Przemyśl

Przemyśl (German: Proemsel; Ukrainian: Перемишль, Peremyshľ) is a town in southeastern Poland in the Subcarpathia region. The town has a picturesque location at the foot of the hill surrounding the town, only a few kilometers away from the Ukrainian border.

Understand

Przemyśl owes its long and rich history to the advantages of its geographic location. The city lies in the Przemyśl Gate, an area connecting mountains and lowlands, with easy communication and fertile soil. It also lies on the navigable San river. Important trade routes passed through Przemyśl and ensured the city's importance.

Przemyśl is the second oldest town in southern Poland, after Kraków. It appears to have been founded as early as the 8th century.

  • 🌍 Tourist information, ul. Grodzka 1, ☏ +48 16 675 21 63, . High season (15 Apr - 15 Oct): M-F 09:00 - 17:00, Sa Su 10:00 - 18:00; low season (16 Oct - 14 Apr): M-F 09:00 - 17:00, Sa 09:00 - 14:00, Su closed. Souvenir shop included. Free brochures and maps available as well as free WiFi and a computer to use. (updated May 2017)

Get in

By train

Trains run every hour or two daytime from Kraków, taking just under 3 hr via Tarnow, Rzeszów and Łańcut, for a fare of 50 zł. There's one direct train from Warsaw but you can connect via Kraków every couple of hours, total time 6 hr; similarly from Gdańsk, Poznań, Wrocław and Katowice. There is a daily direct train from Berlin (10 hr via Wrocław and Katowice), Prague (10 hr via Ostrava and Katowice), and Graz via Vienna.

An overnight train from Szczecin takes 14 hr 30 min via Poznań.

Trains run twice a day from Kyiv and daily from Odesa via Lviv to Przemyśl; this last leg takes 2 hr.

  • 🌍 Przemyśl railway station (Przemyśl Główny), plac Legionów 1. This is the border station with Ukraine, so you have to go through passport control and customs to access the eastbound platforms, which are wide-gauge, 1520 mm. Coming in from the east, there may be a long line for customs, as smugglers often try to get tobacco into the EU this way. (updated Dec 2021)

Get around

The city centre is small and manageable by foot.

See
  • 🌍 Castle. Built by Casimir III the Great in the 14th century. 
  • Reformed Franciscan monastery. (updated May 2017)
  • Rynek square. (updated May 2017)
  • 🌍 Franciscan Church, Franciszkańska 2A. Built in baroque style (updated May 2017)
  • 🌍 Uniate Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (Corner of Asnyka and Katedralna streets). Former Jesuit church, now a Uniate cathedral with a nice iconostasis 
  • 🌍 Carmelite Church of St. Theresa. 17th century late-Renaissance church 
  • 🌍 Cathedral, Katedralna 1. (updated May 2017)
  • 🌍 New Synagogue, Słowackiego 15. (updated May 2017)
  • 🌍 Military Cemetery. Victims of the biggest World War I battles are buried here. (updated May 2017)
  • 🌍 Kopiec Tatarski, ul. Przemysława. Located on a hill this place provides one of the best views over Przemyśl. According to the legend the small artificial hill on top of the hill was made by the Tatars as a grave of their leader that got killed in a fight. Free. (updated May 2017)
  • 🌍 Jewish Cemetery, ul. Słowackiego. (updated May 2017)

Museums

Further afield
  • 🌍 Castle and park in Krasiczyn, Krasiczyn 179 (10km west of Przemyśl city centre, using road 28), ☏ +48 16 671 83 21. One of the present day cultural highlights of the region. It is often classified as one of the greatest Renaissance edifices in Poland and as one of the most beautiful castles in Europe. This castle was built by the Krasicki family in the 16th and 17th century. Nowadays it also houses a hotel and restaurant. 14 zł (10 zł reduced) for a guided tour. Tours start every hour. There is an extra ticket of 4zł (2zł reduced) for the torture room and clock tower each. 
  • 🌍 Wooden Greek Catholic church, Kruhel Wielki, in the centre of the village (3.5 km southwest of the city centre). This wooden Greek catholic church was built in 1630 and got renovated a few years ago. It is one of the oldest examples of this type in the country. (updated May 2017)
  • 🌍 Kalwaria Pacławska (25 km south of Przemyśl). The sanctuary in Kalwaria Pacławska has received many thousands of pilgrims since it houses the image of Mother of God from Kamianets-Podilskyi. The place has earned fame as the Jasna Góra (holy place in Częstochowa) of the Podkarpackie region. The village and surrounding fields and forests are dotted with beautiful Baroque churches and chapels. (updated Oct 2023)

Do
  • Walking and cycling. The tourism board has worked out several walking and cycling routes in the city and the near surroundings. (updated May 2017)

Cinemas

Buy

Eat

Sleep

Budget

Mid-range

There are several hotels in Przemyśl, city council website has a list of them with prices.

Go next
This article is issued from Wikivoyage. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.