Tourist attractions of the Suwałki Region
Accessibility of the Suwałki Region
Below is a short description of the places indicated on the map „Tourist attractions of the Suwałki Region—Accessibility of the Suwałki Region” published by the Information Centre in Suwałki. The descriptions have been translated with Google Translate.
1. St. Teresa of Avila Church and wooden belfry
Originally it was a wooden structure erected in 1571, which burned down in 1825. That same year, after a fire, its place was taken by a brick temple built in the classicist style. Inside there is an altar richly decorated with plant, angelic and gold motifs from the mid-18th century, representing the Baroque style. In the upper part of the retable there is a painting of St. Teresa of Avila. Inside there is also a historic painting and sculpture of the crucified Jesus Christ from the 19th century, a gilded chalice in the Baroque style and a baptismal font from 1846. Next to the church stands a wooden belfry from 1862.
2. Tripoint „Wisztyniec” in Bolcie
This is the place where the borders of Poland, Lithuania and the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast meet. This point is represented by a granite border post with the names of the neighbouring countries. In addition, at the district parking lot you can take a photo from the online preview or see the „Bicycle Throne”, the welcome sign of the Green Velo cycling trail.
ATTENTION! Each border crossing or photographing towards the territory of Russia may result in a fine of 500 PLN.
3. Landscape Park of Romnicka Forest Headquarters
At the Landscape Park headquarters, you will receive information on the tourist attractions of this area, the course of hiking and cycling trails, educational paths and two „Wandering with Quest”, i.e. field games. Free educational and tourist publications are also available for tourists. At the headquarters, there is the „Romintarium” educational garden, the insect garden, the „Bird Sanctuary” educational garden and a playground. For those more interested, stationary and field classes organized by the Romincka Forest Landscape Park are available.
ATTENTION! We can only drive on public roads and forest roads marked with appropriate road signs. Moreover, Romincka Forest is located in the border zone. Tourists must therefore respect the border regulations. There is a strict ban on staying on the border road strip. It is forbidden to take photos of border objects, signs and devices, as well as areas located beyond the state border line.
4. Viewpoint on Góra Rowelska
Góra Rowelska is the highest point in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, with a height of 298.1 m above sea level. There was a two-story wooden observation tower here, which you had to walk about 200 meters to get to, now only foundations and anchors are left.
5. Viewpoint in Stańczyki
At the end of 2019, a 20-meter-high viewing tower appeared at Lake Dobellus Duży. The unusual tower is the result of combining a wood and metal structure with a roof resembling a crown. Safe stairs lead to the viewing terrace located at a height of 15 meters. There is a parking lot next to it, and at the very shore of the lake there is a resting place equipped with covered benches, barbecues and a small jetty.
An identical viewing tower and resting place is also located in the village of Pobłędzie, about 6 km from Stańczyk.
6. Railway viaducts in Stańczyki
Two railway viaducts, among the highest in Poland, located in the town of Stańczyki date back to 1917-1918 and were part of the infrastructure of the railway line that connected Gołdap with Żytkiejmy. It is a five-span structure, 180 m long and up to 36.5 m high, stretching over the Błędzianka River. In the 1940s, the bridges were used to transport stones for the construction of the Wolf’s Lair. The railway line was dismantled by the Red Army in 1945. The bridges are now a private property and you have to pay entrance fee.
Fun fact. The bridges were used during the filming of Stanisław Tym’s cult film „Ryś”.
7. Playground in Rutka-Tartak, formerly 'Adventure Valley’
One of the stops of the Fairytale Suwałki Region, focusing on natural attractions and animals inhabiting the region. The playground can be visited independently, but in order to receive a card with tasks and stamps or to sign up for fun with an animator, prior telephone contact is necessary.
8. Municipal beach with a slide
The beach area includes a 4.25 m high and 42 m long slide, two jetties, a volleyball court, chess tables, a campsite with a kitchen building, barbecue and toilets. It is also a stop on the Szeszupa River kayaking trail.
9. Wooden Roman Catholic Cemetery Chapel
Opposite the brick church from the 1970s, there is a Roman Catholic cemetery and a wooden chapel dating back to the 18th/19th century. Both the cemetery and the chapel are entered in the register of monuments of the National Heritage Institute.
10. Viewpoint „U Pana Tadeusza”
A private viewing point with a height of approx. 225 meters located on the edge of the village of Smolniki. From this place you can see the north-eastern part of the Suwałki Landscape Park (looking south), lakes Kojle, Perty and Purwin. In the distance you can see Jesionowa, Cisowa and Krzemieniucha Hill.
Fun fact. Films such as „Dolina Issa” by Tadeusz Konwicki and „Pan Tadeusz” by Andrzej Wajda were shot in these areas.
11. Stara Hańcza and Lake Hańcza
A nobleman’s manor house once stood here, but after the fire in 1946, only fragments of the foundation wall with filled-in cellars and a lime tree alley, which has the status of a natural monument, remained. There is also a beach with a gentle approach to Hańcza, the deepest lake in Poland (approx. 110 m deep), two covered benches and a children’s attractions.
12. Nature Reserve of Łopuchowo Boulder Field
A nature reserve covering forest, meadows and pastures with accumulated Scandinavian erratic boulders located in the village of Łopuchowo. A unique landscape of terminal moraine elevations of the Baltic glaciation.
13. Adventure park 'Twierdza Jaćwingów’
A rope park that offers 4 routes of varying difficulty levels, a 420 m long Tyrolean descent, archery, field game, outdoor workshops and bonfire or barbecue.
14. Old Mill, starting place for canoeing on Szeszupa
A mill located in the town of Udziejek on the embankment of the Szeszupa River. It was built between the 19th and 20th centuries and is one of the few water mills preserved in the Suwałki Region. Thanks to this, it is a valuable example of rural technical construction.
15. Góra Cisowa
It is a 256 m high elevation created by the terminal moraine of the glacier. Due to its characteristic shape resembling the cone of a volcanic crater, locals commonly call it the Fujiyama of Suwałki.
16. Nature Reserve of Bachanowo Boulder Field
A partially protected reserve located near the village of Bachanowo at the fork of the Czarna Hańcza River and its tributary, the Kozikówka stream. This area is covered with a large number of erratic boulders (approximately 10,000 boulders) with circumferences from 0.5 to 8 m. The reserve is located on the route of the educational hiking trail along the Czarna Hańcza Valley.
17. Old Believers Orthodox Church and village
The village of Wodziłki was founded in 1788 by Russian Old Believers fleeing religious persecution from the Russian Empire. Today, this village is the seat of one of the 4 parishes of the Eastern Old Believer Church, and on its territory there is a wooden molenna with a log construction built in 1921 with a three-story tower added in 1928, topped with a ball with an eight-pointed cross. The molenna underwent a thorough renovation in 1997. Next to the molenna there is a bath used by the faithful to bathe before the service.
18. Góra Zamkowa, Yotvingian Gord
A moraine elevation 228 m above sea level located between the lakes Szurpiły, Jegłówek and Kluczysko. It is the most important archaeological site in the Suwałki Region with evidence of the first settlement in this area dating back to the Bronze Age (10th-13th century BC) and the first earthworks from the turn of the 5th and 7th centuries. There was a Yotvingian Gord here until it was conquered by the Teutonic Knights in 1283.
19. Suwałki Landscape Park Headquarters
It is the oldest landscape park in Poland, established on January 12, 1976. The main purpose of creating the park was to protect the unique post-glacial landscape, along with its special natural and geological values. The park itself contains numerous nature reserves, educational paths, hiking and cycling trails, lakes (including Hańcza, the deepest lake in Poland), beautiful post-glacial formations, accommodation and local gastronomy. At the headquarters of the Suwałki Landscape Park, you will receive tourist information about the park, buy a souvenir, map or guide, stamp your diary with a special stamp, spend time with your children in the Little Naturalist’s Corner or use the observation tower at the Turtulski pond and the Turtul miller’s educational trail. There are also numerous thematic workshops and stationary and field educational classes available. In addition, you can take part in active fun by taking part in one of the 6 available quests.
