Attractions and Places To See around Oświęcim - Top 20

A superb cycle path which is, among other things, the EuroVelo 4 which crosses Poland. I realize that I can take it all the way to Krakow, my final destination, but the wind is blowing hard today and the path is elevated, so I am not at all sheltered from the wind. I decide to leave it further on to follow my initial itinerary.

Key dates and historical facts: 1285: Village founded and parish established. 1325–1327: Mention of an existing church. 1496: The church was destroyed, likely by fire. 1502–1506: Construction of the current wooden church. Its founder was Count Zygmunt Porębski. 1509: Consecration of the church. 1644: A tower was added. 1720–1763: Period when the church served as a Calvinist church. 1763–1791: Renovation work, modernization of the tower, sacristy, and interiors, as well as replacement of the Renaissance altars with Baroque ones. 1916–1917: Painter Adam Giebułtowski created new interior polychrome.

St. Bartholomew's Church in Poręba Wielka is a wooden, late Gothic church, whose present form dates from the early 16th century (1502–1506). The church was founded by Count Zygmunt Porębski. Its history includes a period when it served as a Calvinist church from 1720 to 1763. Later, after renovations, the church was rebuilt, and the furnishings (including the altars) were changed to Baroque styles. Renovation and conservation work was carried out in the 21st century.

In 2008, the building was purchased by a private investor from Bielsko-Biała. The manor house regained its former appearance, but as it became the residence of the new owner, it was no longer publicly accessible. The main entrance stairs were removed. In their place, a wall was built, cutting the manor house off from the axis of the access avenue. A new entrance was created at the rear of the building. A new bastion was constructed on the north side, symmetrically mirroring the historic bastion located on the other side. The area surrounding the manor house was adapted into a French-style garden.

Until the 1970s, the manor house was used as a municipal housing building. In the 1990s, it was acquired by a private company, which began its renovation. Work was suspended due to a lack of funds, and for many years, the historic building fell into disrepair. Lacking care and devastation, it began to fall into disrepair. Obscured by bushes and thickets, with its eerie empty windows, it presented a rather pathetic sight.

In the 18th century, the manor house was rebuilt. A shingled mansard roof was added to all wings. However, the manor house's current appearance is not significantly different from the time of its construction. The single-bay, two-story building is surrounded by a rectangular courtyard on three sides. The fourth side is enclosed by an arcaded gallery. Many architectural details from the manor's early days have been preserved. The surrounding moat and wall with bastions are also visible.

On a small stream, a tributary of the Soła River, a fortified manor house, not so much a castle, has survived. It was built in the first half of the 17th century by the Stokłowski family, coat of arms of Drzewica. The three-winged structure with an inner courtyard, supported by slopes and topped with a Renaissance attic, was a miniature version of the bastion castles of the time. The castle's defensive elements included a surrounding wall with circular corner bastions and a moat. It was certainly not a structure capable of withstanding regular troops, but it certainly ensured the safety of its inhabitants from various gangs and common thugs, which were common in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the time.

The fortified manor house in Czaniec, located on a stream that is a tributary of the Soła River, was built in the first half of the 17th century by the Stokłowski family of the Drzewica coat of arms.