Sandomierz - the best tourist attractions

Sandomierz is a beautiful royal city, picturesquely located on the hills above the Vistula, which immediately evokes thoughts about Rome, hence it is sometimes called Little Rome. And this is the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship and the Polish city on route No. 79, located about 15 km from Tarnobrzeg. Sandomierz, like Kazimierz Dolny, is characterized by beautiful attractions, a unique atmosphere, the atmosphere of the past that can be felt here, penetrating charming alleys. It is not enough to read about this city, you need to see it with your own eyes and feel it. 

After years of oblivion, Sandomierz was rediscovered by the creators of the series Father Mateusz, who made the city famous throughout Poland and today almost everyone knows Sandomierz and eagerly visits it. We encourage you to stay here longer, as we do, because the city and its surroundings offer many interesting facts! In our guide below you will see the best attractions of Sandomierz, a map on which they are marked and an offer of a walk around the city, also marked on the map. And also delicious restaurants and atmospheric accommodation, I invite you to read 🙂

Experiences in Sandomierz

Sandomierz boasts magnificent, original architectural buildings. The Sandomierz Old Town is a characteristic ensemble with a medieval, checkered layout, centered around a rectangular Market Square, with a visible outline and preserved fragments of medieval city walls. It is one of the best preserved and most beautiful old towns in Poland, of great historical and architectural value, entered into the register of world-class monuments. 

Many of the local monuments were created as early as in the fourteenth century. We have visited this city several times, so read our guide to Sandomierz, which will certainly make it easier for you to plan and explore Sandomierz. You will learn first-hand what is worth visiting in this city! If you want to find a more detailed description, click on the linked (blue) name of the experience, which takes you to the detailed description. Discover the best attractions of Sandomierz and see their location on the map!

1. Town Hall in Sandomierz

Standing at number one on the Market Square in Sandomierz, the Town Hall is the most characteristic building of the city. It comes from the fourteenth century, or more precisely from 1349. Originally, it was a Gothic building on a square plan, with a tall, octagonal tower. Reconstruction in the Renaissance style, with the addition of a characteristic attic, took place in the 16th century. The author of the parapet is most likely Jan Maria Padovano. On the southern wall of the town hall there is a sundial made in an interesting sgraffito technique. 

It was made in 1958 by Tadeusz Przypkowski - the former owner of the clock museum in Jędrzejów. The Sandomierz town hall today houses a branch of the District Museum and the Civil Registry Office, and in the basement it is worth visiting the "Lapidarium" club. Next to it there is also an exit from the underground route. Every day at 12.00 noon, the Sandomierz swarm resounds from the town hall tower. The town hall stands in the central part of the Market Square, it is one of the most beautiful and most recognizable town halls in Poland. Like several other monuments in Sandomierz, it has the status of a Historic Monument. 

2. The market in Sandomierz

The Sandomierz market square is a large, main square of the city with nice tenement houses and an impressive town hall in the middle, at which the statue of the Virgin Mary and the city well also stood. The size of the market square is as much as 110x120 meters, and from its corner there are Opatowska Street with Oleśnicka Street, Sokolnicki Street with Długosz Street, Mariacka Street with Krótka Street and Zamkowa Street with Buliński Street. The Sandomierz market is very unusual among Polish markets, because it is quite sloping. Height difference up to 15 meters. Apparently, among other things, this is why the creators of the series Father Mateusz chose this place, and today in one of the tenements on the market you will see an exhibition devoted to this series. 

In the western frontage of the market, attention is attracted by: the Tenement House under the Wings (No. 4) with a Renaissance portal, the Bobola Conquest (No. 5) and the famous Oleśnicki Tenement House (No. 10) with arcades. The northern frontage features the so-called Gomółka Tenement House (No. 14), and in the southern one - Lazarczyk's House (No. 27) with arcades and the Dutreppich Tenement House (No. 31). There are cafes, restaurants and art galleries in the tenement houses. In the summer, there are retro-style meleks around the square, which take tourists to various corners of the city for a fee. For several years on the market, in the south-west corner, an original anchor with a chain rises to the sky - it is an interesting monument referring to the shipping traditions of the city. 