20. Nature Reserve of Rutka Boulder Field and Wodziłki Amphitheatre
The nature reserve is located in the villages of Szeszupka and Rutka. There is a viewing platform on its territory, from which you can admire the Wodziłki Amphitheatre (arched moraine embankments) and Lake Linówek, surrounded by a transitional peat bog. The boulder field is formed by glacial pavement, created as a result of erosive washing out of till by the melting ice sheet.
21. The Yotvingian Hall of Memory
There is an exhibition devoted to the life of the Yotvingians, where you can see copies and replicas of monuments from the area of the castle hill, a model of the Góra Zamkowa Gord in a glass floor, and films about the everyday life of the Yotvingians.
22. Antique Roman Catholic Church
The historic wooden Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Jeleniewo was built in 1878 and consecrated in 1899. The building underwent a thorough renovation – the roof, windows, and all the formwork inside the temple were replaced, new planking was installed, and the damaged floor was replaced with a new one made of oak planks. The altar and confessionals represent the Rococo style and come from a demolished church near Wigry. In addition, the temple contains historic paintings and Stations of the Cross.
Fun Fact. The largest colony of the protected pond bat in Poland is located in the attic of the temple. In the evenings, you can see bats flying around.
23. WOSiR Szelment
This is a modern sports and recreation complex located at the foot of Mount Jesionowa. The complex includes a rope park with three routes, a climbing wall, a paintball field, a mini-golf course, ski slopes with ski lifts and water ski lifts, a guarded swimming area with a paddling pool for children, a sports equipment rental (bicycles in summer, skis and snowboards in winter, and kayaks and water bikes by the water), a restaurant, and a hotel.
Mount Jesionowa rises above a beautiful glacial basin in which Lake Szelment winds. In the interwar period, it was one of the first glider bases in Poland, and during World War II, fierce battles between Soviet and German troops took place in this area.
24. Podlaskie MiniZOO
At the „MiniZoo” ecological farm in Mikołajówka, you can see numerous species of animals: from birds inhabiting water and marsh areas (storks, swans, ducks, etc.), forest animals (fallow deer, wild boars, deer), numerous species of wild and domestic birds, agricultural animals to exotic species (llamas, yaks, camels). In addition to the possibility of seeing animals, the farm also offers horse riding, fishing, a playground, a place for a bonfire and a barbecue. In winter, you can try taking part in a sleigh ride. As part of its activities, the farm organizes free meetings and horse riding for sick children, children with disabilities and children from orphanages.
The farm also houses the Protected Animal Rehabilitation Centre, where fledgling birds or young mammals that require assistance, which have been hit by cars, injured by dogs or are clearly weakened or exposed to other dangers, find shelter.
25. St Mary’s Neo-Gothic Church
The construction of this church began in 1877 and was completed only in 1881. The building was built of brick and stone, is unplastered, has three naves and two slender towers 35 meters high. The church bells are located in the left tower. Inside the building there are 5 altars with sculptures and paintings, the main altar is made of oak wood. The interior is decorated with Lithuanian ornamentation, and in addition to it there are also stained glass windows, sculptures of saints, paintings, banners and napkins with Lithuanian embroidery and organs.
26. Old Lithuanian farmhouse and the fairy tale village of two masters
The Puńsk Open-Air Museum in its current form has been admired since 1992. The reconstructed Lithuanian farmstead from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries consists of four wooden buildings: a cottage, a granary, a livestock building (cowshed), a barn and a well with a crane. These are wooden buildings in the log style built on foundations made of stones loosely bound with mortar and lime, covered with straw. There is a garden and a pond nearby. The open-air museum underwent a thorough renovation in 2019.
Inside the buildings, we can find tools or folk crafts characteristic of a given place. The barn is where the barn theatre takes place, i.e. a theatre organised by the village residents. To this day, the building hosts performances of the barn theatre, folklore ensemble reviews, folk band meetings, and cultural events. In the granary, cottage, and barn, you can see various permanent and temporary exhibitions related to folk culture.
Next to the open-air museum, there is a fairy-tale village of two masters focusing on the themes of sounds and words, Lithuanian culture and the legend of Queen Jegla and the snake Žaltys.
27. 'Old Presbytery’ Regional Museum
The Old Presbytery is a wooden building covered with clay shingles located next to the church. It was built in 1873-1876 after a fire destroyed part of the village in 1868. As the name suggests, the building was originally a presbytery, but in the 1960s, after a new presbytery was built, it lost its role and was taken over by young people, and in 1995 the Lithuanian Ethnic Culture Association established a Regional Chamber there. In the museum, you can see permanent exhibitions of old folk costumes and folk handicrafts or buy contemporary local handicrafts. In the summer, during events, traditional weaving shows and workshops are held here. In 2020, the building underwent a major renovation.
28. Józef Vaina’s Ethnographic Museum and traditional craft workshop
The museum has been located in the Lithuanian Culture House since 1990. It houses the collection of Mr. Joseph Vaina, consisting of over 2,000 exhibits. There are photographs of old buildings, recordings of disappearing folk songs, regional stories, folk art monuments in the form of sculptures and crosses, and objects related to households, farming, and crafts.
With a guide dog, we can easily visit the museum located in the basement of the building, while in the concert hall, movement with a dog may be difficult or even impossible due to the irregular shape.
29. Prussian-Yotvingian Settlement
The construction of the 13th-century settlement in Oszkinie began in 2001. The reconstruction was carried out according to the results of archaeological research – this is how an old watchtower, a wooden fortress on a hill, a moat and numerous objects related to the pagan religion were created. The buildings are quite provisional, but they are not the main advantage of this place. It is neither a scientific-historical object nor an open-air museum. The settlement was created to bring closer the beliefs and culture of the ancient inhabitants of these areas. On the territory of the settlement there is a forest called by the owner „a sacred grove”, through which we are led by a path with boulders of the chiefs ending with a replica of the Balt cross. In the settlement we can spend the night in one of the stylized old houses, dress in Prussian and Yotvingian costumes, sleep in hay, shoot a bow, fish, throw a spear, ride a horse and take part in pagan rituals or cyclical events.
30. St Isidore the Laborer’s Roman Catholic Church and monastery
The construction of the church began in 1834 and was completed in 1839. The Reformed Fathers were brought in to serve the church, for whom a monastery was built next to the church. The church was renovated many times, and the first mention of reconstruction can be found in 1937. Some of them concerned the repair of the foundations, replacement of the roof, floor and windows, installation of furnaces, first storage furnaces, then central furnaces. The more serious ones included the demolition of the tower and the construction of a new one, the renovation of the organ, the complete reconstruction of the choir and the liquidation of two side altars.
In terms of architecture, it is a styleless building, built of stone and plastered. Built on a rectangular plan with one tower, divided into three naves and a chancel. At the entrance there is a porch, above it a choir with a pipe organ. The monastery building adjoins the church, creating a single U-shaped whole. On the main altar there is a figure of the Crucified Christ. In the left nave there is a painting of Our Lady of the Angels, while in the right nave there is a painting of St. Isidore the Plowman, the main patron saint of the parish.
31. Czesław Miłosz’s manor house
The first mention of the manor house and the estate dates back to 1676. More information about its fate has been published since 1785, when the manor house and the surrounding estates were purchased by the Eysmont family. In 1929, the estate decreased almost fourfold, at that time the owner of the manor house was Bronisław Kunat. In the interwar period, the manor house was managed by the last heirs of Krasnogruda from the Kunat family, sisters Gabriela Lipska and Janina Niementowska. They ran a summer guesthouse there. At that time, Czesław Miłosz, whose mother Weronika née Kunat was Gabriela and Janina’s cousin, also stayed at the manor house quite often.
During the war, the building came under German management, and after the decree of the Polish Committee of National Liberation of 6 September 1944, it changed from private to state property. The owners had to leave the building, which was later used by the District Board of State Forests, Pomorze Forest District. In 2002, by the will of the last heirs of Krasnogruda, Czesław and Andrzej Miłosz and Janina and Andrzej Jurewicz, the manor house and the park belonging to it were taken over on a long-term lease by the „Pogranicze” foundation. During the summer, the „Pogranicze” foundation organizes numerous performances in the manor house.
