Grodzka Gate, Lublin

Discover the highlights of Lublin with a knowledgeable, private guide on a walking tour of the historic city center. The Old Town in Lublin is considered to be one of the best preserved historic complexes in Poland. In the past, Lublin played an important role as an administrative, trade, and military center in the Polish kingdom. During the two-hour tour, explore the Market Square and stroll down streets to admire renaissance buildings and see the former Town Hall. Walk through the historic gates which are remnants from the defensive walls of the 14th century, Krakowska Gate and Grodzka Gate. See the extremely old remains of Fara Square and Trinity Tower. Follow your guide to check out the beautiful neo-Gothic Lublin castle. Enter St. John the Baptist Cathedral and discover its rich interior and stunning organs. Finally, visit the Church the Holy Spirit with its spectacular altar. Extend your tour to three hours and admire other extraordinary sacral buildings like the Carmelite Church or the Roman Catholic Church of St. Piotr and Paul. Lublin is full of delightful architecture; look out for beautiful Romanesque townhouses in the heart of Lublin, like the building of Theatre of Osterwy. End the tour at Lublin Union Monument and find out the story behind it.

Your guide will greet you at the hotel and invite you for the fully private sightseeing. The history of Lublin Jews is almost as long as the history of the city - it has about 700 years. Before the outbreak of World War II, the Jewish population constituted 30% of the citizens of the city. Over time, Lublin became the center of Jewish culture, religion and science. In the 1930s, the largest and most prestigious rabbinical school in the world was opened in Lublin. The town was called the Jewish Oxford and the Jerusalem of Poland. Go through a Memorial Trail of Lublin Jews, that commemorates places related to the tragic history of the Jewish community and marks the borders of the ghetto in Podzamcze and the last road of Lublin Jews to Umschlagplatz, from where about 28,000 people were transported to the death camp in Bełżec. Hear about a world that no longer exists. See the Lublin castle, the Grodzka Gate (called also the Jewish Gate), Chewra Nosim Synagogue - the only preserved pre-war Jewish temple, the Old Jewish Cemetery, and the former Academy of the Sages of Lublin – currently hotel and synagogue. Finally, visit the Majdanek State Museum – the former German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp. Enjoy the most important places for Jewish history in Lublin and learn from your guide what else you can discover on your own after this tour.