UNESCO sites in our programs

UNESCO World Heritage sites are prominently featured in the typical programs offered by the New Poland DMC destination management company. Our incoming agency proposes the UNESCO sites to our clients, in particular in the case of guided tours and discovery programmes.

Consult our programs

Historic centre of Warsaw

The old town of Warsaw was formed in the 13th century around the castle of the Dukes of Mazovia. Today it is the exact replica of the original city quarter almost entirely destroyed during the Second World War. The old town was surrounded by an imposing barbican, partly preserved until today. The market square, lined with bourgeois mansions, occupies its center and remains, with its souvenir shops and restaurants, an essential part of a Warsaw tour. The neighboring narrow streets, the Royal Palace built on the site of the old castle and the St. John’s Gothic cathedral are also worth a visit. More information on Wikipedia, poland.travel or the UNESCO website.

Back to the site map

Historic centre of Kraków

According to a legend Kraków was founded by Prince Krak, who gave his name to the city. Seat of a bishop’s palace as early as the year 1000, Kraków was the cradle of Polish culture and the capital of the country for five centuries. The city is home to the Jagiellonian University, one of the oldest in Europe (established in 1364). The typical visit will include the medieval Old Market Square, the largest open market in Europe, and its Cloth Hall; the Gothic cathedral, burial site of Polish kings; Wawel Hill with its Royal Castle, Royal Cathedral, and Treasury; and the Jewish district of Kazimierz. More information on Wikipedia, poland.travel or the UNESCO website.

Back to the site map

Medieval town of Toruń

A prosperous hanseatic city in the past, the birthplace of Copernicus, Toruń is a river port on the Vistula river. The city’s past is linked to the Teutonic Order, whose knights built here a castle during the 13th century with the objective of conquering Prussia. The large medieval old town, perfectly preserved, showcases many pearls of Gothic architecture such as the Leaning Tower, the Town Hall (rebuilt in the Renaissance style), beautiful churches or even bourgeois houses (House under the Star). Gingerbread, the local specialty, continues to be produced in Toruń following the medieval recipe… More about Toruń information on Wikipedia, poland.travel, Visit Torun (in English) or the site of the UNESCO.

Back to the site map

Old City of Zamość

The city of Zamość was imagined at the end of the 16th century by the Polish politician and magnate Jan Zamoyski (1541-1605). Zamoyski built the city, surrounded by fortifications, on his private estate using the services of an Italian architect, Bernardo Morando. A visionary humanist, Zamoyski founded an Academy that became one of the centers of Polish culture. In the midst of religious conflicts in Europe, he established Jewish, Catholic and Protestant places of worship in his city. Zamoyski’s own palace and the market square are the most beautiful examples of Zamość’s Renaissance architecture. More information on Wikipedia, poland.travel or the UNESCO website.

Back to the site map

Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork

The construction of Marienburg Castle („Mary’s Castle” in German, which became Malbork in Polish) began in the 1280s, when Teutonic knights were crusading into the neighboring lands. The castle was developed after 1309, when it became the headquarters of the Teutonic Order, and its construction continued for more than two hundred years. The largest Gothic fortress in Europe, with its characteristic red bricks, Malbork is an imposing complex of three intertwined castles, separated by moats and towers. More information on Wikipedia, poland.travel, the Castle site or the UNESCO website.

Back to the site map

Wieliczka and Bochnia royal salt mines

Located fifteen minutes away from Krakow, the former royal salt mine of Wieliczka – one of the oldest in the world – is a perfect complement to the visit of the city. Rock salt was extracted here from the 13th to the 20th century. The tourist circuit, which is about 3.5 kilometers long, covers only a small part of the nine levels, 300 kilometers of tunnels and 2000 chambers dug in the rock during the 700 years of the mine’s operation. Visitors will not only discover ancient mining techniques but also be impressed by the beauty of the bas-reliefs, sculptures and chapels created by the generations of miners who worked here. The Saint-Cunegunda chapel, more than 100 meters deep, is particularly beautiful with its sculptures and salt crystal chandeliers. More information on Wikipedia, poland.travel, the mine site or the UNESCO website.

Back to the site map

Tarnowskie Góry lead-silver-zinc mine

The history of Tarnowskie Góry is closely linked to that of the silver, lead and zinc mine, which made the city prosperous until the beginning of the 17th century. At the time, the lead extracted was contributing to the development of trade and the economic growth of Europe. The late eighteenth century saw the industrialization of activity in Tarnowskie Góry, including the use of steam engines for underground drainage in 1788 and the rise of local zinc production, covering in the nineteenth century the half of world demand. During the mine operation 20,000 wells, 150 kilometers of galleries and tens of kilometers of drainage galleries were dug. The ensemble is now part of World Heritage. More information on Wikipedia, the site of the mine, poland.travel or the site of UNESCO.