The manor house, originally single-storey with a basement, dates back to the end of the 17th century. The manor house’s body remained completely intact, but renovations in the years 1967-1986 changed it in many ways. In the first half of the 19th century, the manor house was rebuilt, according to the assumptions, the complex included: a residential house, the Krasnogruda commune office, a house for servants, coach houses, stables, barns, and a brewery. The remains of the park surround the manor house to this day.
The manor complex is entered in the register of monuments of the National Heritage Institute.
The website of the „Pogranicze” centre is soon to undergo major changes and is to be adapted to the needs of the deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired. Fonts will be increased, descriptions will be added to the photos to make it easier to read with special reading programs, and subtitles will be added to the films. Information in sign language is also to appear.
32. St Mary’s Basilica and Dominicans monastery
The church was built in the years 1610-1619 by Dominicans, who were brought to Sejny in 1602 from Vilnius, and represented the late Renaissance style. Almost 100 years later, in 1706, a complex of monastery buildings was added to the church. In the years 1760-1779, it was rebuilt in the Vilnius Baroque style. The reconstruction changed the church’s orientation, instead of the presbytery, a two-tower façade was built, the interior was extended, the annexes were eliminated and the bell tower was demolished. The Dominican monastery was dissolved by the Prussian authorities in 1804, and the church was transformed into a parish church. Then, in the years 1807-1817, a high school operated in the monastery, and later in 1826 a theological seminary was opened. In 1973, in connection with the plans to develop the Marian sanctuary and the coronation of the figure of Our Lady of Sejny, the Dominican church was raised to the dignity of a minor basilica. The temple was established as a collegiate church of the Sejny-Wigry chapter in 2005. In the Dominican Monastery next to the church, there is the Diocesan and Ethnographic Museum, established and run by the Sejny Society for the Protection of Monuments, where you can see a number of permanent and temporary exhibitions.
Most of the church’s equipment, altars, and paintings are made in the Baroque style and come from the second half of the 18th century. The most valuable element is a wooden Gothic cabinet figure of the Virgin Mary with Child from the 15th century, made in the shape of a triptych. In the main nave of the church, there are neo-Baroque organs built in 1907.
In 2023 Museum of the Borderlands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was created inside monastery. The museum consists of 4 permanent exhibitions based on multimedia materials: „History of the Eastern Borderlands”, „Multiculturalism of the Eastern Borderlands”, „People of the Eastern Borderlands”, „Mythology of the Eastern Borderlands”. The facility conducts museum lessons with elements of workshops, field games and competition. There is also a Museum Café.
33. White Synagogue, Talmudic House and Old Post Office
The first synagogue was made of wood and was built in the 1780s. The White Synagogue in its current form was built in 1885 and contained elements of neoclassicism and neogothic. During World War II, the Nazis devastated the synagogue. After the war, the temple was partially rebuilt into a fire station, later used as a warehouse for artificial fertilizers and a depot for municipal rolling stock. It was then that the building suffered the most. Renovation began in 1978 and was completed in 1987. A year later, it underwent conservation work and was changed to the Municipal Cultural Center. It is currently used by the „Pogranicze” foundation, which uses this place to present exhibitions, concerts and performances.
The Talmudic House, or Jewish school, is located opposite the White Synagogue. It was built in the 1860s on the site of an old wooden synagogue. Inside, in addition to the prayer hall, you could find a yeshiva and the office of the Jewish community board. This building also suffered during World War II. After the war, it was a grain warehouse, then a shoe factory, and currently a community center and office.
The Old Post Office was originally the building of a former secular Jewish school, and its origins date back to the mid-19th century. From the end of the 19th century to the early 1990s, the building served as a post office, hence the name Old Post Office. In the 1990s, the city acquired the rights to the building, and then in 1997 it was transferred to the Borderland Foundation. The Old Post Office underwent renovation and was opened in 2002 as the Borderland House.
The White Synagogue, the Talmudic House, and the Old Post Office are listed in the register of historical monuments.
34. Romuald Jałbrzykowski’s Museum of Sejny Region
This building has been the seat of the Sejny Society for the Protection of Historical Monuments since 2004, an association of enthusiasts who want to protect the historical monuments and cultural landscape of the Sejny region and pass on knowledge about local culture. This organization continues the tradition and ideals of the pre-war Society for the Protection of Historical Monuments. Inside, we will find a library on historical, religious and regional topics, as well as thematic rooms: archaeology, Dominicans and bishops of Sejny, traditions of the Polish Army and the act of independence, numismatics, Sejny schools and multiculturalism of the Sejny region.
35. Nature Reserve of Yotvingian Cemetery
It is a nature reserve classified as a cultural reserve and a forest and pine reserve located in the former village of Szwajcaria. The aim of the reserve’s protection is to preserve the fresh pine forest along with a barrow cemetery from the 2nd-5th century of the modern era, which once belonged to the people of the Western Baltic culture, called the Yotvingians. It was the barrow that was the most characteristic form of burial. The reserve contains barrows with a variable diameter from 6 to 21 m, built of several layers of stones covered with earth. These are both burnt graves and skeletal graves. Unfortunately, to this day, many of the graves have been erased, only some of them reach a height of 0.5 m and are covered with stones. Some of them have been overgrown with trees.
36. Ski Resort 'Dąbrówka’
This resort is located about 3 km from the center of Suwałki and is open both in winter and summer. The facility is adjacent to the Wigry National Park, numerous lakes, rivers and primeval forests.
In winter, you can use the artificially snowed slope over 300 m long. The slope is lit, groomed and has a platter lift. In addition, you can rent ski and snowboard equipment on site, use the services of an instructor and eat at the bar.
In summer, this resort turns into a place where you can light a barbecue or a bonfire, use the beach and pier, organize a rafting trip or an outdoor event, spend the night in a summer house or pitch your own tent. In addition, in summer, there is a rental of floating equipment. The sauna is available in summer and winter.
37. MiniZoo Podlaska Toskania
Agritourism with three rooms for rent, which, in addition to providing accommodation to travelers, also takes care of various animals: camels, alpacas, ponies, goats, peacocks, donkeys and sheep.
38. Wigry National Park Headquarters, etnographic and nature exhibitions
Wigry National Park was established on January 1, 1989. It is one of the largest national parks in Poland. It has 42 lakes, numerous and valuable species of plants, mushrooms and animals, a former Camaldolese monastery on Lake Wigry, educational trails, bicycle trails, viewpoints, campsites and agritourism.
The park headquarters, located in the town of Krzywe, houses the Wigry National Park Tourist Information Center. This is where you can get information about: accommodation, regional cuisine, sports, tourist and cultural events in the area, and hiking trails. The center also offers the possibility of using guide services, organizes forest nurseries, culinary workshops, rents bikes and has accommodation on the premises. The center also has a souvenir shop, guides, maps and tourist stamps.
Inside there is a nature exhibition „Nad Wigrymi”, and nearby there are two educational trails „Suchary” and „Las” along with an ethnographic exhibition „Ocalić od zapomnienia”.
ATTENTION! Every tourist staying in the Wigry National Park is required to have a current entry card. The entry card allows swimming in the lakes, using the observation towers, using the trails and paths and visiting the exhibitions „Nad Wigrymi”, „Ocalić od zapomnienia” and „History and traditions of fishing on Wigry”.
The list of facilities located in the Wigry National Park that are adapted for people with disabilities can be found on the Wigry National Park for the Disabled website (wigry.org.pl)
39. Wigry Museum
The museum is located in the building of the former Hydrobiological Station, which operated until 1939. Research was conducted there by the outstanding Polish limnologist Alfred Lityński. Inside we will see modern and interactive permanent exhibitions presenting the history of the landscape and ecosystem, human activities and influence on the Wigry National Park, and the history and achievements of the Hydrobiological Station on Wigry. The museum also presents periodic exhibitions.
