Legnica - an underrated gem! Tourist attractions, or what to see in Legnica?

• Legnica is a beautiful medieval town of Lower Silesia
• The old town delights with its monuments. The most important attraction is the Piast Castle, dating back to the 12th century
• Churches are also valuable and powerful - the cathedral, St. Mary's Church and the Church of St. John the Baptist from the Piast Mausoleum
• The castle, mausoleum and other attractions are available for a fee as part of the Copper Museum in Legnica. Free admission on Wednesday
• The city can be easily reached by the A4 motorway, e.g. in just over an hour from Wrocław and nearly 3 hours from G. Śląska
• In the St. Mary's Church, the film Little Moscow was shot by the Legnica director, Waldemar Krzystek

Legnica is a beautiful medieval town in Lower Silesia. It is not large, but the magnificent monuments have accumulated here densely and extremely beautifully. If it were not for the fact that the Soviet army destroyed the old town after the war and the buildings of the twentieth century stood among the valuable buildings, Legnica would have been sweeping off its feet. The towers of the castle and the mighty churches rise in the skyline! We were enchanted by this sight, enveloped by the rays of the tilting sun. Check out what is worth visiting in Legnica!

Accommodation in Legnica

While visiting Legnica, we slept in a very nice Hotel Gwarna, which is located in the old town and offers a lot of attractions. So not only can you walk back here from walking and sightseeing, there is a swimming pool, sauna, or a rooftop beach with a viewpoint and a beautiful panorama of the city. We were really impressed and the hotel is quite affordable. An additional advantage is the bHotel Gwarnafree parking, and the proximity of the center means that you do not have to look for a parking lot in the city, because to a large extent they are paid.

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.

Experiences in Legnica. What to see in the city?

Legnica boasts many beautiful monuments. Of course, the Piast castle comes to the fore, but besides it, it is worth raising your eyes to the Cathedral of St. Apostles Peter and Paul, St. Mary's Church, Town Halls (old and new), towers and other interesting buildings. The so-called herring stalls, i.e. herring stalls with arcades glued to the Old Town Hall on the Market Square in Legnica, are extremely charming. For historical reasons, the beautiful baroque church of St. John, where you can visit the Mausoleum of the Piasts, certainly deserves attention. 

Legnica is also a city of greenery. It's easy to meet greenery here. The most wonderful green place to relax in Legnica is the Municipal Park, located in the eastern part of the city center. Check out the best attractions of Legnica!

Legnica Castle. The oldest brick castle in Silesia

The roots of the Piast Castle date back to the 12th century and Bolesław the High. It is said to be the second oldest castle in Silesia and even in Poland after Wlenie. It is also the oldest brick stronghold in the region. It is an element of the Copper Museum, you will see here the relics of the Romanesque chapel for a fee (free on Wednesdays). The courtyard is available free of charge.
Address: ul. Zamkowa 1

Herring beds, i.e. herring stalls in Legnica

Herringbones are beautiful tenement houses with arcades, so named because they are very narrow. They effectively decorate the market, as they are charming, nicely renovated and painted in pastel colors, which creates a harmonious whole. Our girls, when we were here about 10 years ago, called them dwarfs.
Address: Market

Old Town Hall in Legnica

The old Town Hall is glued to the herringbone. It dates back to the 18th century and is famous as one of the most beautiful in Lower Silesia. It looks like a baroque palace, now it is a backstage for the Theatre, which in turn is glued to the back. A spectacular element of the town hall is the majestic mirror stairs.
Address: Rynek

Theater in Legnica

The theater is an impressive, neo-Renaissance building from 1841-42. When it was created, it belonged to the most beautiful and modern scenes of Silesia, and today it has preserved almost the original decor and equipment. It was designed by Langhans the Younger, an outstanding German creator of theatrical architecture, including the Wrocław Opera.
Address: Rynek

Legnica Cathedral

St. Peter and Paul's Cathedral is a huge temple towering above the market square. It grows up behind the old town hall, and in front of the new town hall. It was founded as a Gothic church in the 13th century. It was already mentioned in 1208, in the document of Prince Henry the Bearded. It was expanded in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but was severely damaged during the great fire of the city in 1648. Then another tower collapsed. It was rebuilt, but it gained its current shape only at the end of the 19th century, when it was expanded in the neo-Gothic style. The interior hides many monuments, including the Baroque main altar, an impressive Renaissance pulpit or one of the largest ensemble of tombstones and epitaphs in Lower Silesia, from the 15th to the 20th century.
Address: Cathedral Square

