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Probably the most famous of all places in the Mazowsze region is this tiny village not far from Sochaczew - Zelazowa Wola, where the great composer Fryderyk Chopin was born and spent the first few months of his life. Chopin's father, Mikolaj was a private tutor to the Skarbek family. Their manor burnt down as Napoleon's army marched past. Luckily, the early 19th century lodge where the Chopins lived and little Fryderyk was born remained. It now houses F.Chopin's Museum, which displays many documents from Chopin's life, Chopin's family portraits and some period furniture.
If you come here on a Sunday between May and end of September, at 12.00 and 15.00 you can hear piano recitals of Chopin's music given by celebrated pianists. On the other days, except Mondays, on the other hand, you can hear young pianists playing Chopin. Or... bring the pianist with you, as we did once, but it must be pre-arranged. He actually told us that even the birds outside disturbed his concentration as he was playing. But even if you visit the place on another day, Chopin's music is omnipresent here - played from tapes all the time, to create the unique atmosphere of this romantic country house. Later, take a walk around the charming park on the Utrata river, with an abundance of greenery, two Chopin's monuments and ... red squirrels begging for nuts.
More (autumn) pictures of the house to be found on my Zelazowa Wola page. Leave a Comment Address: Zelazowa Wola, Sochaczew 96-503Phone: (+48 46) 863 33 00
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Czersk, once the capital of southern Mazowsze, is now famous for one thing only, the ruins of a great castle rising high above the fields and villages below. When it was built by the Mazovian Prince Janusz I in the 14th - 15th centuries, the Vistula River flowed right at its feet, making it invaluable for defensive purposes. Later, however, the river considerably changed its course, putting both the castle and the town in the shade of the fast developing Warsaw. Two Swedish invasions and the policy of the Prussian authorities after the 3rd partition of Poland aimed at pulling the Polish castles down and using the brick for other purposes, did so much damage to the castle that the internal parts of it disappeared forever, leaving the fortifications and towers bare and useless, but not for the tourist. If you climb either of the two accessible towers, you will see a magnificent view of the Vistula River valley, its orchards and meadows and the powerful river far in the distance. Czersk is also a wonderful place for a picnic on its low walls and benches within the castle courtyard. Afterwards, you can drive all the way down to the river and enjoy a walk on the pier or on the river banks overgrown with ivy. And, if you dare visit the castle at midnight, you might just see the ghost of Queen Bona*, picking the pearls from her broken necklace. When she has picked them all up, you can hear a cock crow, and all the pearls drop on the ground again. And so it happens every night.
Admission: 6 zl, concessions - 3 zl
*Bona Sforza d'Aragona, second wife of King Zygmunt Stary Leave a Comment Directions: Czersk, near Gora Kalwaria.
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 Portal of the church at
Brochow by evaanna
The church itself is truly imposing: in the Gothic and Rennaissance styles, with three towers, one on each side of the gate and one over the chancel. Untypically, the church is defensive in character and surrounded by fortifications with four corner bastions. As I only have a picture of the portal, have a look at the page on the Web to see all of it.
If you have time to spare, take a walk to the Bzura River along a path across the fields at the back of the church to get a great view of its imposing structure, but also to take in the peace of the Mazovian fields and see the rows of weeping willows, which Chopin's music is often associated with.
For more pictures, see:
http://www.travelphoto.pl/Polska/TP00069/TP00069.htm Leave a Comment Website: www. kampinoska.waw. pl
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Beautifully situated on the high bank of the Vistula, Czerwinsk got its municipal rights as early as 1373 only to lose them five centuries later. The most important building in or rather above the village is the 12th-century stone basilica with its two high stone towers, a beautiful Romanesque portal dating back to 1150, paintings in the Chapel of the Crucifixion from the same period and wonderful Gothic frescoes. Built in the 12th century, it was the seat of the Order of Lateran Canons brought to Poland from France, who later, due to numerous donations of the Mazovian princes, came into possession of one town and 48 villages, thus joining the ranks of the wealthiest feudal lords in Mazovia.
It was in Czerwinsk that in 1410 the troops of King Wladyslaw Jagiello crossed the Vistula on their way to invade the Castle of the Teutonic Order at Malbork and it was for them that the first bridge across the river was constructed. It is said that the King inspected his troops from the place by the church where there is a cross nowadays. He could see all his army very clearly as the church terrace commands a magnificent view over the river and the Kampinos Forest on the other bank. Leave a Comment Address: Czerwinsk nad Wisla, Klasztorna 23Phone: (+48) 24 231 50 35Directions: You could combine your visit to the monastery with the trip to Chopin's birthplace in Zelazowa Wola, crossing the bridge across the Vistula at Wyszogrod.