In addition to visiting the museum section with exhibitions, the museum also offers a program of pre-ordered museum lessons for primary and secondary schools, thematic lectures or water educational paths, i.e. cruises on the LEPTODORA II boat on Lake Wigry. This is possible thanks to the projection and laboratory room located in the building.
There is a ticket office in the entrance hall, which, in addition to selling tickets, souvenirs and regional publications, also serves as a tourist information point. Items and luggage can be left in the lockers located in the hall for the duration of the visit.
40. Post-Camaldolian Monastery in Wigry
The Wigry Island, on which the Post-Camaldolese Monastery Complex is currently located, was originally inhabited by the Yotvingian tribes. In the second half of the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights got rid of the local population. It was not until 1667 that John II Casimir Vasa founded the Camaldolese hermitage, demanding that the Camaldolese pray daily to remove all misfortunes from the country. In 1715, the Camaldolese founded the city of Suwałki, in addition to which they also founded numerous villages and farms, and built roads. In 1796, the monastery was confiscated by the authorities of the occupying Prussia, and five years later the Camaldolese were removed from Wigry. Artillery fire in 1915 damaged the church, the Porter’s House and the Refectory. In the years 1973-2010, the Ministry of Culture and Art leased the complex from the Church, committing to rebuild and renovate the building. During this period, it housed the House of Creative Work. The complex is currently once again under the authority of the Church.
The former hermitages house thematic guest rooms, in the refectory you can taste papal, Camaldolese and regional cuisine or take part in culinary workshops dedicated to regional cuisine, in the Chancellery Chapel you will find information boards dedicated to the hermitages or you can visit the papal apartments located there. There is also a clock tower, a tavern, permanent and cyclical exhibitions and the John Paul II reading room founded in 1999 after the Pope’s visit.
The richly decorated church in the late Baroque style is still used by the faithful. Concerts of the Gregorian choir are also held there. In the crypts under the church you can find over 40 bricked-up niches with the bodies of hermits. Two glazed niches are a remnant of the plundering during World War II and inside them you can see blackened bones. On the wall you will find a painting of the dance of death with a monk.
The monastery complex is listed in the register of monuments of the National Heritage Institute.
Fun Fact! The film „Ryś” directed by Stanisław Tym was filmed on the monastery grounds.
41. 'The history and traditions of fishing and fishery in lake Wigry’ exhibition
The exhibition is located in the warehouses of the fishing base and shows the natural, historical and cultural values of the area around Lake Wigry, focusing on angling and fishing, which in the times of the Camaldolese monks was the main occupation of the inhabitants of these areas due to the poor soil. Inside we will find interesting exhibits (a dugout canoe, an ice crusher, an egg incubator), prepared species of fish inhabiting the local waters and films on the subject of fishing.
42. Piotr Malczewski’s photo gallery and the Museum of Mongolia
Piotr Malczewski lives in a house covered with wood shavings, bought from the Old Believers, a lover of the harsh nature of Siberia, Lake Baikal and Mongolia, but also of north-eastern Poland, a photographer and author of book publications. It is in his house that we will see the effects of his travels: a photo gallery, slide shows and a museum of Mongolia consisting of exhibits and photographs he brought with him. The Gallery also offers accommodation, bathing in a Russian black bath on the Czarna Hańcza River, a reading room of regional and travel books, photography and handicraft workshops. Interestingly, the literary festival „Looking to the East” and the travel festival „Powsinóg” are held here every year.
43. Art Gallery – Strumiłło
Andrzej Strumiłło 1927 – 2020
Painter, illustrator, photographer, sculptor, graphic artist, poet, traveler, teacher, activist for the development of culture and protection of the landscape of north-eastern Poland. He dealt with exhibitions, design scenography, book illustrations, essays, journalism and spatial arrangement. Initiator, curator and organizer of many exhibitions and plein-airs. In 1984 he settled in Maćkowa Ruda in the Suwałki Region and it was there that he created a meeting place for artists, social activists, politicians, clergy and youth. Honored with decorations for social activity, promotion of Polish culture abroad and artistic achievements.
In 1982, Andrzej Strumiłło settled in an old, neglected farm in Maćkowa Ruda. He renovated and expanded the residential building, previously destroyed during World War I. He surrounded the settlement with a stone wall, planted various species of trees near the house and by the access road, built a coach house, a guest house, two stables, a workshop, a forge and dug ponds. Over time, this place turned into a cultural and artistic center. Now, in addition to the permanent exhibition and other temporary exhibitions, the studio-gallery hosts concerts, theater performances, film screenings, lectures, literary meetings and scientific conferences.
44. Wigry Narrow Gauge Railway
The Wigry Narrow Gauge Railway was entered into the register of historical monuments in 1991 as a valuable product of technology and as one of the longest operating forest railways in Poland. The route from Płociczno-Tartak, where the railway starts, to Zelwa was 36 km long. The currently renovated route, open to visitors, is 10 km long (Płociczno Tartak – Krusznik). The railway route runs through the Augustów Forest and Wigry National Park, by the shore of Lake Wigry. In addition to the railway ride, the owners also offer accommodation, a tavern and kayak rentals.
45. District Museum, Resursa Obywatelska
The building was built in 1912-1913 as the building of the Savings and Loan Society in Suwałki. At that time, it was the first social house, and the place also became the headquarters of Polish social and cultural organizations and institutions, such as Resursa Obywatelska, from which it later took its name. After the outbreak of World War I and the occupation of Suwałki by German troops, a military hospital was located in the building. Just before regaining independence in 1919, the Poles took over the building. In 1919, the Suwałki city council hosted the Chief of State Józef Piłsudski in the ballroom of the Resursa. In 1920, Lithuanian troops occupied Suwałki and the building served as the seat of the People’s Council of the Suwałki District.
During the interwar period, the building was the seat of the Shareholders’ Bank and, just like before the war, it was used for social purposes. During World War II, the German authorities placed the German House there, and after the city was taken over by the Red Army, it housed the city’s military commandant’s office. In 1945, it was taken over by the Cooperative Shareholder Bank, and in 1954 it was entirely allocated to the State Collective Boarding School for Vocational Schools. It was not until 1956 that the front of the building was allocated to the needs of a social museum, which in 1958 changed its name to the Regional Museum of the Suwałki Region. In 1964, the developing museum received two additional exhibition halls, and in 1975 it received the status of a District Museum. In the years 1977-1994, it was also the seat of the Bureau of Artistic Exhibitions.
The museum can be divided into the ground floor with its permanent exhibitions „The Oldest History. Suwałki Region and Eastern Masuria from the End of the Ice Age to the Fall of Yotvingia” and „On the Historical Route” and the first floor with the permanent exhibition „Alfred Wierusz-Kowalski 1849-1915” and temporary exhibitions in the exhibition rooms. The museum also runs a shop on the ground floor, where you can buy books and other publications.
46. Maria Konopnicka’s Museum and Dwarves’ Corner
The building of the current Maria Konopnicka Museum was built in 1826-1827. Its current shape was formed in 1835-1836. The single-storey building with a usable attic resembles a noble manor house, and the whole is shaped like a horseshoe. The main part of the building adjoins the street, while the two side wings face the garden. Bricks were used for construction and it is covered with a gable roof. Once a gate with a balcony and columns led to the courtyard, today it opens to the museum hall. This is where the Wasiłowscy family, Maria Konopnicka’s parents, rented an apartment, and it was here in 1842 that Maria was born and lived until she was 7.
The museum houses an exhibition about the life and work of Maria Konopnicka. The museum also offers literary and artistic classes with Maria Konopnicka’s poems, classes about dwarves, a humorous quiz about Maria Konopnicka, board games and games and fun in the Krasnoludków Alley. In front of the museum there is a bench with Maria Konopnicka.
Just like in the District Museum, you can also buy books published by the District Museum here.