Back to the site map

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska mannerist complex

The Kalwaria Zebrzydowska complex, located half an hour’s drive from Kraków, has a remarkable Way of the Cross which makes it a major pilgrimage center. The ensemble, which covers approximately 300 hectares, consists of a Baroque basilica dedicated to the Virgin of the Angels, a Franciscan convent dating back to 1600 and some forty Baroque and Mannerist chapels that run along the six kilometers of the way of the Cross, whose topography recalls that of the city of Jerusalem. Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is known in particular for its votive festivals, where the passion of Christ is represented by the monks and the inhabitants in a procession blending religion and popular theater. More information on Wikipedia, poland.travel or the UNESCO website.

Back to the site map

Churches of Peace in Jawor and Świdnica

At the end of the Thirty Years’ War, the Treaty of Westphalia granted the Protestants of Lower Silesia the right to build three „churches of Peace” as symbols of the end of the conflict that devastated Europe. The construction of the temples was subject to specific conditions: the exclusive use of wood, clay and straw as building materials; absence of nails; location outside of cities; and absence of towers or bells. The World Heritage listing of the churches of Jawor and Świdnica, two of the three surviving churches of Peace, recognizes their originality, artistic value (especially polychromy) as well as the universality of the message of peace. The two churches are the largest timber-framed religious buildings in Europe. More information on poland.travel or the UNESCO website.

Back to the site map

Wooden churches of South Małopolska

Horizontal assembly of logs is a building technique that has been used in Eastern and Northern Europe since the Middle Ages. In Poland’s south-eastern region of Małopolska many ancient log buildings, of both secular and sacred architecture, have been particularly well preserved. The region’s wooden churches listed as World Heritage by Unesco are those of Haczow, the oldest (15th century) among the six, built with fir logs; Blizne (early 16th century), with Gothic and Renaissance polychromies; Sekowa, with an original spire roof; Binarowa, with polychromy and a wooden sculpture of the Virgin from the end of 14th century; Debno (15th century); and Lipnica Murowana (late 15th century), a real museum of the art of that time with polychromies, paintings and Baroque sculptures. More information on Wikipedia, poland.travel or the UNESCO website.

Back to the site map

Wooden Tserkvas from the Carpathian Region

Tserkvas (Ukrainian word for a church) can be found throughout the Carpathian Mountains – in Poland and Ukraine, but also in Slovakia and Romania. These Greco-Catholic or Orthodox temples were often constructed with wood, building material traditionally used in the region. Eight Polish wooden tserkvas are listed as World Heritage, in a set completed by eight others in Ukraine. On the Polish side there is the Church of St. Paraskeva of Radruż, the oldest (around 1583), which today houses a museum devoted to the culture of the border areas of eastern Poland. The other seven are in Chotyniec, Smolnik, Turzańsk, Powroźnik, Owczary, Kwiatoń and Brunary. More information on Wikipedia and the UNESCO website.

Back to the site map

Muskau Park / Mużakowski Park

The largest English-style garden in Poland and one of the largest landscape parks in Europe, Mużakowski Park is located on both sides of the Nysa (Neisse in German) river, which defines the German-Polish border. During the first half of the nineteenth century Prince von Pückler-Muskau, inspired by his visits to England, established and developed the park. Today, the park occupies a total of 728 hectares, with 522 hectares on the Polish side of the river. The layout of the park matches perfectly the configuration of the valley, with its various slopes and terraces. The buildings of the prince’s residence, erected on the terraces, are surrounded by gardens embellished with small architectural works and numerous plant species. More information on Wikipedia, poland.travel and the UNESCO website.

Back to the site map

Wrocław Centennial Hall

The Centennial Hall of Wrocław (Breslau) was designed by the city’s municipal architect, Max Berg, and built between 1911 and 1913. The decision to build a versatile exhibition hall has been taken in 1907, with the objective to celebrate the centenary of the victory of the coalition against Napoleon I at the Battle of Nations in Leipzig in 1813. The Centennial Hall has its place in the history of architecture because of its use of reinforced concrete, a revolutionary building technology at the time. The Hall is 23 meters high and is capped with a steel and glass lantern. It forms a symmetrical quadrilobe with a central circular space with a capacity of 6,000 seats. More information on Wikipedia, poland.travel and the UNESCO website.

Back to the site map

Auschwitz-Birkenau

An important place of remembrance, the former German Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest extermination camp of the Second World War where the Third Reich’s policy of persecution and physical elimination of Jews was implemented. According to estimates, up to 1.5 million people, including over a million Jews but also tens of thousands of Poles, Roma and Sinti, and many European nationalities – have been deliberately and systematically starved, tortured and murdered here. More information on Wikipedia, poland.travel and the UNESCO website.

Back to the site map

Białowieża Forest

Created in 1932, the Białowieża Forest (whose name means „white tower” in ancient Polish) located in eastern Poland is one of the oldest natural parks in Europe. It has been declared a biosphere reserve in 1976. It is a primary forest, one of the last few remaining in Europe. The Białowieża Forest is a remnant of the huge area that covered the north and center of Europe after the last glaciation of 10,000 years ago, unaltered by human activity since then. Białowieża offers the visitor the opportunity to admire exceptional wildlife: the 300 European bisons who live there but also wolves, deer, lynx, beavers… Białowieża is also home to more than 1200 species of birds. More information on Wikipedia, poland.travel, the UNESCO website or the Park website.

Back to the site map