Sculpture of Julius in Legnica

The sculpture of the boy Julko is by the Legnica artist Edward Mirowski. It stands in the corner of the passage of the Art Gallery, at the Market Square. As the well-known Legnica director, Waldemar Krzystek, stated, he is a boy taken alive from the times of his childhood, i.e. the last decades of the 20th century. A cheeky attitude, a cardboard satchel, a self-made paper hat and a buckle in the pants so that they do not interfere with cycling.
Address: Rynek

New Town Hall in Legnica

The new Town Hall dates back to the 20th century, but it is extremely ornate and impressive. This is because it was exhibited at the very beginning, in 1902-05. The Old Town Hall ceased to suffice and the ambitions of the authorities were transferred to the design of a monumental building, which never really achieved the planned composition. This took place in the times of the mayor Ottomar Oertl. Although the plan was not fully implemented, the building is still very impressive and reflects the momentum and prosperity of Legnica at that time. The new Town Hall represents the Neo-Renaissance style, with elements of the Baroque.
Address: Plac Słowiański 8

House Under the Quail Basket in Legnica

The House Under the Quail Basket is an impressive corner tenement house on the market square, dating back to the 14th century. It will be decorated with sgraffito from the 16th century, the name comes from the original bay window
Address: Rynek

The pedestrian street of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Legnica

St. Mary's Street is one of the oldest and most important streets in the city. It connects two noble churches, which were the dominant features of this center already in the Middle Ages. This is the church of St. Peter and Paul and the St. Mary's Church, from which today's promenade took its name. Few historic tenements adorn the pleasant walking path today, but one of them, the former house of Hans Scholz, has preserved Renaissance sgraffito decorations.

Filipek Satyrykonowy Boy Sculpture

Philip's sculpture attracts attention on the promenade. It is here that the Satyrykon festival is inaugurated every time. The festival also has its place in the exhibition at the Copper Museum.

Church of St. John the Baptist from the Mausoleum of Silesian Piasts

This church is an impressive Baroque temple, erected in the Gothic place, in the years 1714-29. Inside, it is worth taking a look at the painting of St. Jan Nepomucen, by the excellent Silesian painter, Michael Willmann, and the sarcophagus of the church's co-founders, von Sprintzenstein. The former Jesuit college is adjacent to the western wall, and in the eastern side there is the necropolis of the Legnica-Brzesko Piasts.

The tomb chapel of the Silesian Piasts

The elaborate mausoleum is the first Baroque chapel of graves in Silesia, today open to the public as part of the Copper Museum. The mausoleum was erected by Princess Louise Anhalt Dessau as a monument to a distinguished year, after her son, Prince George Wilhelm, died prematurely at the age of only 15. This took place in 1675 and thus ended the rule of the Piast dynasty. The chapel is decorated with alabaster figures of Princess Louise, her husband Christian, the aforementioned son Jerzy Wilhelm and daughter Karolina. Here, too, lie the mortal remains of this family, except for Karolina, who converted to Catholicism and was buried according to her will in Trzebnica. The rest of the family adhered to Calvinism. Sarcophagi are extremely decorated. Those with the remains of Prince Christian and his son George were placed around 1679, they are real works of art made of silver-plated copper, decorated with gold elements.
Address: ul. Ojców Zbigniewa i Michała 1

St. Mary's Church in Legnica

The Evangelical Church of the Virgin Mary stands near the castle. It is the oldest temple in the city and one of the oldest churches in Silesia. Exactly, it was the first Romanesque church from the 12th century, built by Bolesław the High, along with the castle. Saint Hedwig of Silesia and her son, Henry the Pious, prayed in it before setting off for the great battle of Legnica with the Mongols. Later, the temple was expanded many times. Today, it is a huge basilica, in the hands of evangelicals since the Reformation. The towers reach 62 meters. Interestingly, the church is sometimes called Low, not because of its height, but because it stands in the lower part of the city.
Address: Plac Mariacki 1

Tower of the Głogów Gate, also known as the Głogów Tower

It is a valuable monument from the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. It stands next to the castle and is part of the defensive walls. The restored tower in 2012 is today an important trace of the medieval past.
Address: Nowa Street

City Parks in Legnica - multimedia fountain, Palm House and Kozi Pond

In the quite large and attractive City Park, tourists are attracted by a large fountain in the central part, which offers spectacular multimedia shows on weekends. You can also visit a palm shop nearby. In the northern end of the City Park, there is a picturesque Kozi Staw, to the east of the cathedral. An islet rises in the middle, and four fountains beat around it. Besides, there are duck machines here. These are cool attractions for children and a pleasant place to walk, surrounded by benches.
Address: ul. Biała, ul. Wodna, ul. Powstańców Śląskich