47. St Alexander’s Church
The first wooden church in Suwałki, the Holy Cross, was built in 1710, while a full-fledged parish was established only in 1788. In 1834, due to the poor technical condition of the church, it was demolished. It was replaced by a brick temple based on the inspiration of General Józef Zajączek and according to the design of Christian Piotr Aigner, which was built from 1820 to 1829. Interestingly, the roof had to be repaired during construction. In the years 1843-1845, the church underwent another renovation, during which 3 wooden altars were made, altar paintings were brought and two figures of St. Romuald and St. Benedict were placed in front of the entrance to the church. In 1856, towers were built above the facade, the windows were enlarged, the roof and ceiling were repaired. In 1881, a chapel of the Savior Jesus Christ was added to the east, two years later a chapel of St. Anne to the west, and in 1888 a sacristy was built. In 1919, the church hosted the ceremony of incorporating Suwałki into the borders of reborn Poland.
During World War II, it was the only Roman Catholic church serving a religious function. On the night of October 22-23, 1944, retreating German troops blew up both church towers, destroying the facade, ceiling, and roof at the same time. After the war, the building was renovated, and the towers were not rebuilt until 1961. In 1992, the church was raised to the rank of co-cathedral by Pope John Paul II.
48. 19th century Post-Tsarist Barracks, Hotel Loft 1898
After the fall of the January Uprising, the tsarist authorities decided to create a strong garrison in Suwałki, and a project was created to build four barracks complexes located on the main roads in the four directions of the city. The cornerstone for the construction of the tsarist barracks on Pułaskiego Street was celebrated in 1898. The 4th Leib-Dragoński Pskov Regiment of Empress Maria Feodorovna was stationed in this building. At that time, Suwałki became a military city, which also led to the development of the city’s infrastructure in the government style, typical of the Russian partitions. Residential buildings, staff buildings, casinos, infirmaries, various warehouses, stables, coach houses, soldiers’ canteens, repair shops and churches were built. The Russian army used the barracks complexes until World War I.
In the years 1915-1919, the building was occupied by German troops, who seriously devastated the barracks. After regaining independence, the 2nd Grochów Uhlan Regiment named after General Józef Dwernicki was quartered here, and in the interwar period Suwałki became one of the largest military garrisons. During World War II, the buildings were once again destroyed. After 1945, the barracks complex on Pułaskiego Street was allocated to the needs of the Polish People’s Army. The unit remained there until March 1990. Many of the barracks buildings were municipalized.
Today, this barracks building houses the Loft 1898 Hotel. The original elevations and vaults have been preserved, which have been combined with a modern, loft, post-industrial style. The hotel has 76 rooms, two conference and banquet halls, the Tatarak restaurant, which also serves regional and borderland dishes, the Kantyna Cocktail bar, the Dynamit Club in the basement, and a spa with a sauna and jacuzzi.
Fun Fact! In the interwar period, the Uhlans became an integral part of Suwałki. They actively participated in the life of the city, organizing military parades and equestrian competitions. Regimental holidays were also a major event. The Cavalry Picnic organized in Suwałki every year in June is a reminder of those years. The Historical Reconstruction Group „Garnizon Suwałki” also operates in the city.
49. Cemetries of Seven Faiths
Roman Catholic cemetery – Founded at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. It is still the largest necropolis in Suwałki. In the middle of the oldest part, in 1853, a neo-Gothic chapel of the Transfiguration of the Lord was built according to the design of Karol Majerski. Here we will find historic tombstones from the 19th century, monuments and military graves, e.g. the monument to members of the Polish Military Organization who died in 1919 fighting for independence.
Evangelical cemeteries – Here we will find the graves of members of two Evangelical churches: Evangelical-Augsburg (Lutherans) and Evangelical-Reformed (Calvinists). Evangelicals came to Suwałki Region in the 18th century from neighboring Masuria. The Evangelical-Augsburg Church of the Holy Trinity is located on Tadeusz Kościuszko Street, today it brings together believers from Suwałki Region and Masuria.
Orthodox cemetery – On its premises there is a wooden All Saints Church built in 1891-1892 in the Ruthenian-Byzantine style, on the plan of an equal-armed cross. Currently, it is a parish church. The Orthodox parish was established in the mid-19th century, when Russian state officials and their families, as well as soldiers of the tsarist army stationed here, arrived in Suwałki.
Old Believers Cemetery – Located in the southwestern part of the Orthodox cemetery. The Old Believers are a religious minority of Russian origin who did not recognize the liturgical reform in the Orthodox Church carried out in the years 1652-1656. Due to persecution, they left Russia and settled in the lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and East Prussia, from the 18th century in the Suwałki Region. The Molenna built in the years 1910-1912 is located on Sejneńska Street.
Jewish Cemetery – The Suwałki kirkut was established in the early 19th century, and during World War II it was destroyed by the Germans, who used the tombstones as building material. In the 1970s, the cemetery was cleaned up and the surviving slabs were built into the Wailing Wall. Until 1939, Jews constituted a significant part of the Suwałki community. The classicist synagogue was located on T. Noniewicza Street, but unfortunately, after World War II it fell into ruin and was demolished in 1956.
Muslim cemetery – From the mid-19th century to World War I, a Russian garrison was stationed in the city, which included a small percentage of Muslims, mainly Tatars. At the beginning of the 20th century, they were allowed to bury themselves here, and that is how the cemetery was created. No tombstones have survived to this day.
50. Suwałki Municipal Culture Centre
The Suwałki Cultural Centre was established in 2012 by merging the Youth Cultural Centre and the Regional Centre for Culture and the Arts. It is the largest cultural institution in the Suwałki region, creating a diverse offer encouraging contact with art and its active co-creation. The building has three floors of rooms intended for cultural education and artistic animation, i.e. music, dance, theatre and visual arts studios, a large Andrzej Wajda hall capable of accommodating 650 viewers and a chamber hall for 100 viewers intended for small music and theatre forms, film and multimedia screenings and various meetings. The patio of the SOK presents the works of participants in artistic classes.
The cultural centre conducts animation and educational activities aimed at developing the creative expression and creativity of the residents of Suwałki and the region. The rooms are lent to amateur theatres, cabaret groups and anyone interested in artistic activity. The Suwałki Cultural Centre organizes a number of international and national festivals in Suwałki with the participation of both Polish and foreign artists. Among the festivals organized by the centre are: the International Song and Dance Festival Muszelki Wigier, the International Festival of Children and Youth Theatres Wigraszek, Soulwałki Gospel Workshop, the National Meetings with the Monodrama O Złotą Podkowa Pegaza, the Suwałki Blues Festival, the AUKSO Summer Philharmonic, the 5th International Festival of Folk Dance Groups „Źródliska” and educational programs SPEAK and DEDAL. The SOK building also hosts concerts, operas and ballets, theatre performances and cabarets.
Other events at the centre include: the Camaldolese Fair, the Shanty-Folkowy Marathon, the regional fair Lato w mieście and the outdoor concert series Na dywaniku u Marii. The SOK also includes six galleries: Chłodna 20 Contemporary Art Gallery, PAcamera Photography Gallery, Na marmurach Gallery, Stara Łaźnia Art Gallery and the One Image Gallery.
51. Suwałki Aquapark
One of the largest sports investments in the city, as well as one of the most modern water sports and recreation facilities in north-eastern Poland. The complex consists of a recreational and sports section, as well as baths, saunas and a salt cave. The pools feature water jets, cascades, geysers, a water umbrella, two-nozzle massages and three whirlpools. For relaxation, there are loungers with underwater massage, and for the active, there is a 56 m long open slide and two winding tube slides over 100 m long. On site, you will also find a conference room, a rehabilitation clinic, a fitness club, beauty and hairdressing services, a sports shop and catering outlets.
52. Suwałki Arena
It is a sports and entertainment hall adjacent to the city stadium. It is the largest and most modern facility of this type in the Podlaskie province. The usable area is 6600 m2. The facility includes volleyball, basketball and handball courts, stands with 2121 seats and a training room. The facility is available to schools, individuals and companies for conducting sports and training classes, organizing sports competitions and recreational events. The largest hall also serves as a concert and entertainment hall.
