10 Historic Sites in Southern Poland That You Shouldn't Miss

Established by the Nazis in 1940, Auschwitz-Birkenau has become a symbol of terror, genocide and the Holocaust. Although the exact number of victims is unknown, many Jews, Poles and gypsies died here. The museum consists of two parts: Auschwitz I, the first and oldest camp (the number of prisoners fluctuated around 15,000, sometimes rising above 20,000) and Auschwitz II, Birkenau (which held more than 90,000 prisoners in 1944). The greater part of the apparatus of mass extermination was built in Birkenau and the majority of the victims were murdered there.

First founded in 1364, this integral part of Krakow life has many distinguished alumni including distinguished Polish intellectuals, political leaders and well-known international figures like Nicolaus Copernicus and Pope John Paul II. The Collegium Maius is the oldest surviving building of the university.

The Salt Mine Bochnia is the oldest salt mine in Poland. The beginnings of the Bochnia mine as an excavating plant date back to 1248. Being a royal facility, the mine generated a huge income. In 1368, King Casimir the Great issued a document referred to as the Saltworks Statute. It defined the organizational and legal principles for selling salt. The oldest Bochnia mining shafts are the Sutoris and Gazaris shafts. The Bochnia mine and the Sutoris Shaft that are mentioned in the legend on St. Kinga’s ring. The mine developed rapidly in 15th and 16th centuries. More shafts are constructed at that time, i.e. Regis , Bochneris, and Campi. In 17th century, due to wars and an economic decline, the plant’s development slowed down. Visitors to the Bochnia Salt Mine discover the oldest and the most beautiful excavations including the August and Sienkiewicz Levels, the Dobosz Inter-Level.Visitors explore the route on foot and can cover a part of the distance by a tourist train or by boat.

Serving as a royal residence and the site where the country's rulers governed Poland for five centuries (1038-1596), this castle is a symbol of the independent Polish state and today contains a priceless collection of 16th-century Flemish tapestries, considered to be one of the largest in the world.

National shrine known for its superb religious art including the giant bell of Zygmunt of 1520, one of the world's largest, and the burial place of many Polish kings and their families, national heroes and numerous bishops.

Magnificent example of an early baroque aristocratic residence was refurbished in the late 18th century to become a lavish artistic salon, which played host to such famous guests as Louis XIII of France and Emperor Franz Jozef of Austria.