3. Sandomierz Castle

Not unlike at Zamkowa Street, there is a castle - an old gothic building from the 14th century, built on the site of an earlier castle, on a high, defensive hill flooded with the waters of the Vistula. During the time of the castle, it was a wooden castle, which in 1138 became a permanent residence of district princes ruling the Sandomierz land. The brick Gothic castle with a defensive tower stood here in the fourteenth century, and was erected by King Casimir the Great himself. 

The chronicler Janko of Czarnków mentions the castle among 32 others built from the king's foundation to strengthen the defense of the country and individual cities. Sandomierz at that time was one of the most important state centers in Lesser Poland. In the 16th century, on the initiative of King Sigismund I the Old, the Gothic castle was expanded into a Renaissance residence. At that time, the southern wing and the eastern wing were created and the construction of the western wing began. The reconstruction was commemorated with an erection plaque with the inscription: "Sigismund, by the grace of God, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenian, Prussian, lord and heir of the year 1520". Another king, Sigismund II Augustus, continued the expansion of the castle, which in the second half of the 16th century formed a quadrangle of the Renaissance castle. 

During the reign of King Jan Kazimierz, in 1656, during the "flood", the castle was blown up by Swedish troops. To this day, only one west wing has survived from the building consisting of four wings. After reconstruction in 1965-86, the castle in Sandomierz became the seat of the District Museum with interesting exhibitions. From below the castle, you can see the church of St. James rising on the neighboring hill, which together with the Dominican monastery is the oldest monument of the city. Looking the other way, you will see the cathedral rising, with the Vistula River in between. 

4. Opatowska Gate in Sandomierz

This is another symbol of Sandomierz next to the Town Hall and the castle. Opatowska Gate is the only preserved city gate, an element of the medieval defense system of the city. Once there were 4 gates in the city, apart from Opatowska, there were also Zawichojska, Krakowska and Lubelska gates. 

They have not survived to this day, while this Opatowska stands proudly and is a trace of the gothic, medieval past of the city. The gate dates back to the 14th century, and in the 16th century it was raised and topped with an attic. Today, there is an observation deck at the top, which is worth using. 

5. Sandomierz underground

The descent to the Sandomierz underground is located on the Market Square, in the Oleśnicki tenement house. The Sandomierz underground is nothing more than the basements of burghers and their merchant warehouses from the 15th-17th centuries, which have been functioning for centuries and are now open to the public. In the past, they served the inhabitants many times also as a shelter from invaders. In the 1960s, the cellars began to slide and on the surface it posed a threat to buildings, the walls cracked, the sidewalks lowered until a small part of the market collapsed. 

At that time, miners from Bytom secured the underground Sandomierz cellars and prepared them for sightseeing. The route stretches under tenement houses around the market square, has a length of about 500 meters and reaches the deepest up to 12 meters below the market plate. While walking along the underground tourist route, you will hear the legend of Halina Krępianka, who tricked the Tatar army into entering here, after which the entrance was buried and in this way the Tatars were defeated. Unfortunately, Halina died in the underground along with the Tatars, but she saved the city 

6. Armoury in Sandomierz

Not far from the Underground Tourist Route, almost on the market square, there is the Knight's Armory of the Knighthood Banner of the Sandomierz Land, led by Łukasz. Not only will you see and hear about weapons and ancient traditions, but you will also put on knightly armor or take a sword, crossbow or halberd in your hand. Ladies can feel like Renaissance or Baroque princesses and wear old dresses and appropriate headgear. 

You can take pictures anywhere in the armory, and you can even find here, among the mysterious rooms, a "torture chamber" with oaks, a pillory and disgrace masks. In the season (IV-X), the armory is open every day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., off-season it is closed. The children will certainly like it here, but older children also have a lot of fun. It is currently one of the most popular attractions in Sandomierz.

7. Pepper Mountains in Sandomierz

In addition to the center of Sandomierz, in the vicinity of Podmiejska Street and Błonie Street, it is worth visiting the ancient mountains, which are part of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. The Pepper Mountains, also called simply Peppermills, is a small but picturesque fragment. It is built by 500 million-year-old Cambrian rocks! This is the only such unveiling in Europe. Perhaps the more appropriate name for this corner is the rose hills, with wild species of roses and a beautiful view of the Vistula River and the old town of Sandomierz. A reserve has been created here, and a red hiking trail leads through it.