53. Early-19th century Historic Tsar’s prison, Shopping Centre 'Suwałki Plaza’
The prison in Suwałki was established on the initiative of Tsar Alexander I, its construction was assumed by the Regulatory Plan of the city of Suwałki approved in 1826. However, it was not until 1903 that the Tsar’s authorities put the buildings of the provincial prison into use. The complex also served as a prison in the interwar period and during World War II.In the autumn of 1944, the prison was occupied by Polish officers subordinate to the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN) and a second-class penal-investigative prison was established there. In the years 1946-49, at least seven death sentences were carried out here. According to reports, the sentences were carried out in the basements, which were later filled in. In 1960, the penal-investigative prison was transformed into a prison, which in 1976 was renamed the Remand Centre and operated until 2000.
In 1997, the Ombudsman visited the prison, and due to the tragic technical condition of the unit, he requested its closure. The decision was stopped only by the existing realistic plans to carry out a general renovation of the barracks buildings on Wojska Polskiego Street and to move the headquarters of the prison there. Today, the prison, or rather the two buildings that are its remains, have become a historic element of the Plaza Shopping and Entertainment Centre.
Suwałki Plaza was opened in 2010 and is one of the largest shopping centers in the Podlaskie province. The retail area is over 20,000 m2. In addition, there are 455 parking spaces on the premises, including 350 in the underground car park. The mall has a wide range of commercial, gastronomic and entertainment options. At the very top, you will find the Cinema Lumiere cinema, the Kindeplaneta children’s zone and the MK Bowling bowling alley. Suwałki Plaza stands out from the competition with the largest water slide in a shopping center in Poland and an unusual combination of modern design and monuments.
54. City Hall and former guardhouse
At the end of the 18th century, there was a wooden city hall in the city, which housed a session room and a monastery inn, covered with shingles. In 1819, it was ordered to be demolished, and in its place, a guardhouse was built in 1834-1835, a single-story building on a rectangular plan with a four-column portico supporting a tympanum decorated with an eagle. The guardhouse had a room for a guard, three cells for prisoners, three rooms for officers and a kitchen. In 1836, Antonio Corazzi improved the design, and in the years 1841-1844, under the supervision of Karol Majerski, a classicist city hall building was erected. It was a nine-axis building with a drive-through gate, two-storey. There was a tower at the connection of the town hall and the guardhouse.
In 1855, the town hall was expanded by raising both ground-floor pavilions, thus leveling them with the town hall. The rooms above the guardhouse were designated as the apartment and office of the war commissioner, the rooms above the pavilion were added to the president’s apartment. In the 1880s, a ground-floor tenement house standing between the guardhouse and the junior high school building (now general secondary school no. 1) was added to the town hall complex, a floor was built above it, unifying the whole with the other town hall buildings. The modernization of the building, which began in 1933, was interrupted by war operations. The arcades from Kościuszki Street were bricked up, the interior layout was changed, and the building was given a more Germanic style. Before the Red Army entered, the Germans blew up the central part of the town hall. It was rebuilt in the 1950s, and in the 1990s it underwent a major renovation and modernization.
55. National Archives
The archive building was built in several stages in the second half of the 19th century. First, the southern part was built, then the northern part, and finally the western part closing the courtyard. The building served courts and other justice bodies, and after World War II it was partly inhabited by court employees and their families. Until 1915, it housed Russian courts, and in the interwar period and after World War II, Polish courts, including the District Court in Suwałki, 1919-1933, and the Provincial Court in Suwałki, 1975-1997. The building was not destroyed by either World War I or II, only its interiors were partially devastated at that time. From 1999 to the end of 2020, numerous renovations, adaptations and reconstructions taking place on the premises of the State Archives restored the complex of buildings to their former glory.
Archival activity in the Suwałki Region dates back to the 17th century. In 1921, the State Archive was established in the city, which took over the records of the Suwałki Governorate Archive and the general administration. After being sorted out, the archive resources were taken to Grodno in 1926, and the archive ceased to exist. In 1954, the District State Archive in Suwałki appeared, which in 1955 was subordinated to the Provincial State Archive in Białystok. Ten years later, the archive was renamed a local branch. In 1975, the Suwałki Voivodeship was established, and a year later the archive was changed to the Provincial State Archive in Suwałki. In 1983, the name was changed to the State Archive in Suwałki, which is still used today.
Access by wheelchair from the front requires climbing three steps, but it is possible to use a passenger lift from the square.
56. 'Stara łaźnia’ Art Gallery
The building in which the municipal baths were located was built at the end of the 19th century. In 1945, the building was renovated and a bath was opened there. The baths were to be open five days a week: Tuesdays and Wednesdays for children, Thursdays for women, Fridays and Saturdays for men. However, it turned out that for some time the baths were mainly used by soldiers of the Red Army, the people of Suwałki only one day a week. After a few years, it turned out that the baths were too small, in a very poor sanitary condition and often closed due to lack of fuel. It underwent constant renovations, in 1956 a major one, but it did not help much. The city authorities tried to expropriate the building, buy it a little later and obtain funds for the construction of a new one. They did not succeed, but a thorough renovation started in 1968 and lasting until 1972 significantly improved the quality of services provided.
Until 1971, the baths brought in huge revenues, however, since 1972, the number of apartments with bathrooms increased and the condition of social facilities in workplaces improved, which resulted in a significant decrease in the number of bath users. This condition worsened and since 1974, the baths only brought losses. The baths were open until 1987, on February 22, 1988, the workers’ council passed a resolution to close it. The building fell into ruin.
At the beginning of 2018, the city undertook a project to revitalize the boulevards on the Czarna Hańcza River and the last stage of the project was the revitalization of the old municipal baths building. Work on the building was completed in 2019, and in 2020 the building became the Stara Łaźnia Art Gallery. The revitalized space of the old Suwałki baths serves the residents of Suwałki in several ways: as a place for the presentation of contemporary art, meetings with culture, sports activities, rest and broadly understood recreation. As part of its tasks, the gallery organizes classes and workshops in the field of cultural, artistic, ecological and sports education, pedagogical and social activities and street work, as well as meetings, debates, performances and open-air concerts. The building also houses a café.
57. Tourist Information Centre in Suwałki
The 3 May Constitution Park was established in the first half of the 19th century in the English (free) style. At that time, a wooden veranda was also built on its premises, which served as a stage. In the years 1924-1926, the entire park was rebuilt to the 19th century layout, and this layout has survived to this day. Around 1929, a new band shell was built in place of the wooden veranda. It survived until the 1970s, when a new band shell was also built. In 1998, a new amphitheater was built on the site of the shell, under which new foundations with a basement were poured. The new amphitheater has already undergone several renovations and changes in the layout of the rooms.
Within a few years of the amphitheater’s construction, it was first used as the CMIKT (International Cultural and Tourist Information Center), later transformed into the TIC (Tourist Information Center). The first TIC was run by the Suwałki Chamber of Agriculture and Tourism. Since 2017, the center has been run by the Kostroma Cultural Association, and since 2020, together with the Dark Brotherhood Association. It is at the TIC that you will receive information about the attractions of the city and the region, free materials and maps, and you can buy a souvenir or a book about the region.
Fun Fact! English abbreviation TIC, Tourist Information Centre, translates to polish abbreviation CIT, Centrum Informacji Turystycznej. Words switch sides.
58. Maria Konopnicka’s Public Library
In 1945, a municipal library was established in Suwałki, and a second one, the District Public Library, was established a little later. In 1955, it was decided to merge both libraries, thus creating the Maria Konopnicka District and Municipal Public Library. In 1963, the library moved to a new building at 49 Lenina Street (now 49 Noniewicza Street). In 1975, the city became the seat of provincial authorities, and the Provincial Public Library was established at that time. Since 1996, the library has been located in a larger building at 33A Emilii Plater Street. Three years later, it lost its status as a provincial library and became the Suwałki Municipal Public Library.
The Maria Konopnicka Public Library in Suwałki collects, develops, stores and provides library resources with particular emphasis on materials relating to Suwałki and the region. It conducts information, bibliographic and publishing activities, especially about Suwałki and the Suwałki Region. One of the most important statutory tasks of the library is to conduct activities in the field of popularizing knowledge about the region, the culture of words, the art of books, and cultural education of society. The library has good contacts with local government and cultural institutions operating in the city. The library participates in the development and implementation of projects financed by, among others, the European Union. It runs 3 library branches and the MidiCentrum in the city. It is also the publisher of „Dwutygodnik Suwalski”.
