Poland - Files

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Underground
labyrinths underneath cities
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Jarosław and Rzeszów
(Podkarpacie, south-eastern Poland)
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and Sandomierz upon the Vistula River
(central Poland).
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These old mercantile towns offer underground trails intersecting
corridors and basements of Medieval merchandise
storage places. Wines and goods from out of the country were
kept in these basements and during invasions people sought
refuge in here. Today as you marvel at their construction and
utility you will be transported to the times of the Middle Ages.
Labyrinths of corridors and cellars – which can be visited only
with a guide are spread over 200 m in Jarosław and Rzeszów
and over 470 m in Sandomierz at a depth of 12 m.
• www.rzeszow.pl • www.jaroslaw.pl • www.sandomierz.pl •
• www.wrota.podkarpackie.pl/pl/turystyka/szlaki/sciezki/trasy_podziemne •
• www.sandomierz.pl/index.php/pl/atrakcje_i_ciekawostki/art19.html •
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Chełm (near Lublin, eastern Poland) [50]
Underneath almost the entire terrain of the town of Chełm
is a two-kilometer net of corridors and mining chambers. It is
Europe’s only underground chalk mine reaching 20 m down
into the deposit located under historical, public buildings.
Throughout hundreds of years pits and labyrinths of passages
have been dug out. They can be accessed straight from the
tenements above them. The dark underground – which can be
visited only with a guide – is lit up by the white chalk walls on
which you can sometimes see the shadow of the White Ghost,
the spirit of this land. But people do not tremble in fear down
here because of the low temperature which doesn’t rise above
+9 °C, even during summer.
• www.chelm.pl •
• www.zabytkowakopalniakredy.pl •
• www.podziemiakredowe.pl •
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Chełm
Sandomierz
Jarosław
Rzeszów
18 19
Międzyrzecz
Fortified Area
Osowiec
Fortress
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In the 19th century fortresses were built in several
Polish towns. Most of them have been preserved unchanged
up to today. You can visit them on foot or by bike and
penetrate deeply into the dark and gloomy basements of
these military sites. They were created by engineers from
three different nations which occupied Poland in the
19th century: Austrians (Kraków Fortress and Przemyśl
Fortress), Prussians (Toruń Fortress) and Russians
(Osowiec Fortress). The fortifications in Krakow (60
km circumference) and Toruń are a great attraction for
visitors to Polish cities. Only a few tourists realize that
when standing in the Market Square in Kraków or in
front of the Monument to Copernicus in Toruń they are
at the same time in the center of a former fortress. This
is also the case in the beautiful town of Przemyśl – full
of historic sites and filled with a unique type of culture
of a town on the border between two nations: Polish and
Ukrainian. Enthusiasts of walking in these fortified labyrinths
will be greatly interested by these fortress buildings
which are amongst the largest in Europe.
The Russian-built Osowiec Fortress [51]
The Russian-built Osowiec Fortress was raised in the years
1882-1915 in the narrow Biebrza River valley (north-eastern
Poland). It was never conquered. But today anyone can enter
it with no problem; however a guide is recommended.
• http://www.monki.com.pl/strony.html •
• http://maps.pomocnik.com/photo/osowiec-fortress-poland •
• www.wrotapodlasia.pl •
Underground
towns in fortresses
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A mysterious town of concrete [52]
The Międzyrzecz Fortified Area (Lubusko Lands,
western Poland)
A great fortification system, the largest in Europe, built by
the Germans, 1935-1939, covers an area of 100 km between the
Odra and Warta rivers. Tens of underground bunkers joined
by tunnels form an underground town with train stations, a
net of warehouses and barracks. Today, bats, including the
largest in Europe, pass the winter here. A visit to this underground
complex can take up to 8 hours. Routes between
particular positions in the fortress are marked out also on
the surface. Some visitors choose to travel using a military
vehicle, others prefer a bike. There is an observation tower
on one of the trails from which you can study the layout of
Europe’s biggest fortification.
• www.bunkry.pl •
• www.miedzyrzecz.pl •
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photo maca.obiezyswiat.org
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photo maca.obiezyswiat.org
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