Lublin

Lublin is the Easternmost city in Poland, and the largest in the South East. The area surrounding is barren and train journeys through the region are long with the scenery offering little distraction being mostly plains and the odd forest. It is not hard to see how this large expanse which extends east was platform for continual military exchange over the two World Wars. The city itself is set among the Lublin Uplands and is the administrative and educational centre for the region, it is also thought to be the centre for the Gypsy population in Poland. The area is thought to have been inhabited since the sixth century, and by the ninth a strong trade route between the area and the rest of Europe had been established. The city grew up from St Nicholas Church on Czwartek Hill and was granted municipal status in 1317, it later had strong links with Lithuania and enjoyed a period of religious and political freedom resulting in a strong cultural heritage within the city today. This came to an end in the mid seventeenth century with the onset with various wars resulting in complete loss of independence by 1795. The city was a centre for Jewish trade and industry for much of its late history but the Holocaust and subsequent persecution under Soviet rule caused mass immigration and there is little testament to the once thriving Jewish life. In addition to being an important historical site Lublin has decent bars, cafes and restaurants, which are all significantly cheaper than neighbouring Warsaw. The massive student population supports a good music and nightclub scene.

Attractions

Lublin Castle – The building has been a royal castle, prison and hospital during its life, and has an equally anomalous style of building to match its varied history. The English style of castle has been fused with some renaissance elements, the chapel also has gothic elements and is famous for its 14th century Russo-Byzantine frescoes. There is also the main part of [http://www.zamek.lublin.pl/index.php?l=pl&r=1 Lublin Museum] set inside the castle which has exhibitions of Polish folk art, crockery, furniture and weapons, although the best items are said to be kept in the basement and rarely make it into the display cabinets.

[http://www.majdanek.pl/en/ State Museum at Majdanek] – The concentration camp known as Majdanek is the second largest of its type behind Auschwitz. The prisoners were intended to be used as a free labour force by the Nazis and so the camp is located only 4km from the city centre. Several hundred thousand people died at the camp and it is not an experience for the faint hearted. There is a museum accounted the camp’s history and contains various artefacts of ethnological and scientific interest. There is also a collection of modern art at the museum.

Old Town – Although suffering a fair amount of damage in the Second World War and having a reputation as being a dangerous part of the city until recently, Lublin’s Old Town has some buildings that are certainly worth seeing. The Classicist superstructure of Old Town Hall or Tribunal is set in the middle of the Market Square and is surrounded by burgher houses with equally interesting adornments. The views over the Bystrzyca and Czechowka rivers are superb and a great contrast to the intriguing and meandering narrow lanes that wind through the area.

Shopping

Krakowskie Przedmiescie is Lublin’s main street and has banks, offices, hotels and a good number of high street shops selling mostly electrical and fashion goods. The prices are lower than in Warsaw, but you are unlikely to find as many of the labels and brands which are popular in Western Europe and so pushed in Warsaw. There are some large grocery shopping centres such as Tesco, Champion and Real. Galeria Gala is the largest shopping centre in Lublin, covering 33,500 square metres, there is little on offer to tourists here however as it sells mainly home decorations and furniture. [http://www.galeria.lublin.pl/ Galeria Centrum] specialises in clothing, although most visitors may not be very familiar with the designer names “Frodo” or “Hoffland” which sadly have nothing to do with Lord of the Rings or Knightrider.

Nightlife and Eating Out

Restaurants are well priced but not massively exciting in Lublin. There are some very quaint establishments around the Old Town, and some excellent cafes in the centre such as the basement establishment Vanilla on Krakowskie Przedmiescie. The food is most commonly the famously average Polish Pizza.

The nightclubs are a fairly long way behind other large cities in Europe, but there are some decent venues offering mainstream dance and pop to a mainly student crowd, the most popular choice being MC which is near the university campuses. Door staff are less than stringent when it comes to age restrictions, which the club Czekolada has remedied with an over 21 policy. The Old Town has more than enough inviting pubs to choose from with smoky interiors, pleasant staff and decent cheap beer.

Tourist Information

Lublin Tourist Information Centre20-113 Lublin ul. Jezuicka 1/3Lublin

• Telephone: +48 (081) 53 244 12
• Fax: +48 (081) 442 35 56
• Email: itlublin@onet.pl
• Website: [http://www.loit.lublin.pl www.loit.lublin.pl]

Zamość Tourist Information Centre22-400 Zamość, Rynek Wielki 13Lublin

• Telephone: +48 (084) 639 22 92
• Fax: +48 (084) 627 08 13
• Email: zoit@zamosc.um.gov.pl
• Website: [http://www.osir.zamosc.pl/ www.osir.zamosc.pl/]

Airport

There are plans to establish an international commercial airport in Lublin, but at time of writing visitors can only arrive by train or bus. Trains run ten times a day to Krakow and Warsaw as well as all other major cities in Poland. Buses also run from below the castle in the Old Town and serve most of the same destinations as the rail network. The fast train to Warsaw takes around two and half hours and public transport is available to the [http://www.lotnisko-chopina.pl/?lang=en Frederick Chopin Airport] which is only 10km outside the centre and has flights worldwide. The Polski Express bus service runs seven daily buses from the airport direct to Lublin and the journey takes around three and a half hours.