59. ’ Chłodna 20′ Modern Art Gallery
The Chłodna 20 Contemporary Art Gallery has been a friendly place for artists, art and its recipients for many years. It mainly presents painting exhibitions, but also sculpture, graphics, drawing, photography and new media. After the Art Exhibition Office in Suwałki was dissolved, it was in the Chłodna 20 gallery that one could see the art of contemporary artists. This is still the case today.
The first exhibitions under the Chłodna 20 gallery banner took place in 1991. The gallery was founded by Marek Sobczak. Since then, the gallery has hosted as many as 226 exhibitions – by renowned domestic and foreign artists as well as debuting artists of the young generation. The gallery has presented works by artists such as: Magdalena Abakanowicz, Gustaw Zemła, Antoni and Marcin Rząsa, Barbara and Tadeusz Brzozowski, Alfons Karny, Marian Murawski, Eugenijus Nalevaika, Pol Knots, Ewa Miazek, Andrzej Strumiłło, Mariusz Dąbrowski, Wiesław Osewski, Marek and Janina Freudenreich, Władysław Niewęgłowski, Stanisław Woś, Wiesław Szumiński, Elżbieta Pietras, Andrzej Kalina, Piotr Naliwajko, Piotr Józefowicz, Viola Tycz, Stanisław Mazuś, Rafał Borcz and many others.
Galeria Chłodna 20 organizes individual and collective exhibitions, post-plein-air exhibitions, author meetings, shows and workshops, and has maintained a high level of the presented exhibitions for years. It is mentioned in many publications as a place worth visiting to see an interesting exhibition. Catalogs, invitations and posters are printed for each exhibition. The gallery plays a very important educational role in the city, direct contact of young people with original works in the gallery is priceless.
60. Sport and Recreation Centre
The Sports and Recreation Centre in Suwałki operates on the basis of resolution no. XXI/207/99 of the Suwałki City Council of 22 December 1999 on the reorganization of the Sports and Recreation Centre in Suwałki and changes in the financial management and the granted Statute and Organizational Regulations. The aim of the centre is to provide professional services in the area of sports activities and to promote an active and healthy lifestyle among the residents of the city. In addition to sports events, the OSIR also offers hotel services, rental of sports facilities and rental of bicycles and water equipment.
The facilities subject to the Suwałki Sports and Recreation Centre are: Aquapark Suwałki, football stadium, Suwałki Arena, Suwałki Beach Arena, climbing wall, swimming pool, grass and clay tennis courts. Arkadia reservoir, Skatepark, sports hall, Street workout, outdoor and indoor gym, Eurocamping, Wigry hostel and Stary Folwark marina.
61. Museum of Eastern Prussian Fortification
The fortifications in Bakałarzewo, on the Rospuda River, are the best-preserved fragment of the German Border Protective Position from World War II. On a two-kilometre stretch between the lakes Sumowo and Siekierowo, there is a group of 13 bunkers blocking the road and entrance to former East Prussia. The core of these fortifications is a two-storey bunker with a preserved armoured dome of a 20P7 heavy machine gun. Reconstruction work has been carried out on this facility for several years now, and the fortification open-air museum is constantly being expanded.
Anti-tank and anti-personnel barriers and trenches have been recreated in the bunker’s surroundings. You can also see a fragment of the dome from another bunker of this former German defence line. From the 2017 season, an observation tower has been operating, allowing observation of the beautiful landscapes of the Rospuda River.
Inside the bunker, the equipment is being successively reconstructed, including: armoured doors, grates, elements of gun ports, soldier beds. Individual rooms are described in accordance with the appropriate functions from the period of use of the shelters during World War II. Currently, the first room – the former crew room of the shelter – houses an exhibition of mines, a collection of weapons, armour, soldier equipment, along with a presentation of uniforms. Stairs leading to the combat dome have been installed. The collection of historical exhibits is enriched every year.
The surroundings of the open-air museum are attractive in terms of landscape – it is located on the top of a hill on the right bank of the Rospuda River, just 500 metres from the town of Bakałarzewo, which is also worth visiting. For several years, it has become one of the additional attractions during kayaking trips down the Rospuda. The open-air museum is located on the route of a marked historical car and bicycle trail (R-68) of the same name „Fortifications of the Border Position”, leading between the tripoint of the borders of Poland, Lithuania and Russia in Bolcie near Wiżajny, and the park and palace complex in Dowspuda near Raczki. The bunker in Bakałarzewo is the only one available for safe sightseeing on the entire Polish line of these post-German fortifications. The open-air museum is a private facility, sightseeing takes place under the care of the owners of the facility, for a fee. Tourist groups must arrange the time of arrival by phone. It is open mainly in the summer season and very often during long weekends. There is a private parking lot for passenger cars at the facility.
62. 16th century urban spatial structure with market place and 20th century town hall
Raczki, a town located on the high right bank of the Rospuda River, was founded in the early 16th century and was initially called Dowspuda. The town was located on the trade route from Grodno to Prussia, which is why it received city rights from August II in 1703. In 1748, the town was acquired by Józef Pac, and later in 1797 by his son Ludwik Michał Pac. Thanks to him, Raczki began to develop dynamically. The town became a commercial, industrial and service center for his estate. Many factories were established, specialists from Germany, England and Scotland were brought in, a beautiful inn was built on the market square, and in 1818 a school was established where English was taught.
Unfortunately, the defeat of the November Uprising caused Michał Pac to emigrate and his estate was confiscated by the tsarist government. This resulted in the decline of Raczki’s glory. The factories were liquidated, the inn was dismantled and the acquired building materials were sold. A one-story town hall with a turret was built on the site of the inn, although it was also demolished after the January Uprising. In 1870, Raczki lost its city rights, and in 1888 the buildings were destroyed by fire. Both world wars brought a lot of destruction, especially World War II, during which Raczki, occupied by German troops, was almost half destroyed by warfare.
The spatial and urban layout from the 16th century with a cobbled, rectangular market square has been preserved to this day. There is also a building that was probably the town hall before, and now it is the Public Library and the Volunteer Fire Department in Raczki. In addition to the market square, the town also has a neo-Gothic-classicist parish church of the Holy Trinity. The construction of the church in the Baroque style began in 1765, shortly after the previous church burned down. Unfortunately, the construction was not completed, and Ludwik Michał Pac continued it in the neo-Gothic style in 1811. The church underwent another reconstruction, in the neo-classical style, in the years 1823-1824. In the years 1933-1934, two side aisles were added, completely changing the shape of the building and impoverishing its interior, reducing the number of altars from eight side altars and one main altar to four. Colourful stained glass was also installed in the windows. During World War II, the stained glass and the rotunda were destroyed. In 1968, the temple underwent a thorough renovation, changing the vault from semicircular to flat.
63. Ruins of neo-gothic Pac’s Palace
The neo-Gothic palace designed by the Italian architect Piotr Bosio began construction in 1820, and after a short break from 1823, construction continued under the supervision of another Italian architect, Henry Marconi. Decorations and furnishing lasted for 4 years, so construction was completed in 1827. The palace had two storeys and consisted of a main body, four turrets in the corners and two side wings finished with octagonal pavilions. The main body was topped with a superstructure with an attic and pinnacles, and its front part was decorated with a protruding portico.
It is not fully known what the interior of the palace looked like, from 19th-century descriptions it is known that on the ground floor there was a chapel, a salon, an archive, a library and a dining room, and on the first floor the apartment of the owner and his family. In the right wing there was a collection of military items, and in the left wing a gallery and an orangery. Everything was decorated with polychrome and frescoes. The basement also had two floors: the upper floor contained bathrooms, servants’ quarters, a kitchen and utility rooms, while the lower floor contained a well. The palace was surrounded by a park designed by the English gardener John Heiton.
