Churches and monasteries
the largest wooden Baroque church in Europe, built in ten months, today on the UNESCO list
Churches and monasteries
a Gothic cathedral with a tower over 101 metres high, the tallest in the whole of Silesia
Museums
collections of old weights, measures and merchant packaging in the Gothic Councillors' Hall of Świdnica town hall
a performance hall on the Market Square and the Bolko Club supporting Świdnica's amateur artistic ensembles
For children
indoor play centre with climbing structures and a trampoline park for children of all ages
Viewpoints
a 58-metre viewing tower by the Market Square, rebuilt after collapsing in 1967
Churches and monasteries
a parish church in the Osiedle Młodych district, consecrated in 2001 with a cornerstone blessed by the Pope
Entertainment
a go-kart track in Świdnica with live run timing and online booking
Churches and monasteries
a parish Catholic church in Świdnica, in the Świdnica-West deanery of the Diocese of Świdnica
a shooting range with two lanes and a weapon rental service, also open to people outside the club
a natural play space for infants and pre-schoolers with robotics workshops
a play centre with a multi-level monkey grove and a ball pool, open daily in Świdnica
Places with character
a baroque sandstone fountain with sculptures of Neptune and a Triton, standing right in the middle of the Świdnica Market Square
Churches and monasteries
an Orthodox church in the municipal cemetery, created from a chapel in the neo-Romanesque-Byzantine style
Culture
a library in a historic building with vinyl records, board games and literary festivals
Churches and monasteries
a Neo-Gothic parish church in Kraszowice, built between 1890 and 1892 from a former manor house
Places with character
a Baroque column of red sandstone in the Market Square, founded in 1693 by the starosta of Świdnica-Jawor
Cemeteries and monuments
a bench monument to astronomer Maria Cunitz on the market square, unveiled in 2009
Historic sites
a baroque residence of the Krzeszów abbots from 1723-1725, today a city library
Murals
a mural of the woman who rescued Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto, unveiled in Świdnica in 2018
Swidnica attractions: the UNESCO Church of Peace, a cathedral with Silesia's tallest tower, the market square and a viewing tower.
People come to Świdnica for one thing and stay for a day. The Church of Peace draws the most visitors, but a few hundred metres away you will find a square with baroque sculpture, a tower with a terrace and the cathedral. Below we set it all out as a route, add options for children and suggest trips into the surrounding county.
Begin at the Church of Peace, walk to the main square, climb the town hall tower and finish at the cathedral. Only a few hundred metres separate these sights, so you can cover them on foot without rushing. If you travel with children, there are indoor play rooms for a rainy stop.
This order works because the Church of Peace is best seen calmly, preferably in the morning. The square is then a natural place to rest, and the tower gives you a view where you can spot the cathedral and decide where to go next. Round off the day with a walk to John Paul II Square.
The Church of Peace is the largest wooden baroque church in Europe and has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2001. It was built after the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, which ended the Thirty Years' War, and today belongs to the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession.
It is a timber-frame building, meaning wooden frames filled with clay and straw, laid out as a Greek cross. It measures 44 metres in length and 30.5 metres in width, with an interior of 1090 square metres. The foundation stone was laid in August 1656, and the first service took place after ten months of work. The design came from the Wrocław architect Albrecht von Saebisch, and the construction was led by the Świdnica carpenter Andreas Kaemper.
Remember that it is an active Protestant church. Check visiting hours before you go.
The square is the second certain stop. It holds two baroque monuments that are easy to overlook in a crowd: the Neptune Fountain with figures of Neptune, a water sprite and sea horses carved in sandstone between 1716 and 1731, and the Holy Trinity Column of red sandstone from 1693. Both stand where Grodzka Street meets the square.
The town hall tower has a terrace at 38 metres. The tower is 58 metres tall and has a lift, though the last two levels are climbed on foot. The present tower was rebuilt in 2010-2012 after the earlier one collapsed in 1967.
Inside the town hall is the Museum of Old Trade. Its main asset is the room itself: the late Gothic Councillors' Hall with a rib vault and polychrome painting from around 1538. The collection shows old measures, scales and packaging. Out front, sit beside the bench of Maria Cunitz, a 17th-century astronomer whose sculpture was unveiled in 2009.
For the evening, check the programme of the Świdnica Centre of Culture, the largest cultural institution in town, with a theatre hall on the square and the Bolko Club on Grunwaldzki Square. Nearby on Franciszkańska Street stands the Palace of the Abbots of Krzeszów, a baroque former abbots' residence, now the city library.
The town has several indoor play rooms for different ages. Cinema Fun welcomes children from the first months of life up to eleven years old and has a trampoline park. Tęcza on Husarska Street has a multi-level "monkey grove" and a ball pit, and Mysz Polna runs classes for babies and preschoolers plus robotics workshops.
Older children and teenagers may like the M3Racing karting track with live lap timing and online booking. The KSOS shooting range also accepts guests from outside the club and rents out weapons. Choose such activities carefully and always with an adult.
When the weather is fine, go to the Witoszówka Reservoir, a small body of water by the Słowiański estate, popular with walkers, joggers and anglers. More ideas are in the attractions for children category.
One place in the county needs a different frame of mind: the Gross-Rosen Museum in Rogoźnica, on the site of the former German concentration camp of 1940-1945. Please visit it quietly and with respect.
Technology fans can head to Jaworzyna Śląska, where the Museum of Railways in Silesia occupies a former roundhouse and holds the largest collection of rolling stock in Poland. In Strzegom stands the Gothic Basilica of Sts Peter and Paul from the 14th to 16th centuries, a listed Monument of History, and northwest of the town rises Góra Krzyżowa, the highest point of the Strzegom Hills (358 m) and part of the Crown of the Polish Sudetes.
For geology fans, there is the Jeziorko Daisy reserve in a former limestone quarry. A larger town nearby is Wałbrzych.
The Church of Peace, the square with the Neptune Fountain and Holy Trinity Column, the town hall tower with its terrace and the Cathedral of St Stanislaus and St Wenceslaus. If you have time left, add the Museum of Old Trade.
It is an active church, so it suits older children who can stay quiet. Younger ones may prefer the town hall tower or one of the play rooms.
The tower is 58 metres high and the viewing terrace is at 38 metres. You can take a lift or the stairs, but the last two levels are always climbed on foot.
It is a Gothic church from the 14th century with the tallest tower in Silesia and baroque furnishings by Johann Riedel. Since 2004 it has been the cathedral of the Świdnica diocese, and it stands on John Paul II Square. Entry is free.
