Photo Schorle, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Old townOlsztyn, Warmia-Masuria

Olsztyn Old Town with children: what to see, map and route

Old Town and Castle in Olsztyn. In the Turi app, the same map shows your position, guides you from point to point and lets you tick off the places you’ve visited.

14points to see

9on the recommended route

approx. 3 hvisiting with children

Open this map in Turi Directions ↗

Before you go Map Worth seeing All points

Before you go

approx. 3 hat an easy pace, with breaks

3toilets on the map

free entrymuseums and towers have separate tickets

The walk starts in front of the High Gate and ends at the theatre, a few minutes from the starting point. If you are already in the Old Town, Turi will guide you from the nearest point. The Old Town lies higher than the Łyna, so you walk downhill to the park below the castle and to St John's Bridge, and uphill back to the market square. Walking around the town is free. Tickets are needed for the museum in the castle, the House of the Gazeta Olsztyńska and the Museum of Modernity. The bugle call from the New Town Hall tower is played every day at noon. There are toilets in the park below the castle and by the Fish Market, among other places.

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Olsztyn Old Town in the Turi app

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Map of the place

The same map as in the app. Tap a point to see its photo and description; in Turi you’ll see yourselves on it too.

1recommended, in route orderother pointsWCtoilets, food, tickets

Map: OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Descriptions and photos: Turi and Wikimedia Commons. Something not right? Report it in the app at that point.

Worth seeing

Olsztyn is the capital of Warmia and Masuria and the city of Nicolaus Copernicus, who lived in its castle for five years. The walk starts under the Gothic High Gate and leads through the Fish Market to the castle, where the astronomer left his chart on a wall. Then you go down to the park on the Łyna, return over the oldest bridge to the market square with the Old Town Hall and the cathedral, and finish by walking through Central Park to the New Town Hall, where a trumpeter plays at noon.

Photo Janchmielewski, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons1

Building / monument

High Gate

This is the only one of the three gates in Olsztyn's old walls that still stands. It was built in the 14th century on the main road into the town. Later it served as an armoury for dragoons, from 1858 as a prison and then as a police station. Look up: the stepped brick gables can be seen from the whole of Staromiejska Street.

Photo Stokrotka 11, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons2

Building / monument

House of the Gazeta Olsztyńska

From 1920 to 1939 this red-brick house on Targ Rybny (the Fish Market) held the editorial office, printing house and bookshop of the Polish newspaper Gazeta Olsztyńska. In November 1939 the building was razed to the ground. It was rebuilt and reopened on 1 September 1989. Today it is a branch of the Museum of Warmia and Masuria with exhibitions about the history of Olsztyn.

Photo GringoPL, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons3

Attraction

Nicolaus Copernicus Bench

Nicolaus Copernicus sits on a low brick wall and waits for someone to join him for a photo. He wears a long coat with a fur collar and holds an astrolabe and a scroll of paper. The statue was made by the Olsztyn sculptor Urszula Szmyt. It was unveiled in October 2003, for the town's 650th birthday and the astronomer's 530th.

Photo Dawid Galus, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons4

Building / monument

Castle of the Warmian Chapter

The Gothic castle was built in the mid-14th century by the Warmian cathedral chapter. Its most famous resident was Nicolaus Copernicus, who managed the chapter's estates from here between 1516 and 1521. On the wall of the gallery you can still see a chart from 1517 on which he tracked the spring and autumn equinoxes. Today the castle houses the Museum of Warmia and Masuria, and beside it stands a mysterious stone figure, a so-called Prussian baba from Barciany.

Photo Henryk Borawski, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons5

Attraction

Castle Park on the Łyna

The Łyna river flows at the foot of the castle, and along it stretches one of Olsztyn's largest parks. There are two fountains that locals call the Fish and the Crane, and a small waterfall nicknamed Niagara. Four purple beeches growing here are protected natural monuments. Below the castle is the Czesław Niemen amphitheatre with an open-air stage.

Photo Scotch Mist, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons6

Building / monument

Old Town Hall

The Old Town Hall stands in the middle of the market square. Before it was built, there were 12 merchants' stalls and the town brewery on this spot. Officials worked here until 1915, when they moved to the New Town Hall, and today the building is a library. Look for the sundials on the walls: on a sunny day they really do show the time.

Photo Piotr Marek Kisielew…, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons7

Building / monument

St James's Cathedral

Work on the largest church in the Old Town began in the second half of the 14th century, and the upper storeys of its mighty tower were not finished until 1596. Its patron, St James the Apostle, is also the patron saint of the whole of Olsztyn. Since 2004 the church has held the title of minor basilica. Inside, look up at the late Gothic vaults, which were put in place before 1562.

Photo Miłośnik Podróży, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons8

Attraction

Central Park

Central Park covers about 13 hectares and stretches along the Łyna river. It was laid out in the English style, with paths, four footbridges over the river and a playground. In the middle there is an elliptical fountain that is lit up after dark.

