The best MTB trails around Chotcza

You won't be able to ride your bike, dude

Eroded canyon, should be explored on foot (by bike only if you are alone)

On a Monday morning in December, there is a chance for less crowds. Overall, a cult place. A strong hit on a market day. A must 🔥🔥🔥

The castle in Kazimierz Dolny is a complex of defensive fortifications from the 13th and 14th centuries, located on Castle Hill. The castle consists of two main parts: the upper castle (also known as the "Baszta" or Łokietek's Tower) and the lower castle. The upper castle is a defensive bergfried tower from the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, erected at the height of the Vistula River crossing. The tower, with a height of up to 20 meters, originally served as a guardhouse, providing control over the crossing and the collection of customs duties. In later years, it served as a navigation beacon. The entrance to the tower is located six meters above ground level, and its lower storey housed a dungeon. The lower castle was built on the orders of Casimir the Great in the 1340s and was part of a larger defensive complex. Initially built in the Gothic style, built of limestone, it had thick walls and wooden internal buildings. In the 15th century, during the time of the Grot family, the castle was expanded, including a two-storey residential wing and a defensive tower. In the 16th century, the castle underwent another reconstruction in the Renaissance style, thanks to the Firlej family, who added an attic and built the southern wing. During the Swedish Deluge (1655) and a fire in 1663, the castle was seriously damaged. In the 18th century, during the reign of August II the Strong, plans for reconstruction in the palace style were not realized due to the civil war. As a result of further destruction and destruction by the Austrian authorities in 1806, the castle fell into ruin. The castle witnessed historical events, including the Battle of Kazimierz Dolny in 1831 during the November Uprising. In the years 1958-1960, archaeological research was carried out, and the castle was secured and made available to tourists. Today, it is a tourist attraction, preserving the form of a permanent ruin.

The lower castle in Kazimierz Dolny was built in the mid-14th century on the initiative of Casimir the Great as a Gothic structure. Built of local limestone, it was originally an oval in shape surrounded by massive perimeter walls. It mainly served an administrative function and supported the development of trade on the Vistula. In the 15th century, expanded by the Grot family, it gained new residential wings, a tower and a moat. In the 16th century, during the Firlejs' times, the castle was rebuilt in the Renaissance style according to the design of Santi Gucci, adding, among other things, attics. Destroyed by the Swedes and Rákóczi's troops in the 17th century, it eventually fell into ruin. In the 18th century, there were plans to rebuild it in the palace style, but this did not happen. In the 19th century, it was the site of uprisings, and in the 20th century it was secured as a permanent ruin and opened to the public.

The market square in Kazimierz Dolny was marked out after the city was founded under Magdeburg law in 1406. It is the central urban point of the city, with an open view of the parish church and the castle ruins. The market square has retained its historical layout with a characteristic undeveloped northern part of the square. For centuries, it has served a commercial and social function. It is currently the tourist heart of Kazimierz, surrounded by historic tenement houses, including Przybyłów, Celejowska and Czarnotów. In its center stands a historic well from the 19th century, one of the symbols of the city.

The historic well in the Market Square in Kazimierz Dolny is one of the most recognizable symbols of the city. It was built in the 19th century as a street fountain, and in 1913 the architect Jan Koszczyc-Witkiewicz gave it its current appearance - a wooden casing with a characteristic roof and a pazdur. In later years, the well was modernized: an Abyssinian pump was installed, and in the 1980s a new cast iron pump and lighting. The last renovation was carried out in 2012. According to local legend, whoever drinks water from the well will always return to Kazimierz. The water is suitable for drinking and washing fruit bought at the local market. Similar wells are also located in the corner of the Market Square, on Krakowska and Lubelska streets.

The Three Crosses Hill, formerly known as the Cross Mountain, is a hill about 175 m above sea level, towering about 50 m above the centre of Kazimierz Dolny. It is part of the edge of the Nałęczów Plateau and is surrounded by valleys and ravines. It is known for the three crosses erected in 1708 to commemorate the victims of the plague; the current crosses date from 1852. The hill is covered with rare plants protected by law, and from the top there is the most famous panorama of the city and the Vistula valley. The entrance is from Zamkowa Street and is paid.