Brzeg. Tourist attractions and interesting places in the Piast town on the Odra River

Brzeg is a beautiful, historical city with Piast roots. He hides valuable traces of the past with the castle of the dukes of Brest at the head. It is located in the Opole Voivodeship, between the capital of the region - Opole and Wrocław, on route No. 94. The still somewhat underrated Bank can delight with monuments, so we encourage you to visit this noble city!

Experiences in Bank

Today, Brzeg is a small but charming town with a rich history. It boasts several very valuable monuments. You will find monumental temples, a magnificent and original town hall, as well as a diamond in the crown - the Piast castle. After our few visits to this city, we have prepared a guide to the best attractions of Brzeg, which we have additionally marked on the map below. 

Brzeg Castle

The Silesian Piast Castle in Brzeg is the most valuable monument of the city and a magnet attracting tourists here. Its architecture is very interesting, and in addition, the interior houses the Museum of Silesian Piasts. It is located on the Oder, surrounded by old trees. It delights with Renaissance cloisters that bring to mind the Kraków castle. That is why the Brest residence is sometimes called the Silesian Wawel. This is the historic seat of the Dukes of Brest. Initially, it was a Gothic fortified castle, and over time it was transformed into a magnificent Renaissance residence.

Gatehouse

It was then that the richly decorated facade of the gatehouse was created. It is a real architectural pearl on the scale of Central Europe. It will be decorated with busts of the Piasts. It was founded by Prince George II, whose life-size statue can be admired on the façade. Next to him is a likeness of his wife, Barbara.

Castle exhibitions

The exhibitions here are very rich and interesting. In the Gothic cellars, there is an exhibition of Silesian Piast sarcophagi, and on the upper floors, the exhibits "talk" about the Piast roots of the fortress. The Princes of Brest boasted of their medieval origin and willingly created family trees. On the upper floors, you can also admire beautiful paintings. For example, the 16th-century collection of the Italian painter Giovanni Pinotti.

The sacral exhibition is particularly interesting. It hides many gems of Silesian art, collecting works from the 15th century. As we walk through the rooms, we admire the tremendous progress that has been made in art over the centuries. When we visited the museum for the first time years ago, we realized that these often huge Baroque sculptures are made of many pieces of wood, attached to each other. Formed and painted, they create extraordinary art. And did you know that thousands of inhabitants of the Eastern Borderlands of the Second Polish Republic have been displaced to new areas, also to the Bank? One of the exhibitions, accessible from the courtyard, is dedicated to them.
Address: Plac Zamkowy

Chapel of St. Hedwig in Brzeg

The castle chapel today hides the remains of the Piast dynasty. Unfortunately, it is not part of the Museum and we did not get inside. The facility can be seen on Sundays during services.
Address: Plac Zamkowy

Town Hall in Brzeg

The building has been carefully renovated in recent years. At that time, the characteristic diamond façade from the 16th century was restored. The shape of the seat of the city authorities has not been changed practically since the Renaissance. The decor, on the other hand, was changing. Today, the building can be visited free of charge, just make an appointment by phone. On the tourist route there are:

• rooms with magnificent ceilings, on this largest larch ceiling beam there is the date 1646
• baroque Hall of Rajec - was established in the 18th century, and more precisely in 1742. It resembles temples, due to gilding and an ornate railing separating the room, topped with angels. Another remarkable thing are the paintings on the wardrobes, as well as the sculpture of a black eagle. The original entrance to the vault is hidden in the shadow of the historic table. Once, the most valuable documents were stored here, and today souvenirs extracted from time capsules discovered in the spire during the renovation in 2016. The first capsule dates from 1798, the second from 1822. Contained old maps, coins and documents
• medieval hall in the clock tower - the oldest part of the building, dates back to the 14th century. In this small room, the city council was meeting, at that time consisting of only 5 people

Address: Rynek, tel. to make an appointment: 538-280-500

Market Square in Brzeg

As a result of World War II, the main square of the city suffered, so historic houses are interspersed with contemporaries. You will find a beautiful façade at number 18. It would seem that this tenement house is much higher than the others, but it is only the high parapet that gives such an illusion. A very interesting tenement house is located at number 5. It's an old cloth hall. Originally, the house had six windows, but it was really just a decoration. Later, 4 windows were broken, and those were left. It looks very peculiar today.

Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Brzeg

This baroque building from the 18th century is an ornament of the city. It stands between the market square and the former residence of the Piast dynasty. Previously, there was a fourteenth-century monastery here, which was demolished in the sixteenth century. The interior of today's building is very impressive. The walls and vault are covered with illusory polychrome, designed by Jan Kuben. In principle, the believer was to have the impression that the open heavens prayed with him. Almost all the free spaces of this temple are occupied by magnificent paintings.
Address: Plac Zamkowy

St. Nicholas Church in Brzeg

This impressive Gothic building is one of the highest and largest medieval temples in Silesia. The origins date back to the 13th century and the relics of this oldest part can be seen in the tower. In addition, a medieval triptych has been preserved in the presbytery, and paintings from a similar period have been painted in the sacristy. Unfortunately, we could not see the latter. The building was destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt several years later. Several centuries-old epitaphs have been preserved from the times when he was a Protestant. The interior itself, due to war damage, is not very impressive today, but the size is impressive.
Address: Plac Zamkowy

The promenade and the oldest residential house in Brzeg

A pleasant promenade leads along Długa Street. Nicely renovated tenement houses make it a nice showcase of the city. You can eat or drink coffee here. And at the intersection with Jabłkowa Street you will see one of the oldest buildings in the city and at the same time the oldest residential house. It dates back to the 13th century and was once a residential tower, which was part of the defensive walls. To this day, narrow shooting windows can be seen here.
Address: ul. Jabłkowa 6

Tenement houses at Jabłkowa Street

On Jabłkowa Street, between the promenade and the market square, you will find a curiosity. There are two tenement houses adjacent to it, which represent two separate faiths - Catholic and Protestant. The faith of the inhabitants is betrayed by the decorations on the facade. The Catholic one is richly decorated with angels and IHS letters, which are a symbol of Jesus. The Protestant one is much more modest, decorated only in a chalice. Apparently, it was a rivalry in its own way, i.e. the Protestant one was created in a modest form of ornaments, to distinguish it from the "rich" in ornaments of a Catholic neighbor. The same applies to the temples of these two religions.
Address: Jabłkowa 5 and 7

Gothic tenement complex

Behind the church of St. Nicholas, there are 3 interesting tenement houses, the origins of which date back to the Middle Ages. The brick, lower parts suggest their former origin. The Dzierżoń tenement complex was revitalized in 2016, after research had previously been carried out here. Under numbers 10 and 12, relics of old wooden buildings were discovered. It was used for the production of kegs for storing beer.
Address: Plac Kościelny

Nadodrzański Park in Brzeg

The stronghold on the river side is surrounded by the Nadodrzański Park with the Odra Gate. It is a remnant of the Renaissance fortifications of the city. It dates back to the end of the 16th century and today is maintained in good condition. It's a nice place to walk.
Address: ul. Oławska, ul. Pańska

Ruins of the Temple of Peter and Paul

Today, it is a somewhat forgotten temple, and it is the oldest in the city. It is a former gothic Franciscan monastery church, dedicated to St. Peter and Paul. Its history is interesting, because in fact already in the 16th century, when Protestants took over the city, it was abandoned and the building served as a warehouse. During the flood of the century in 1997, its tower and part of the walls collapsed.

Later, an attempt was made to save the monument by renovating the roof, but all the rest is in a rather deplorable condition. Currently, the church has been put up for sale and is waiting for better times. The building is huge, and an ordinary house has been glued to it in a completely amazing way. It is impossible to look inside, because the building is closed and there is a sign on it that it threatens to collapse.
Address: Plac Młynów

Venice of Brest

Młynów Square and the area by the river is a very atmospheric place. With a lot of potential, although slightly neglected. There is a river, there is a waterfall, a historic mill. We think it could be such an interesting Venice of Brest.

A small bridge leads here to the river island of Jeżynowa, popularly known as Kępa Młyńska. In the 1960s, scenes for the film "Four Tanks and a Dog" were even filmed here.  Work is underway to revitalize the area for the purposes of the marina.
Address: Nadodrzańska Street, Kępa Młyńska Street

Piastowski Bridge

It is an impressive, trussed road bridge, crossed by the main river in Brzeg in 1954, in the place of the older Odra Bridge. This one was severely damaged during World War II, in January 1945. The bridge is crossed by a national road towards Namysłów. Interestingly, the current design does not resemble the previous one. For the construction of the Piast Bridge, 2 spans of the Vistula Fordon Bridge from Bydgoszcz, from 1891, were used. These spans belonged to the railway crossing, and were moved in the 1950s From Bydgoszcz to Brzeg.
Address: ul. Krakusa

