Rent a car at Olsztyn Airport
Olsztyn
Olsztyn is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and a thriving urban centre in northern Poland. Situated near national road number 7, it is a gateway to Warmia and Mazury. The nearest airport, Olsztyn Mazury Airport, is located about 60 km from the city centre.
This Gothic building is one of the three city gates that once existed. Today a hotel is located inside the High Gate. Archaeological excavations are being carried out in the square in front of the gate and the uncovered remains of the former city fortifications are one of Olsztyn's tourist attractions.
Old Town Square and Old Town Hall
Compared to the markets in Warsaw or Cracow, Olsztyn's Old Town Square is not very big, but it still has a great charm of its own. It is a former trading square, which in time became the centre of the city, having been rebuilt after the war. The surrounding tenement houses are buildings reconstructed in Renaissance and Baroque style on the basis of preserved photographs.
While strolling around the small Olsztyn Old Town, it is worth paying attention to two buildings - the seat of the Association of Polish Architects at 14 Kołłątaja Street, with a beautiful 1st floor half-timbered structure, and a brick granary at 13 Piastowska Street.
In the central point is the Old Town Hall - now a library, but once the building housed the magistrate and the courts. The sundials on the facade are impossible to miss.
The Warmia Chapter Castle
This Gothic defensive castle was built in the 14th century and for a long time was the heart of the city. As the seat of the administrator of the Warmia Chapter estate, it was the most magnificent building of its kind in the region. It was from here that Nicolaus Copernicus directed the defence of the city. Copernicus not only worked as an administrator of the Warmia Chapter, but also developed his passion for astronomy. A memento of this is the astronomical plaque on the wall of the cloister.
In later years, a late Baroque wing was added to the Gothic part. Today the castle is the seat of the Museum of Warmia and Mazury, and visitors can visit the chambers and the courtyard.
It is worth mentioning that in the courtyard there are sculptures of unknown function and origin - the so-called Prussian women, which contrary to their name do not represent women, but male figures.
