a circuit of defensive walls, represents a rare form of medieval settlement agglomeration.

Lubuskie province [capital = Gorzow Wielkopolski]

Park Muzakowski in Leknica at Wybrzezna 25
Blending seamlessly with the surrounding farmed landscape, the park pioneered new approaches to landscape design and influenced the development of landscape architecture in Europe and America. Designed as a 'painting with plants', it did not seek to evoke classical landscapes, paradise, or some lost perfection, instead using local plants to enhance the inherent qualities of the existing landscape.

Malopolskie province[capital = Krakow]

Tserkva of Saint James the Less, the Apostle in Powroznik
The tserkva in Powroznik has existed since around 1600, but only a part of the former structure remains, arranged into the sacristy of the present tserkva. The architecture of the present tserkva was constructed between the seventeenth and eighteenth-century, with a major reconstruction in 1813.

Tserkva of Saint Michael the Archangel in Brunary
The first tserkva in Brunary was raised in 1616, when a Uniate parish was founded in the village. A new tserkva was built in 1653, while the present in the eighteenth-century. In 1831, the tserkva was reconstructed and expanded. The old chancel was connected with the nave, adding a new nave, surrounded by three walls, with the whole tserkva covered with a new roof. After Operation Vistula, the tserkva was transformed into a Roman Catholic church.

Tserkva of Saint Paraskeva in Kwiaton
The tserkva was built in the second half of the seventeenth-century. The date of the completion of the tserkva was dated at 1700. The tower was built in 1743. The date for the completion of the tserkva was found on one of its wooden framework columns. However, this date could relate to the renovation of the old tower. The tserkva's tower is considered to be the oldest tower built in the lemkowska tserkva architectural style.

Church of St Philip and St James the Apostles in Sekowa
The wooden church dating from around 1520 was severely damaged in the First World War. Reconstruction continued to the end of the 20th century, yet the wait was worth it.

Tserkva of Our Lady's Protection in Sekowa at Owczary
The tserkva in Owczary was raised in 1653. The tserkva is the second building of its type in this location - the first collapsed due to quicksand in its foundations. In 1701, the tserkva's chancery underwent extensive renovation, the tower was built in 1783 (built by meisters Dimitr Dekowekin and Teodor Rusinka), in 1870, the building was widened, to have equal measurements to that of the nave. In 1938, the tserkva's interior was decorated with a polychrome.

Church of the Archangel Michael in Binarowa at Binarowa 409
A document from 1415 informs of the existence of a wooden parish church in Binarowa, which is acknowledge by Jan Dlugosz on the turning point of the third and fourth-quarter of the fifteenth-century. The present church was built around 1500.

Archangel Michael's Church in Debno at Koscielna 42
The church is one of the best kept wooden Gothic churches in Poland, and is seen as a landmark of Poland internationally (nominated for the Seven Wonders of Poland). The church remains in its original structure, with a unique polychrome interior from around 1500, making it the oldest existing polychrome made from wood in Europe.

Salt Mine in Bochnia at Campi 15
When settlers of Bochnia, Poland discovered a rich vein of rock salt running beneath their town in 1248, it was the medieval equivalent of striking gold. Minerals brought out of the Bochnia mine helped fund the Polish kingdom well into the 16th century, until its prices were undercut by German sea salt.

Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka at Zamkowa 8
From the castle's earliest days, up until 1945, the castle was the headquarters of the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Currently, the castle houses an exhibition containing the history of Wieliczka from the past decades, and the only collection of saltshakers in Poland.

Salt Mine in Wieliczka at Danilowicza 10
Commercial salt mining discontinued in 1996 due to falling salt prices and mine flooding. The Wieliczka Salt Mine is now an official Polish Historic Monument (Pomnik Historii). Its attractions include the shafts and labyrinthine passageways, displays of historic salt-mining technology, an underground lake, four chapels and numerous statues carved by miners out of the rock salt, and more recent sculptures by contemporary artists.

Historic Centre of Krakow see detail
The 13th-century merchants' town has Europe's largest market square and numerous historical houses, palaces and churches with their magnificent interiors. Further evidence of the town's fascinating history is provided by the remnants of the 14th-century fortifications and the medieval site of Kazimierz with its ancient synagogues in the southern part of town, Jagellonian University and the Gothic cathedral where the kings of Poland were buried.

Mannerist Architectural and Park Landscape Complex in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska at Bernardynska
Its natural setting – in which a series of symbolic places of worship relating to the Passion of Jesus Christ and the life of the Virgin Mary was laid out at the beginning of the 17th century – has remained virtually unchanged. It is still today a place of pilgrimage.

German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp in Oswiecim at Wieziow Oswiecimia 20
The fortified walls, barbed wire, platforms, barracks, gallows, gas chambers and cremation ovens show the conditions within which the Nazi genocide took place in the former concentration and extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest in the Third Reich.

Mazowieckie province [capital = Warsaw]

Historic Centre of Warsaw see detail
The reconstruction of Warsaw's historic centre was a major contribution to the changes in the doctrines related to urbanisation and conservation of cities in most of the European countries after the destructions of World War II. Simultaneously, this example illustrates the effectiveness of conservation activities in the second half of the 20th century, which permitted the integral reconstruction of the complex urban ensemble.