8. Queen Jadwiga Gorge in Sandomierz

Queen Jadwiga Gorge is an unusual natural attraction, unparalleled in other places, especially as it occurs in the city center. It is a loess gorge in which you can see extremely interestingly formed roots of old trees protruding above the surface of the sands. Queen Jadwiga Gorge is about 500 meters long and up to 10 meters deep. It is the most beautiful, but not the only gorge in Sandomierz. 

9. Striped flint and Ring in Sandomierz

At Zamkowa Street, you can find an unusual monument in Sandomierz. It stood a few years ago between the Market Square and the castle, under the Municipal Office. It is a large ring with the famous striped flint. The ring "loop" alone weighs 30 kg! And where did such an idea come from? Sandomierz is the "World Capital of Striped Flint", considered the Stone of Optimism. It is here that Cezary Łutowicz has been working for years, and his studio is opposite the ring. He was the first to use striped flint in jewelry. This took place in 1972 and to this stone he is faithful to this day. 

In many places in Sandomierz, also in his studio or gallery on the market, you can buy jewelry with striped flint. Original jewelry is not cheap, so I will tell you that you will get much cheaper on the Small Market Square. At the Regional Museum in Sandomierz Castle, you will see the world's only museum collection of jewelry with this stone, because striped flint is a Polish stone! Interestingly, in September, the Festival of Striped Flint takes place every year on the market square in Sandomierz. 

10. Długosz's house in Sandomierz

At Jana Długosza Street in Sandomierz there is a beautifully maintained gothic building made of red brick, founded in 1476 by Długosz himself - the famous Polish historian, chronicler and canon of Sandomierz. Today, it is the seat of the Diocesan Museum with rich collections - Gothic sculpture, painting, ceramics and textiles. There are many archaeological monuments and interesting architectural elements. Particularly noteworthy are Queen Hedwig's gloves, which are so thin that when rolled up, they fit in the shell of a nut.

11. Sandomierz Cathedral

At the Cathedral Street there is a 14th-century Gothic temple, in which the relics of the Tree of the Holy Cross (in the treasury of the cathedral), donated by King Władysław Jagiełło, are kept. The interior of the cathedral in Sandomierz is spectacular and dressy, with rich sculptural decoration, and from the outside it makes a big impression with its size. Frescoes from the 15th century have been preserved on the walls of the presbytery, and the altars and portals of the temple are made of black marble, decorated with pink marble. 

12. Dominican Gate in Sandomierz

At Zamkowa Street, near the ring, you will see the only preserved gate in Sandomierz, also called the Needle Ear. It is part of the 14th-century fortifications of the city. This is one of the most important tasks for tourists coming to the city, to go through the Needle Ear😉 Then the chance to come back to this place increases! 

13. Cruises on the Vistula in Sandomierz

Cruises on the Vistula River are an interesting, active attraction. Cruises take place in the Old Port, and boats are moored in the marina at the Józef Piłsudski Boulevard, opposite the castle. Among the many boats, it is worth choosing this unique - dubas boat (res. 601-616-446). It is a unique wooden rafting boat, offering an unusual adventure, with interesting stories about places encountered during the cruise. 

The boat is called Sandomierka and will take you on a cruise lasting about 1.5 hours, unless you are interested in a longer trip. Already during this standard one, you will see beautiful panoramas of Sandomierz, you will hear about the mysterious anchor that can be admired today in the town square or you will learn why the ancient mountains rising above Sandomierz are called Pepper Mountains. 

14. Melex rides around Sandomierz

Sandomierz does not have its own carriages, but there are retro meleks around the city, standing on the market. This is a very nice alternative to walking, during the ride you will see the most interesting places in the city and listen to stories about them. If you want, the ride can be combined with visiting selected facilities, this way we really liked it, because without giving up walking, for example, on the ravine, we could see more charming corners of Sandomierz. 