Cormorant Pond

To the north of the city center, near the Gdańsk Park, an urban swimming pool with a sandy beach and a lifeguard was created. In high season, it is available for a fee, and you can rent a kayak on site. There is also a shop and free parking.
Address: ul. Kąpielowa 1

Museum of the Legnica Battle and Basilica in Legnica Field

In the thirteenth century, armies of two worlds faced each other in this place. The Poles, led by Henry the Pious, confronted an enemy they had never known before, the Mongols. Unfortunately, the battle that went down in history as the Battle of Legnica was lost by our people, and the prince died here. The body, deprived of its head and clothes, was recognized by his mother on his left foot. He had 6 fingers there, which was confirmed when his grave was opened in the 19th century. In the place where the body was found, there was a chapel, which now has the form of a magnificent Baroque basilica, with a beautiful interior that can be visited with a guide from the nearby Museum of the Battle of Legnica. It is housed in a former church and is a branch of the Copper Museum. Free admission on Wednesdays.
Address: Henryk Bogożny Square

Other attractions in Legnica

• Knight Academy
• Chojnowska Gate Tower
• Fountain of Neptune
• Legnica model in the form of a sphere
• St. Jack's Church
• Gdańsk Park

Map of Legnica attractions

On the map, we marked attractions and interesting places that we saw while visiting Legnica. This will help you plan your trip and visit to this city.

Where to eat in Legnica?

There are many restaurants and cafes in Legnica. A lot of them were located on the promenade. Here we visited an interesting restaurant Nad Czasem. Very atmospheric, with nice decor, it also offers outdoor gardens. But the most important thing is food, and this is unique here, because it offers, in addition to Italian pasta, also Polish pizza, i.e. cakes with original stuffing and salty waffles. I have not eaten dry waffles yet, and they have interesting names here, including Mr. Boczek, which resembles the term God in the Silesian dialect (PonBuczek).

We also visited the Markov ice cream shop and cafe on the market, which we also liked. You can sit inside or outside. A rich selection of ice cream, cakes and coffees will make sure that everyone will find something for themselves. Prices in the listed places are moderate, we have seen more expensive. From cheaper places, I can recommend toast in Tosteria Legnica, near the Market Square, on Chojnowska Street, but there is nowhere to sit here.

Location and access to Legnica

The city lies on the Kaczawa River, near Jaworand Lwówek Śląski. It is about 70 km west of Wrocław and about 250 km from Upper Silesia. You can easily get here on the A4 motorway. In just over an hour from Wrocław and nearly 3 hours from Upper Silesia. Unfortunately, the motorway section from Wrocław is quite cumbersome, consisting of only 2 lanes and is quite often jammed during the week due to the large number of trucks.

History of the city

The history of this center is long, because the first documented traces of Slavic settlement in this area date back to the 8th century. There was a defensive stronghold here at that time. The name Legnica, on the other hand, first appeared in 1149, in a document by Bolesław Kędzierzawy - the prince of Poland. At that time, there was already a castle here, one of the oldest in our lands. It is said to be the oldest brick castle in Silesia, and maybe in Poland. It was exhibited by Bolesław Wysoki.

In 1241, Legnica became an extremely important place on the map of Europe. Under the city, in Legnica Fields, the famous battle with the Mongols took place, which, according to some, although lost, saved Western culture from the expansion of Islam. Legnica was at that time the second largest Silesian city after Wrocław. The leader of the Polish army, Prince Henry the Pious, was also killed in the battle.

As a result of the activities of World War II, and in fact already after its end, Legnica suffered very much and the buildings of the old city were largely destroyed. The result is a mosaic of styles, as the noble monuments are interwoven with the architecture of the 20th century.

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What's worth seeing in the area?

You don't have to travel far to find more interesting places. Within a radius of 100 kilometers, there are many attractions waiting for you that will certainly enrich your stay Your trip with additional memories.

• Książ Castle, distance: 41.6  km
• Church of Peace in Świdnica, distance: 46.3  km
• Grodno Castle in Zagórze Śląskie, distance: 53.8  km
• Ostrów Tumski in Wrocław, distance: 62.6  km
• Czocha Castle, distance: 63  km
• Wrocław Zoo with Afrkarium, distance: 64.8  km
• Sky Walk Tower in Świeradów Zdrój, distance: 67  km
• Barycz Valley, distance: 74.1  km
• Szczeliniec Wielki, distance: 81.3  km
• Kłodzko Fortress, distance: 92.1  km