Beach in Brzeg

On the other side of the Oder, behind the Piast Bridge, a nice sandy beach was created. It's crawling with seashells. The place allows you to relax with a nice view today. And in addition, it has great potential, along with a future marina that is being built on the other side of the river.
Address: ul. Nadbrzeżna, ul. Grobli

Sanctuary of St. James in Małujowice

7 kilometers from the city, the sanctuary of St. James was hidden in tiny Małujowice. From the outside, it is a brick Gothic church. Valuable, but still quite often you can find similar ones in Poland. Inside, you can admire the largest collection of medieval paintings in Poland! It's 1000 square meters of frescoes! It makes a huge impression and it is difficult to pass by indifferently. The temple began to be built in the 13th century and was immediately decorated with paintings.

In the presbytery you can see Marian scenes, while in the nave you can see Biblical scenes. In the Middle Ages, most of the faithful could not read, so the truth of the faith was conveyed with the help of paintings, hence another term for frescoes is "The Bible of the Poor". On one side, the New Testament, and on the other, the Old Testament. Each board on the wooden ceiling of the church is painted in different patterns, and there are reportedly over 600 boards here. Such curiosities can be found in this church much more. We recommend a guided tour, but you can also do it yourself, by appointment (663-606-908). In the bypass of the church you will find an age-old penitential cross.

Map of experiences in Brzeg

History of the city

The shore was built on the historic Via Regia route, connecting the east with the west. First, 3 settlements were established here, and Brzeg received city rights in 1248. From the beginning of the fourteenth century, the city was the capital of the Duchy of Legnica-Brzesko, ruled by the Silesian Piasts, descended from Władysław II the Exile. At that time, it was one of the main commercial and educational centres in Silesia.

The history of the Piast dynasty ended in Brzeg. At the exhibition you will see the statue of George IV William, who just ended their history, dying at the end of the 17th century. He lived only 15 years. He loved hunting and died on one of them. However, not as a result of his wounds, but as a result of fever and smallpox, which he contracted from the local population. He was very well educated, he spoke many languages, including Polish. It should be remembered that in his time the principality was a vassal of the German-speaking Habsburg Empire. Interestingly, his father, Christian, was a strong friend of Polish monarchs and even tried to be elected king of Poland. However, the nobility did not support him.

After the death of the last of the male Piast line, the principality ceased to exist and the residence began to decline. The rich book collections and castle collections were scattered. The abandoned castle was shelled during the First Silesian War between Prussia and Austria, on April 28, 1741. The city also suffered greatly during World War II, the town hall was preserved from destruction, which practically did not change its shape since the Renaissance. After the war, Silesia was incorporated into Poland. At that time, a museum was organized at the castle and the reconstruction of this historical building began.

Where to eat in Brzeg?

We didn't have much time to eat, so we chose Just Burger Brzeg on the promenade. The food was very tasty, apart from the rather tight interior, the place also offers umbrellas with benches outside. Unfortunately, they do not have toilets, which is definitely useful when traveling, but you can use the neighboring Bombonierki cafe. We were happy to visit this one not only for this purpose. It offers many different delicacies, and we like them very much. This café also offers outdoor tables in high season, and the interior is quite spacious.

Accommodation in Brzeg

The shore is so close to our house that we go here on day trips, without using the accommodation. However, I am convinced that everyone will find something for themselves in Brzeg, using the booking shown below. 

Here you will find a wide selection of accommodations. By booking your stay on Booking.com through our link, you support the development of our blog — and we thank you in advance! It helps us reach many interesting places that we later love to show you and share our experiences and information with you.

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City video

Next Sunday, we invite you to our film account of this beautiful city in Silesia.

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What's worth seeing in the area?

If you are looking for more ideas for interesting places to visit, we have it for you some options in the area. There are several attractions within a radius of 100 kilometers, that are worth adding to your travel plan.

• Palace in Kopice, distance: 24.2  km
• Wrocław Zoo with Afrkarium, distance: 38.4  km
• Ostrów Tumski in Wrocław, distance: 40.5  km
• Moszna Castle, distance: 51.6  km
• Kłodzko Fortress, distance: 74.2  km
• Grodno Castle in Zagórze Śląskie, distance: 75.3  km
• Barycz Valley, distance: 76.3  km
• Książ Castle, distance: 82.5  km
• Bear Cave in Kletno, distance: 82.7  km
• Pławniowice Palace, distance: 89  km