15. Off-road rallies in Sandomierz

And where you can't get by melex, you can get in an all-terrain vehicle. Who needs a road, how can you go for a cross-country trip, experiencing a large dose of adrenaline. In the inaccessible nooks and crannies of Sandomierz and the surrounding area, you will be taken by the Sgt Sandomierz Area Group. We went to the Pepper Mountains. It's a fantastic adventure, the guys have power and will get you out of the greatest oppression 🙂 Strong impressions guaranteed! 

16. Sandomierz Wine Route

The creation of vineyards in the Sandomierz region and the Wine Route refers to the old traditions of the city, when vineyards were successfully cultivated as early as in the 13th century. The current vineyards are young and are just gaining experience, but delicious wines, both white and red or rosé, are already coming out of the hands of the owners, which are largely created naturally. The trail is currently about 60 km long, and we visited the Nad Jarem Vineyard located in the quiet village of Złota, the facility also offers accommodation and the Vistula Vineyard in Sandomierz, wonderfully located at the top of the Pepper Mountains. We recommend enotourism in Sandomierz.

17. Sandomierz Apple Trail

It is known that Sandomierz stands with apples, so it is not surprising that in this land of orchards and picturesque landscapes the Sandomierz Apple Trail was created, associating many objects in the Sandomierz region, divided thematically into appetizing, artistic, wine or agritourism. It is worth getting to know the local flavors with an apple in the main role, traditions and culture, promoted among the former and immigrant inhabitants of this area. 

Special points on the Trail are Vege Point Ani and Jacek Przybyszów in Andruszkowice, with a family guest room in the attic of a 100-year-old house and wonderful hosts who will inspire you to live a healthier lifestyle, Sandomierz Cheese from the Heir in Drygulec, where you will taste and buy delicious cheeses ripened without preservatives, including the great Parmesan, the completely black Zawisza Black cheese and the original Epoch Flint Striped cheese. And like cheeses, so is wine. The King Vineyard in Radoszki, the most natural and "healthy" of Sandomierz vineyards, is also located on the Apple Trail. The next point is Willa Wojtasówka in Obrazów with comfortable rooms and tasty home-made food, you will be surprised by the delicious apple pie "pictorially".

Walking route in Sandomierz

The car can be left in the vicinity of the Opatowska Gate - there is a small parking lot. Passing through the Gate, we head towards the market. We turn left into Szpitalna Street to the Small Market Square - there are charming stalls where you can buy souvenirs. We come to the market, where there are several interesting objects: the Town Hall, the Armoury, the Underground Tourist Route and the World of Father Matthew. 

You can spend a few hours here🙂 From the market square we go down Mariacka Street and a charming isthmus (red trail), i.e. Krótka Street, to see a nice view. Next, we head towards the Długosz House and the Cathedral. Visiting both can take about an hour and a half. From the Cathedral Hill, we enter the Castle Hill. From there, along Staromiejska Street, we approach the Dominican monastery - the oldest monument of Sandomierz with a beautiful view of the castle and vineyard. We descend to the right to the Old Town Gorge (you can also go further along Staromiejska Street to reach the Queen Jadwiga Gorge). 

After crossing the ravine, we follow the stairs up to go towards the market square. We pass through the Needle Ear and it is worth approaching a piece of the ring with striped flint, under the Studio of Cezary Łutowicz. We turn left into the charming Jewish Street. You can stop by the Pantry and buy local organic products. Jewish Street leads near the preserved synagogue and fragments of the city walls. This is how we get to the Opatowska Gate. The walk itself is a little over an hour, but along with sightseeing it can become a whole day.

Where to eat in Sandomierz?

Sandomierz may not be very large, but it is open to tourists and very eagerly visited by them, so you will find a lot of restaurants and accommodation here. Willa Pod Bramą is definitely worth recommending, where you can eat very well, and by the way, you can use the guest rooms upstairs. This restaurant is located just behind the Opatowska Gate, hence its name. 