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 Grave of Maciej Rataj, the
Speaker of the Seym by evaanna, 2 more photosLeave a Comment Directions: A few kilometres from Palmiry, by a road in the forest
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If you come to visit the castle at Czersk by car, you can go a little further down the escarpment to the banks of the Vistula River. In the past its course was just beneath the castle so it played an important role in its defence. However, later the river changed its course and it now flows by about 3 kilometres away. The Vistula runs quite wild at this place, forming sandbars and little islands which change their position from year to year. This year there are more beaches than I have ever seen there so you can sunbathe or have a picnic. Swimming is dangerous as there are some strong currents at this place and anyway the water is rather dirty near the banks. You can always see a few anglers, with their cars and bored wives in deckchairs beside them. There is a pier of concrete there as well, so you can see more of the river, but beware - in spring the water rises above its surface and it's better not to try to walk on it. For more pictures of the river, see my travelogue. Leave a Comment Directions: Drive past the marketplace and the castle at Czersk and go down, passing one or two villages and miles of orchards till you come to the river.
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About 80 km west of Warsaw, Arkadia is a charming place to visit in all seasons.
This 18th century English romantic park can be enjoyed by adults and children alike but don't expect swings or a playground there. It's a great place for walks in the beautiful scenery with a river and a lake, in which you can see reflections of the antique or pseudo-antique structures and works of art brought here or commissioned by the founder of the park, Duchess Helena Radziwill. You will be able to read more about it on my Arkadia page soon.
And while you are there, don't miss the palace and park of the Radziwills at nearby Nieborow. Last time I visited it was years ago so I'll have to go there again to take pictures for VT, but in the meantime you can read about it on their website, also in English.
The park at Arkadia is open daily from 10.00 till dusk.
Admission: 6 PLN, concessions - 4 PLN Leave a Comment
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If you like the colourful Polish folk arts and handicrafts, Lowicz is just the place for you.
It's only an hour's train ride away and the town is small enough to do the sightseeing on foot.
You can visit its wonderful baroque Basilica in the middle of the Old Market Square and the museum nearby with all its baroque and folk art treasures. Don't miss the open-air part with the lovely cottages and, if you come at the weekend, meet the folk artists demonstrating their arts and crafts. Afterwards, you can have lunch at the restaurant 'U Blazeja' recommended to us by the local people. If you have the whole day for sightseeing, you could then visit the romantic park of Arkadia (the buses run every 30 mins, although I am not sure if this applies to the weekend as well) or the open-air museum at Maurzyce.
If you have a car, you might want to see the Museum of Folk Sculpture at Sromow, not far from Lowicz. Your children are bound to love it.
For more details see my Lowicz page. Leave a Comment
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Konstancin is a resort now nearly adjoining Warsaw in the south. Situated in pine forest, it boasts some beautiful villas representing a variety of styles from neo-Gothic to art deco, many of them pre-war, but also a few residences of the nouveau riche, including a copy of the Lazienki Palace, interesting but missing the original palace's wonderful location on a lake. (Will the owners try to recreate that now as well? :)). Unfortunately, the condition of the pre-war ones is often far from perfect, mildly speaking, the devastation often originating in their having been taken over by the communist authorities after WWII and having had lodgers installed in them. Some were later revamped and look lovely, but even the ones in the pictures bear an air of their former glory, with many art deco elements still preserved. I do hope they survive to see better times as the others did.
Konstancin used to be a town of artists, writers and the wealthy of the inteligentsia, who appreciated the closeness to nature and living in the forest. It's a spa with a few sanatoriums, a salt graduation tower for people with respiratory problems and endless opportunities of forest walks. It has an elegant (and expensive) shopping centre in what used to be a 19th century paper mill. It's a nice place to live if you don't have to commute to Warsaw in the traffic jams and a nice place to visit at the weekend for anybody tired of city life. Leave a Comment Directions: You can get there by bus 724 from Dworzec Poludniowy in Pulawska St. near Metro Wilanowska or by bus 700 from Dworzec Centralny PKP ( the Central Station)
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