Photo Dawid Galus, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons9

Building / monument

New Town Hall

The New Town Hall was built between 1912 and 1915 on the site of the former Holy Cross Church. The city authorities have worked here ever since. Every day at noon a trumpeter plays the city's bugle call from the tower, so if it is nearly twelve, it is worth waiting a moment.

All points (18)

Grouped as in the map legend. A star marks recommended points.

Building / monument 10

High Gate ★This is the only one of the three gates in Olsztyn's old walls that still stands. It was built in the 14th century on the main road into the town. Later it served as an armoury for dragoons, from 1858 as a prison and then as a police station. Look up: the stepped brick gables can be seen from the whole of Staromiejska Street.

House of the Gazeta Olsztyńska ★From 1920 to 1939 this red-brick house on Targ Rybny (the Fish Market) held the editorial office, printing house and bookshop of the Polish newspaper Gazeta Olsztyńska. In November 1939 the building was razed to the ground. It was rebuilt and reopened on 1 September 1989. Today it is a branch of the Museum of Warmia and Masuria with exhibitions about the history of Olsztyn.

Castle of the Warmian Chapter ★The Gothic castle was built in the mid-14th century by the Warmian cathedral chapter. Its most famous resident was Nicolaus Copernicus, who managed the chapter's estates from here between 1516 and 1521. On the wall of the gallery you can still see a chart from 1517 on which he tracked the spring and autumn equinoxes. Today the castle houses the Museum of Warmia and Masuria, and beside it stands a mysterious stone figure, a so-called Prussian baba from Barciany.

Old Town Hall ★The Old Town Hall stands in the middle of the market square. Before it was built, there were 12 merchants' stalls and the town brewery on this spot. Officials worked here until 1915, when they moved to the New Town Hall, and today the building is a library. Look for the sundials on the walls: on a sunny day they really do show the time.

St James's Cathedral ★Work on the largest church in the Old Town began in the second half of the 14th century, and the upper storeys of its mighty tower were not finished until 1596. Its patron, St James the Apostle, is also the patron saint of the whole of Olsztyn. Since 2004 the church has held the title of minor basilica. Inside, look up at the late Gothic vaults, which were put in place before 1562.

New Town Hall ★The New Town Hall was built between 1912 and 1915 on the site of the former Holy Cross Church. The city authorities have worked here ever since. Every day at noon a trumpeter plays the city's bugle call from the tower, so if it is nearly twelve, it is worth waiting a moment.

Lutheran Church of Christ the SaviourThe slender brick tower in the corner of the market square belongs to the Lutheran church. It was built in the neo-Gothic style and consecrated on 15 October 1877. In 1939 Olsztyn had 14,000 Lutherans, so the church soon proved too small and another one had to be built.

Mayor's HouseOpposite the town hall, at number 11, stands the oldest brick dwelling house in Olsztyn. It probably dates from around 1500 and, according to tradition, the town's mayors lived in it. You will recognise it by the pointed Gothic arches of its arcade: no other house in the Old Town has them.

Museum of ModernityThe Museum of Modernity is housed in the historic Raphaelsohn sawmill, the only reminder of the former industrial district in the bend of the Łyna. It shows the inventions and technology that changed life in Warmia and Masuria in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th. Next to it stands a former trolleybus depot.

Stefan Jaracz TheatreThe theatre was founded in 1925. It was created as a thank-you to the inhabitants for the result of the plebiscite, which is why its German name was Treudank. Today it is named after the actor Stefan Jaracz and performs on four stages.

Attraction 4

Nicolaus Copernicus Bench ★Nicolaus Copernicus sits on a low brick wall and waits for someone to join him for a photo. He wears a long coat with a fur collar and holds an astrolabe and a scroll of paper. The statue was made by the Olsztyn sculptor Urszula Szmyt. It was unveiled in October 2003, for the town's 650th birthday and the astronomer's 530th.

Castle Park on the Łyna ★The Łyna river flows at the foot of the castle, and along it stretches one of Olsztyn's largest parks. There are two fountains that locals call the Fish and the Crane, and a small waterfall nicknamed Niagara. Four purple beeches growing here are protected natural monuments. Below the castle is the Czesław Niemen amphitheatre with an open-air stage.

Central Park ★Central Park covers about 13 hectares and stretches along the Łyna river. It was laid out in the English style, with paths, four footbridges over the river and a playground. In the middle there is an elliptical fountain that is lit up after dark.

St John of Nepomuk BridgeThis is the oldest and best-known bridge in Olsztyn. It stands where people once entered the town from the south through the Lower Gate. Since 1869 it has been watched over by a stone statue of St John of Nepomuk, carved by Wilhelm Jansen of Cologne. From 1907 to 1965 the trams of line 1 ran across the bridge.

Toilets / tickets / parking 4

Square in front of the High GateThe walk starts in front of the High Gate, by Jedności Słowiańskiej Square. There is a bus and tram stop next to it, and the tourist information office is a few steps away. The route leads through the Old Town, goes down to the park on the Łyna river and returns through the city centre.

Public toilet

Nearest places in Turi

Photo Dawid Galus, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons

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Olsztyn Old TownGet Turi