The historic Pod Ciżemką Restaurant, which additionally offers hotel rooms, invites you to the Market Square. You will taste local specialties such as Sandomierz tuber or delicious, warming Sandomierz tea with alcohol or Świętokrzyskie beer perfect for the heat. Next to the "cheesecake" for coffee and cake, it is worth stopping by the Iluzjon cafe. The youth will feel good in the Lapidarium near the Town Hall. 

Accommodation in Sandomierz

Close to the center of Sandomierz is the Tourist House, where you can spend the night inexpensively and have a homemade breakfast. Outside the center of Sandomierz, you can sleep in Winnica nad Jarem, in a quiet village with a beautiful name Złota or in Villa Wojtasówka on the Apple Trail. While in the Pepper Mountains, you can stop for a delicious apple pie to Willa Dzika Róża. You will eat well in the Manor House on the Wuthering Hill in Przybysławice.

Father Mateusz in Sandomierz

Sandomierz has gained much fame in recent times thanks to the popular series "Father Mateusz" filmed in this city and broadcast in Jedynka since 2008, with Artur Żmijewski in the lead role, Father Mateusz. Everyone knows the scenes of riding a bicycle around the Sandomierz market. While in Sandomierz, you can even see the Skorupski Manor, which was called the Manor of Father Matthew. On the Market Square, in one of the tenement houses, an exhibition related to this series was created. Thus, the authorities certainly helped to promote the city significantly, but they should be applauded for the direction of changes and the well-preserved atmosphere of the historic town, without kitsch and too much commercialism.

Sandomierz - Little Rome

Historic Sandomierz is sometimes called "Little Rome", and this is because, like the Italian capital, it is located on 7 hills, and mysterious underground corridors stretch under both cities. The ones in Sandomierz are available for tourists! When I first visited this city, and it was in 2011, after the great flood of 2010, the city seemed a sad place, traces of flooding were still visible in various places quite clearly, there was a lack of color and joy, and the photos of the cataclysm in a large format, presented on the Market Square, were overwhelming. 

Even then, you could see the undeniable charms of the town, but you had to bring them out, and there were not many tourists. Subsequent visits showed us a completely different picture of Sandomierz. Now this city is full of life, beautifully renovated, decorated with flowers and full of tourists looks great! In addition, it is very well received by most tourists, it is a great success of the city authorities, and it is a great pleasure for visitors to visit this resort!

History of Sandomierz

Sandomierz is one of the oldest cities in Poland! Its history began about 1000 years ago, and the traces of human existence in this area date back much earlier. The location of Sandomierz is convenient, so settlement quickly began here - on the Vistula, the largest river in Poland, on its high bank, without a bridge, but with a shallow ford, with fertile soil and at the crossroads of trade routes.

Early medieval castle

It is difficult to imagine a better location, so the first ducal stronghold was built around the 11th century, fortified with a wooden and earthen rampart. Around the castle, on the neighboring hills, a subgarden with several churches grew up. The subgarden on the Old Town Hill developed best, which became the nucleus of the future city - Sandomierz. Already 900 years ago, Gall Anonymous wrote about Sandomierz as the capital of the Kingdom, next to Krakow and Wrocław. The principality of Sandomierz was even established here, with its seat in the Sandomierz castle. Unfortunately, the fragmentation of the state led to invasions of enemies and thus the Tatars invaded Sandomierz, first in 1241 and then in 1259-60. Then the city was completely destroyed, and the inhabitants murdered and practically the only trace here today is Staromiejska Street.

Sandomierz relocation

The new, more defensive location of Sandomierz, in the area of today's Old Town, turned out to be more durable. Sandomierz, reborn here, regained city rights in 1286, and was granted by Prince Leszek the Black. The city was granted numerous privileges, so it developed very quickly. When King Władysław the Elbow-high liquidated the principalities and established the voivodeships, Sandomierz became the capital of one of them. At that time, Sandomierz was still wooden, so it burned down easily during the attack of the Lithuanians in 1349, but during the time of King Casimir the Great, Sandomierz, already brick, was rebuilt in a form similar to the current Old Town.