Podkarpackie province[capital = Rzeszow]

Tserkva of Saint Paraskeva in Radruz
The tserkva is located on an oval hill, by the Radruzka stream, and together with the bell tower is surrounded by a wall (existent from 1825), with a fortification structure. The tserkva's structure is constructed out of a fir and oak framework.

Tserkva of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chotyniec
The building is of distinguished originality because of its harmonious, solid appearance. Inside, a complete iconostasis can be seen, as can a Baroque painting of the last judgment from 1735.

Tserkva of Saint Michael the Archangel in Smolnik
The first reference to the existence of an Eastern Orthodox Church tserkva in Smolnik comes from a register in 1589 of the Sanok Land. It is presumed that the wooden tserkva was built at the start of the village, in 1530.

Tserkva of Saint Michael the Archangel in Turzansk
The tserkva in Turzansk, established as an Eastern Orthodox Church tsekva, later Uniate, was referenced in the first half of the sixteenth-century. The present tserkva was built at the start of the nineteenth-century in 1801, and later expanded in 1836, with a foyer and sacristy. In 1896 and 1913, the tserkva had undergone renovations of its roof, strengthening it with tin.

All Saints Church in Blizne
A unique church-parish complex situated on a hilltop, surrounded by ancient woodland. The wooden church has fortification structures, raised in the fifteenth or sixteenth-century (most likely prior to 1470), in the Gothic architectural style. The church's tower was built in the first half of the seventeenth-century, with the soboty (wooden undercut supported by pillars) deconstructed.

Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Archangel Michael in Haczow
The church interior is decorated with a polychrome dated from 1494, which was discovered in 1956 during the restoration works. In the 17th century, a Baroque tower was added to the existing church structure. It is the largest Gothic wooden church in Europe and also the oldest wooden church in Poland.

Podlaskie province [capital = Bialystok]

Bialowieza Forest in Hajnowka @
The area has exceptionally conservation significance due to the scale of its old growth forests, which include extensive undisturbed areas where natural processes are on-going. A consequence is the richness in dead wood, standing and on the ground, and consequently a high diversity of fungi and saproxylic invertebrates. The property protects a diverse and rich wildlife of which 59 mammal species, over 250 bird, 13 amphibian, 7 reptile and over 12,000 invertebrate species. The iconic symbol of the property is the European Bison: approximately 900 individuals in the whole property which make almost 25% of the total world’s population and over 30% of free-living animals.

Pomorskie province [capital = Gdansk]

Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork on Staroscinska
It is the most complete and elaborate example of a Gothic brick-built castle complex in the characteristic and unique style of the Teutonic Order. The style exemplified here evolved independently from those which prevailed in contemporary castles in western Europe and the Near East. This spectacular fortress bears witness to the phenomenon of the Teutonic Order state in Prussia.

Slaskie province [capital = Katowice]

Historic Silver Mine in Tarnowskie Gory at Szczesc Boze 81
Most of the property is situated underground while the surface mining topography features relics of shafts and waste heaps, as well as the remains of the 19th century steam water pumping station. The elements of the water management system, located underground and on the surface, testify to continuous efforts over three centuries to drain the underground extraction zone and to use undesirable water from the mines to supply towns and industry.

Swietok-Rzyskie province [capital = Kielce]

Opatowskie Flint Mining Field in Krzemionki at Sudol 135a
The flint mining in Krzemionki began about 3900 BC and lasted until about 1600 BC. During Neolithic times the mine was used by members of the Funnelbeaker culture who spread the flint mining area far up to 300 km. The Globular Amphora Culture also used the pits and even more intensely, enlarging the area of exploration to about 500 km.

Gawroniec Flint Mining Settlement in Cmielow at Sandomierska 214B
The position of Cmielow 95 situated on the "Maly Gawroniec" hill is one of the most important testimonies of the Magdalenian settlement in Poland.

Flint Mining Field in Borownia at N50 55 32.6 E21 33 49.1
In this area 3.7 ha are covered with deep hollows, remnants of prehistoric flint mine shafts. The Borownia mining field is one of the best preserved prehistoric mining fields in Europe.

Korycizna Mining Field in Srodborze at N50 54 41.78 E21 36 16.18
The property provides information about life and work in prehistoric settlements and bears witness to an extinct cultural tradition. It is an exceptional testimony of the importance of the prehistoric period and of flint mining for tool production in human history.

Wielkopolskie province [capital = Poznan]

Old City of Zamosc
The Old City of Zamosc has two distinct sections: on the west is the Zamoyski palace, and on the east is the town proper, laid out around three squares. The central Great Market Square, located at the junction of the town's two main axial streets, is enclosed by arcaded merchants' houses and anchored by a magnificent Town Hall. These and many other notable structures such as the cathedral, arsenal, and fortification gates illustrate a key feature of this great undertaking: a creative enhancement realized through the incorporation of artistic achievements attained in local architecture.