After the November Uprising, Ludwik Pac emigrated, the estate was confiscated by the tsarist government and then auctioned off in the years 1834-1836. In 1834, Stefan Horaczko won the auction for the lease of Dowspuda, but while the lease was still in progress, Tsar Nicholas I decided to give the estate to Russian general Nicholas Sulima. After his death, the estate was inherited by his son Siemion Sulima, who renounced the estate in 1864. In 1873, by tsar’s order, Dowspuda was given to Yuri Karcow. In 1919, the estate was transferred to the state treasury. The successive lessees and owners did not take care of the property, so the palace fell into ruin and was finally demolished in 1887 by Yuri Karcov in order to sell the bricks for the construction of the Suwałki barracks. Thanks to the protests of the Polish community, the portico and one tower were preserved. The ruins of the palace together with the plot were purchased by a private person who declared the reconstruction of the palace for hotel purposes. A short educational trail leads through the manor park.
64. Tourist Service Centre 'Kordegarda’
The Kordegarda Tourist Service Center is located in the 19th century palace guardhouse of Count Pac located at the entrance gate leading to the palace. This building has survived to this day, what is more, it was renovated in 2015. The historic building now serves as a tourist information point, accommodation facility and a place for intimate meetings. The centre organises occasional parties, banquets, conferences and trainings. Nearby there is a playground, a covered barbecue area, an outdoor gym, a palace park and the ruins of Pac’s palace. Inside we can also see a model of Pac’s palace.
65. Studzieniczna Sanctuary
The beginnings of the Marian cult in the Augustów area date back to the 17th century. Information from 1689 mentions the bringing of a painting of the Virgin Mary to the city, and a letter from 1740 mentions an island in Lake Studzieniczne where a copy of the painting had been worshipped since at least 1728. In 1741, the parish priest of Augustów obtained permission to build a chapel, but protests from the Camaldolese monks of Wigry delayed the construction. In 1772, the hermit Wincenty Morawski settled on the island and built a wooden chapel. The first wooden church was built in 1786, and 9 years later the village was separated from the parish in Augustów and joined the parish in Szczebrze. According to the arriving pilgrims, the water from the well by the chapel had healing properties, which is also where the name of the village comes from.
In the 19th century, it was one of the most important pilgrimage centers in the Augustów diocese. The number of pilgrims began to increase and after 1905 amounted to 40 thousand believers. The church in Studzieniczna gained the status of a branch of the parish in Szczebrze in 1838. The belfry was built around 1820. In connection with the development of the sanctuary, a new wooden church of Our Lady of the Scapular was built in 1847. In place of the old wooden chapel on the island, a new brick chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in 1872. In 1873, an independent parish of Our Lady of the Scapular was established in Studzieniczna. At the end of the 19th century, a causeway was built connecting the island with the mainland. The rectory was built in 1908. In 1973, Studzieniczna was incorporated into the administrative boundaries of Augustów.
In 1978 and 1979, Primate Stefan Wyszyński rested in the town. On September 17, 1995, the image of Our Lady of Studzieniczna (a copy of the image of Our Lady of Częstochowa) was crowned. In June 1999, during his penultimate pilgrimage to Poland, the sanctuary in Studzieniczna was visited by Pope John Paul II. Next to the chapel on the island, there is a monument from 2000 commemorating this event.
The church in Studzieniczna was entered into the register of monuments in 1966, and the entire sacral complex (including the chapel, belfry and former church cemetery) – in 1980. In the vicinity of the sanctuary there is also a historic parish cemetery from the 19th century. There are also two natural monuments on the grounds of the sanctuary.
66. Zygmunt August Market Square
This is the central point of the city of Augustów, probably marked out in 1550 by the builder of royal fortresses Job Praetfuess. In the heart of the market square there is a park from 1847, once called the Saxon Garden. The market square also features the column of King Sigismund II Augustus, erected in 2007 on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of granting city rights. It was created on the initiative of the city’s residents as a thank you to the founder. Additionally, the market square is surrounded by old tenement houses from the 19th and 20th centuries, one of which has been a post office since 1945, and another since 1957 has housed a club-café, currently the Municipal Cultural Center.
67. Museum of Augustów Canal
In 1973, two institutions were merged – the Social Museum of the Augustów Region and the Augustów Canal Museum. Later, from 1975 to 1985, the Augustów Museum operated as a branch of the District Museum in Suwałki, and in 1985 it became a municipal unit. In March 1991, the museum became part of the Augustów Cultural Institutions. The Augustów Canal History Museum has been located in the former building of the Augustów port authority since 1973. It is a wooden building with a log construction referring to the imperial style. Plastered inside, plastered and boarded outside. From the mid-19th century, it served as the port office, later the supervisor’s and lockkeepers’ apartment. In the 1980s, it underwent a general renovation. Next to it is the historic palace of the director of the Water Authority. The museum presents a permanent exhibition entitled „The history of the construction and operation of the Augustów Canal, with emphasis on the role of General Ignacy Prądzyński”.
68. Tourist Information Centre in Augustów
Located in a small building at Zygmunt August Market Square. This is where you will receive information about Augustów and the surrounding area. Tourists have at their disposal brochures and information folders with the tourist base of the region, accommodation, catering, city maps, as well as maps of bicycle paths and kayak trails. You can also buy souvenirs here, as well as maps and guides to the region.
69. Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
The temple was built in the years 1905-1911 from brick in the neo-Romanesque style, on the site of the demolished classicist church of St. Bartholomew. The three-nave church has five oak altars made in the 1920s. The church was partially destroyed during World War II and rebuilt between 1945 and 1947. In 2001, the church was given the status of a Minor Basilica.
70. Museum of Augustów Region
This is an ethnographic department, originally located in the no longer existing building of the old cinema „Łowiczanka”, and since the 1990s located in the seat of the Municipal Public Library. Inside there is a permanent ethnographic exhibition devoted to the folk culture of the Augustów Forest, including crafts, weaving, pottery, basketry, agriculture and fishing. Temporary exhibitions are also organized. The museum has manuscripts with the general’s notes from the years 1823-1824, as well as a document from 1792, confirming the rights of the suburbs of Augustów, signed by King Stanisław August Poniatowski. The museum also has a large collection of postcards and photographs by Judel Rotsztejn, a photographer working in Augustów in the interwar period.
71. Augustowska Miodosytnia – Craft Mead Workshop
In order to restore beekeeping in the region and share their experiences with home mead-making, two enthusiasts, Piotr Piłasiewisz and Paweł Kotwica, founded the Augustów Mead-making Plant. Mead-making and beekeeping are a beautiful old Polish tradition that has been pushed out of the market and public awareness by the popularization of more economical forms of production. The mead-making plant produces the highest quality meads based on natural raw materials obtained from the Augustów Forest and neighboring areas. Part of the profits are allocated to the development of beekeeping by supporting the activities of the Beekeeping Brotherhood. The honey recipes date back to the mead-making tradition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The mead-making plant recreates flavors that delighted our ancestors. The Augustów mead-making plant was the first in Poland to start producing the now forgotten Zbicie.
The ramp for wheelchairs to the facility is under construction, but if necessary, the staff will provide assistance in climbing the three steps to the interior.
72. Ruins of Rennaisance Gothic Evangelical Church
Mieruniszki is a village located in the former monastic state, mentioned in the Treaty of Melno from 1422 between the Teutonic Knights and Jagiełło, and survived until 1945, when Soviet-German fighting completely destroyed it. The first mentions of the Evangelical church in Mieruniszki date back to 1545. In 1656 it was destroyed by the Tatars, and rebuilt in 1710. After the reconstruction, it was a church made of brick and field stone, plastered, with a quadrangular tower, an 18th-century Baroque altar made in Olecko, a pulpit from the same period and several old bas-reliefs. The weather vane, or a small flag at the top of the tower, was founded in 1760. During World War I, the church housed a sorting office for the field mail, and during World War II, it suffered the same fate as the village. In 1992, by resolution of the Commune Council, the building was transferred to the Bishop’s Curia in Olsztyn. The three-storey tower is the best preserved to this day.