Historic sites
one of the oldest castles in Poland, with the remains of a Romanesque chapel and two Gothic towers
Historic sites
eight tenement houses with Renaissance sgraffiti by Legnica's market square, on the site of former herring stalls
Historic sites
an 18th-century baroque palace of the Lubiąż abbots, today home to the Copper Museum in Legnica
Historic sites in Legnica: the Piast Castle, the Herring Houses and a Baroque abbots' palace. See what to visit in the historic centre.
The Piast Castle is one of the oldest castles in Poland. Duke Bolesław I the Tall built it in the second half of the 12th century, and Henry the Bearded extended it in the first half of the 13th. It was rebuilt many times afterwards. It is entered in the register of historic monuments, and its walls are made of brick. The site presents the remains of a Romanesque chapel of St Benedict and St Lawrence.
The Herring Houses are a group of eight three-storey townhouses in the block in the middle of the square, right next to the Old Town Hall. The name refers to herring stalls, first mentioned in 1574. Four houses are Renaissance, four Neoclassical, a result of many rebuildings. The building closest to the town hall kept its Gothic cellars, and houses 54 and 55 are decorated with sgraffito.
The Palace of the Lubiąż Abbots stands on Partyzantów Street. It was built between 1726 and 1728 as the residence of the Cistercian abbots of Lubiąż. Above the main entrance a cartouche with the initials LAL survives, short for Lodovicus Abbas Lubensis. Since the 1960s the Baroque interiors have housed the Copper Museum, with collections on copper mining and smelting in Lower Silesia.
All three sites carry the solo tag, so you can visit them comfortably on your own. See also Legnica solo, cemeteries and monuments, culture in Legnica and the full attractions page for the city. Historic sites in other places in the region are in the Historic sites section.
