Frombork Things to Do

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The organ can be heard playing. Time to enter the cathedral. You could expect a cathedral even in such a small town to be well-furnished and with some works of art like paintings or altars but you would never expect the splendour that you encounter here. The innumerable paintings, sculptures, magnificent altars, founts, stalls and sedilia represent a number of styles from the Gothic and Neo-Gothic to the Renaissance and Baroque. The cathedral itself was built in the years 1329 - 1388 and is the oldest original building in Frombork, having been spared by the many invaders, who, however, plundered it a number of times. With many epitaphs and tombs of the Varmian bishops of the 15th to the 18th centuries the place is also a monumental necropolis. The epitaph of Kopernik himself has been discovered only recently after years of fruitless search and the look of his face has been recreated from the skull found. His remains, buried near the altar, have been identified by comparing their DNA with a hair found in a book formerly owned by Kopernik and now displayed in a museum in Sweden.
The beautiful and imposing organ built by Daniel Nitrowski from Gdansk dates back to 1684. Resembling the famous organ in Gdansk-Oliwa, it too contains some movable elements like angels playing their trumpets. The instrument itself, however, comes from 1935 and has a fantastic scope of sound, including a human voice, birds' song and the like. Try to be there for a demonstration at 12 or 3 pm.

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This mediaeval hospital complex was founded by the Frombork chapter in the 14th century and was then one of the three places designed to house lepers, the sick and the old. As was the tradition then, not much changed in modern times by the way, such places were located beyond the city walls and two cemeteries were established in their vicinity.
The present building dates back to 1430 - 1450. Later alterations did not deprive it of its mediaeval character, only the front elevation is Baroque. The place consists of the hospital part, including an almshouse and rooms for the pilgrims, and an adjoining chapel. Don't miss the frescoes depicting scenes of the Last Judgment painted in the fifteenth century probably by the town scribe, Krzysztof Blaumenroth. The buildings now house two exhibitions: of the history of medicine and of Varmian 17th and 18th century sculpture.
You may also like to see the enormous stork's nest on the hospital roof. Unfortunately, I cannot say if it is still in use as the storks were no longer there in September.

This octagonal artillery tower was built before 1448. In the years 1683-85 a belfry founded by Bishop Radziejowski was added to it at the top. Left in ruins after a fire in 1945, the Tower was rebuilt in the years 1972-1973 and adapted for a planetarium. From the terrace at the top, situated 70 m. a.s.l. you can admire fantastic views of the whole of Frombork and the bay. The belfry houses Foucault's pendulum, the only instrument in Poland to demonstrate the rotation of the earth.

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This amazing polyptych used to serve as the main altar of the Cathedral until it was replaced by the present 18th century stone altar built by the Italian masters. I should really have put this ancient original altar under General tips as I liked it so much. Funded by Bishop Watzenrode, Kopernik's uncle, this great, if now a little damaged, piece of art dates back to 1504 and shows the Church, represented by the bishops' and cardinals' figures, in adoration of Holy Mary the Virgin, who is the patron of the Frombork Cathedral. I don't know if the effect was intended but the sweet heavenly face of Our Lady strangely contrasts here with the much more earthly, pompous and to me calculating expressions on the faces of the church dignitaries.

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As we were too early for the concert at the cathedral, we went to the museum first. Like the name of Mikolaj Kopernik, which is better known in its Latinized version, the museum also uses the Latin name ' Nicolai Copernici Musaeum Fromborcense'. Housed in the Gothic Bishops' Palace, which had to be rebuilt after a fire in WWII, it is more interesting inside than outside as the building has been plastered over and looks very ordinary. But as you enter it you immediately find yourself in the world of Gothic archways and low arched windows, with spacious halls and brick floors. The exhibits show the life and work of Mikolaj Kopernik, but many of them are not signed so you don't know why, for instance, some decorative parts of an armchair are displayed. Many sculptures and pictures are copies of the real things displayed elsewhere. One of the most interesting is a copy of Matejko's painting 'Mikolaj Kopernik. Conversation with God'. On the second floor you will see mostly astronomical instruments, which I would need more time and a guide to understand.

As you enter the cathedral courtyard through the Southern Gate on the right you will see the giant ancient oak tree named after Kopernik. You can realise how high it is, looking at the buildings next to it. Just opposite is the side entrance to the cathedral. If you hear sounds of music coming from there, hurry up - the organ concert has begun.

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To enter the cathedral complex, walk across the wooden bridge to the Southern Gate, porta maior. Underneath you can see the uncovered remains of the old Barbican dating back to 1537 and dismantled in 1843. The Southern Gate, or gatehouse rather, one of the main gates leading to the cathedral complex, itself comes from the early 15th century with some 19th century modifications. Here you will find the office - to enter any of the buildings within the complex you will need tickets, 4 zl each, separate for the cathedral, the museum, the belfry, Kopernik's Tower and the Hospital of the Holy Spirit. You may choose not to visit some of them if you are pressed for time but you certainly should not miss the grandest of them all - the magnificent Cathedral with all its treasures.
The ticket office is open from 9.00 till 16.20.

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The Cathedral Hill can be seen already from the boat as it approaches the port in Frombork. The skyline displays a diversity of forms, from the bulky round towers with sloping roofs to the lean spires reaching up for the skies. In the centre you can see the triangle of the roof of the cathedral itself. The cathedral complex looks like a castle from a distance, which clearly shows it was to serve defensive as well as religious purposes.
As you come closer you can see a rather dreary and stiff figure at the foot of the hill - it's the statue of Mikolaj Kopernik, looking not in the least as I would imagine the great man to have been like.