Lublin

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Lublin is the ninth largest town of Poland and the center of the eponymous voivodeship, located in easternmost Poland. It has appr. 350, 000 residents.

Lublin is established before 12th century and got town rights in 1317. Polish king Casimir the Great saw the importance of the city and fortified it with the walls during his reign in 12th century.

Remember have a cup of tea in Krakowskie Przedmiescie street, which is a main vessel of the city and popular meeting place.

Shopping

Miedzy Slowami (ul. Rybna 4 / 5) is a cozy book store and café in Old town.

Sklep Rekodcielniczy (Akademicka 1) sells jewelry and knitting supplies.

Something to explore

Lublin Castle

Medieval castle of Lublin is one of the most significant landmarks of the city. Its construction started in 13th century and during the reign of Casimir the Great in 14th century the castle were rebuilt with stone walls. In 1569 the Union of Lublin, the foundation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, were signed in the castle.

The castle served in prison from the Czar reign 1831 until the Communist regime in 1954.

Nowadays the reconstructed castle is the main site of the Lublin Museum.

The Holy Trinity chapel of the castle has incredibly preserved wall paintings from 14th century combining Western and Eastern Orthodox influences.

Old Town

Oldest part of Lublin is sometimes called ”Little Cracow” for its traditional architecture. It is one of the best preserved medieval sites in Poland. Its cobbled streets welcomes a visitor to get acquainted with comfortable pubs and Renaissance buildings.

Must-sees here are the 14th-century Cracow Gate, Lublin Castle and Po Farze Square.

Majdanek State museum

During the German occupation of Poland in World War II, Nazis constructed the concentration camp in the outskirts of Lublin. It operated between March 1941 and July 1944, killing allegedly about 80,000 prisoners, mostly Jews.

In 1969 a huge monument was constructed at the site, holding ashes of the victims at its opposite end.

Today the camp site has constructed as a museum commemorating the victims of this horrible tragedy.

How to get around

Lublin has very good trolleybus lines. One of the handy routes to remember is 156 from the Majdanek Concentration Camp to near Old Town and Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva. Sometimes the pickpocketers could be the harm, so beware of your belonging in a trolley.

Taxis are relatively cheap, 5.50zł is usually a starting fee and then about 1.76-2.20zł/km

Check timetables of the local public transport here.

How to get in Lublin

Lublin has an international airport connected by e.g. Wizz Air. Airport has a railway stop connecting to the city center. Second nearest airports are in Warsaw, Cracow and Rzeszów. From Warsaw and Cracow there is railway connections to / from Lublin.

National PKP line offers regular train services to / and from Warsaw and other major Polish cities. Train journey from Warsaw takes about 2~ hours.

Road 17 and E372 highway lead from Warsaw to Lublin (169 km) , from Kielce the roads 74 and 19 (176 km) and from Cracow the road 19 and highway E40 (326 km).

Text: Timo Hellman

Photos: Wikimedia Commons, Flickr with CC / Sfu, polandmfa, Niantic100, Jolanta Dyr, Mad Dr[/fusion_text]