Bedzin Castle
Castillo de Bedzin
Bedzin Castle (ul. Świerczewskiego 15 Bedzin) — located in the town of the same name, this castle goes back to the 14th century. A previous wooden fortification existed here, but was burned down by the Mongols in 1241. In 1358, Casimir the Great (1333-1370) replaced that structure with the current (still-standing) stone-based one. At the time, this castle existed to protect the Polish border from invasions by the Germanic Silesians. The castle was again attacked at a later time, by Swedish forces in 1655 — partially destroying it in the process (with restorations made sometime after).
The castle is now the site of Zaglebie Museum (complete with a section covering its history, as well as housing displays of armaments from the Middle Ages to World War II, and an exhibit detailing the area’s military history). Admission: 10 ZŁ (regular)(palace or castle), 6 ZŁ (reduced)(palace or castle); 18 zł (palace & castle)(regular), 10 zł (palace & castle)(reduced); (Note: admission to the palace refers to “Palace Mieroszewskich”). Hours: 9 am – 4 pm (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday), 8 am – 4 pm (Wednesday), 9 am – 5 pm (Saturday).
About Polonia
Polonia
Poland is best known for its place in history as being a country under constant occupation from one foreign force or another. A large Eastern European country that was wedged between two powerful countries during the 20th century (Germany and Russia), Poland was ruled by local monarchs (the Jagiellonian dynasty) for much of the Middle Ages. Decisive changes fell upon Poland by 1795, when after a series of devastating conflicts and weakened government, three powers partitioned Poland: the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Austrian Hapsburg monarchy.
For the first time in hundreds of years, Poland gained independence after World War I, and enjoyed such status until 1939, when a rising Adolf Hitler and his Nazi German regime invaded the country. The Nazis fought the Soviet Red Army on Polish soil through periods of World War II, but not before atrocities were committed upon the local population (particularly against the Jews).
With the Russians eventually succeeding in driving the Nazis out of Poland, it made that country into a Communist satellite state (People’s Republic of Poland). The Polish people endured decades of such rule, until the collapse of Communism (helped along by the local pro-democracy “Solidarity” movement), which brought back democracy to that country in the early 1990s. Since then, Poland became a member of NATO and the European Union (EU). Fortunately for Poland, it has become one of the healthiest economies in post-Communist Eastern Europe. Interestingly, despite its membership in the EU, Poland has yet to adopt the Euro as that country’s official currency (opting to maintain its local currency, the Zloty (ZŁ), for the time being).
Due to Poland’s turbulent history in recent centuries, there are a number of tourist sites that foreigners are interested in seeing – from those built during the medieval period to World War II. That partly explains why tourism accounts for 6% of Poland’s GDP (in 2012). Visitors from Germany, the Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Lithuania, and the UK act as the majority of Poland’s tourists.
