Lublin
The Lublin Region is located in mid-eastern Poland along the state border with the non-EU countries – Belarus and Ukraine. Within the country the region is bordered by the Subcarpathian, Masovian, Świętokrzyskie and Podlachian Voivodships. It occupies an area of 25 155 sq km stretching between the Vistula and the Bug rivers. The biggest cities of the region include: the regional capital city of Lublin, Zamość, Chełm and Biała Podlaska.
The Lublin Region is easily accessible by means of road transport. The nearest airports are situated in Warsaw, Rzeszów and Krakow, and the regional airport is under construction. Lublin has regular railway connections to all major Polish cities and direct trains to Berlin and Kiev. Tourists wishing to visit neighbouring Ukraine or Belarus can use road border crossings in Hrebenne, Sławatycze, Dorohusk and Zosin.
Having been for centuries a borderland between eastern and western cultures, the Lublin Region features a stunning richness of cultural heritage and traditions – a testimony to its multicultural and multinational history. The capital of the region is Lublin, a city with 700 years of complex history manifesting itself in Old Town architecture, the wealth of Jagiellonian traditions and multicultural heritage. The Lublin Region features such magnificent sights as the 14th-century Gothic chapel at the Lublin Castle lavishly decorated with Russo-Byzantine frescoes, the park and palace complex in Kozłówka with a fabulous interior decor museum, historic Kazimierz Dolny, the Pearl of Polish Renaissance – Zamość, and unique underground chalk tunnels in Chełm.
The traditions of the Lublin Renaissance greatly influenced the town planning designs of many regional towns, its prime example being Zamość included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Charming little towns, like Kazimierz Dolny, appeal to tourists with scenic vistas and bustling artistic life. Splendid palaces, manor-houses and residences erected by the Polish nobility and landed gentry are reminders of the wealth and status they once enjoyed. Places such as the park and palace complex of the Radziwiłł Family in Biała Podlaska, the Sapiehas’ palace in Kock and the Czartoryskis’ residence in Puławy are definitely worth a visit. Established by the Zamoyskis family, the park and palace complex at Kozłówka is now a well-known museum and home to a collection of socialist realist art.
The regional panorama would not be complete without impressive defensive architecture featuring old fortifications, castles, watchtowers and strongholds. The most gruelling chapters in the history of Europe are commemorated by memorials at the former concentration camps in Majdanek, Sobibór and Bełżec, being grim mementos of the turbulent past.
An unspoilt natural environment of great richness and diversity is one of the main assets of the Lublin Region. Nearly a third of the Lubelskie Voivodship is subject to special environmental protection featuring 2 national parks, 17 landscape parks, 17 specially protected landscape areas and 83 nature reserves. In the northern part of the voivodship lie the Podlachian and Masovian Lowlands and the Polesye Region, while the southern part is located on the Lublin, Volhynia, and Roztocze Uplands and the Sandomierska Basin.
Rural landscape in the Lublin Region features many villages where old pastoral traditions, local customs and crafts are still cultivated and preserved from oblivion. Countless festivals, fairs and cultural events offer an unmissable opportunity to admire folklore and handcrafts, and taste delicious regional cuisine.
The most interesting spots of the Lublin Region are linked by a number of marked walking routes (together over 3000 km) and cycling ones (800 km). The region can also be seen in more unusual ways, such as canoeing rallies or walks along nature paths, which often lead through protected areas.