Construction of the Town Hall and city walls

The Town Hall stood on the main square - the Market Square, and craft stalls and slaughterhouses were built around it. Wooden houses were adjacent to brick tenement houses, and the whole city was surrounded by brick defensive walls, with towers and four gates. Only one has survived to this day - the Opatowska Gate. Interestingly, narrow pedestrian crossings - the so-called gates - were also created at that time, and one of them - the Dominican Gate, called the Needle Ear, has survived to this day. The entire defensive system was associated with the castle, which was also replaced by a brick building.

Crowned heads in Sandomierz

Crowned heads often visited the Sandomierz castle, it is interesting that Casimir the Great visited here as many as 18 times! At that time, a brick collegiate church was established, bearing a gothic shape to this day. Sandomierz was fashionable at that time and in the following centuries, not only famous Poles lived here, but also Jews, Armenians, Hungarians and Ruthenians settled here. To this day, the Gothic house of Jan Długosz - the famous chronicler - has survived here. It was also here that granaries were built, in which cereals were stored for the winter, and in the spring they were shipped to Gdańsk. To this day, one of such granaries has survived in Sandomierz on the Vistula. Residents also collected goods under their homes, in hollow cellars. This is how the entire system of underground corridors was created, which in some parts are currently available to tourists as an underground tourist route!

Economic stagnation and wars

The golden age of Sandomierz ended with the Swedish Deluge, which ravaged the city like the Tartar invasion many years earlier. In 1656, the retreating Swedish army blew up the castle, so that only one wing remained, churches, tenement houses and granaries were also destroyed. In the following years, the diseases affecting the city contributed and Sandomierz fell. During the partitions, Sandomierz was a border town, so it lost its importance. Due to the lack of finances, the city walls, burned churches and other buildings were demolished. The economic stagnation lasted until World War I, which fortunately bypassed Sandomierz so much that it did not bring further damage. 

In 1937, Sandomierz revived slightly when it became the capital of the Central Industrial District, but the outbreak of World War II stopped all plans. In Sandomierz, mass arrests of the population and shootings began, as well as deportations to forced labor and concentration camps. A ghetto for Jews was established. The Poles took up the fight against the occupier, the liberation came on August 18, 1944. And the arduous development of Sandomierz as a county town began again. Then the action began with the collapsing underground under the Old Town, which fortunately was saved from extinction.

The tourist boom of Sandomierz

Today, Sandomierz has revived its greatness, renovated monuments, charming alleys and popularity among tourists make it a very popular city in Poland. Tourism has become a very important element of this historic resort! There is probably no person in Poland who has not heard about Sandomierz, and more and more tourists visit it in person. Thisis largely due to the popular series Father Matthew.

Where to buy local products?

An interesting fact is that in Sandomierz, on the Market Square and not only, you can buy local products - proziaki, Podpiwek Sandomierski or Cider from apples (the one on the market is not of good quality) from numerous local orchards. Gin and cider are a cool alternative to beer if you don't like the taste of beer. The gin is quite sweet, but pleasant to taste, especially good on warm days. Cider and other local specialties and preserves are worth buying in the Pantry at Żydowska Street. Many local products can be purchased from Hosts, the Apple Trail, and the Wine Trail.

Organized trips to Sandomierz and the surrounding area

You can also visit Sandomierz and the surrounding attractions during organized tours, e.g. with a guide in Sandomierz, you will be joined by a group or you will individually visit the city with a guide only for your own needs, but then, of course, such a service is more paid. You can also buy excursions to many attractions in the area, such as Vinnytsia, off-road rally and other interesting places. Ordering tours online is available here.

See our ranking of the most beautiful cities in Poland with Sandomierz

Sandomierz Film Festival

The Swedish filmmaker who shot "The Monastery at Sandomierz" decided to say about Sandomierz for the first time in 1920. Unfortunately, the photos were taken in Sweden, only against the backdrop of a mock-up of the Sandomierz castle. In fact, he did not appear in the film Sandomierz until 1962, when scenes for the film "Encounter in a Fairy Tale" were shot here. However, it did not contribute to the greater popularization of the city. Only "Father Mateusz", which has been broadcast on TV since 2008, brought the city great fame, thanks to which Sandomierz is recognizable to every Pole. Since then, many amateur films have been made about this city. We also invite you to watch our video about Sandomierz and its surroundings: