Must-see places
The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was consecrated in 1144, rebuilt many times, and until this day preserved its primary Romanesque elements of architecture. In the Royal Chapel lies the sarcophagus of two rulers of Poland - Władysław Herman and Boleslaus the Wry-Mouthed . In the vestibule - a replica of famous bronze Romanesque Płock Doors made for the Płock Cathedral about 1154 in Magdeburg. Rich wall paintings by Władysław Drapiewski are worth noting.
The Benedictine Abbey and a fragment of the castle with Noblemen’s and Clock Towers are opposite the Cathedral. The Diocesan Museum is located here with a treasury where truly unique exhibits were placed, among others, a herma of St. Zygmunt from the 14th century, a chalice of Conrad of Mazovia dating back to the 13th century or Gothic monstrances Apart from cathedral, in the second building of the museum are, among others, archaeological collections and a collection of about 100 kontush sashes.
Plac Narutowicza (Narutowicz Square) - is the former Canonical Market, filled with the city's historical buildings. Among them are Dom pod Trąbami (House Under Horns), from the turn of the 14th and the 15th century - a former canonry and seminar with a coat of arms of Horn on the top. Today in the building Catholic organizations and associations have their own registered office and in the cellar you will find a restaurant.
Odwach from 1837, a former guard house of Russian troops. The attempt to overtake it started the January uprising in Płock. It is currently the registered office of PTTK (Polish Tourism Association). In front of the Odwach lies the plate of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
At Plac Narutowicza (Narutowicz's Square) 8, in the Gothic canonry, the TNP (the Scientific Society of Płock) is located, one of the oldest such societies in Poland (1820) and next to it, canonry from the 18th century is now the seat of the bishops of Płock. This is exactly where Pope John Paul II stayed overnight during his pilgrimage to Płock in 1991. The splendid building of today's courts (6 Narutowicz Square) is the former Pałac Biskupi (Bishop's Palace).
The historical Canonical Market is closed the Dom pod Opatrznością (House of Providence) built in 1830, the seat of the Zielińscy Library Płock Scientific Society The library has valuable literature, among others, a thousand years old manuscript, containing the Latin text from the biblical Book of Wisdom, autographs of famous people, among others, Adam Mickiewicz and Tadeusz Kościuszko and rare prints such as "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" - the work by Copernicus from 1543. The library is in possession of the only collection in the country of Goya's 80 graphics "Los Caprichos".
Tumska Street – a representative promenade with historical tenement houses, among which distinguished is the old English Hotel with a beautiful Neo-Gothic gate (at Tumska 9). In June during Dni Historii Płocka the promenade attracts both the inhabitants and tourists with the Jarmark Tumski (Tumski Fair).
At number 8, in the restored Art Nouveau tenement house, there is a Mazovian Museum with the greatest Art Nouveau collection pieces in Poland. Note-worthy works include, among others: Wyspiański, Wyczółkowski, Laszczka, Malczewski and Lalique. In the museum, the new Art Deco collection grows bigger and bigger every year. In the new building, next to the Art Nouveau tenement house, a new multimedia exhibition entitled "X centuries of Płock" was opened for the visitors". Ethnographic exhibits can be admired in a different part of the museum, located in Spichlerz (Granary) (at 11 b Kazimierza Wielkiego Street).
Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Marsz. St. Małachowskiego (The Marshal Stanisław Małachowski High School) is considered to be the oldest school in Poland. The wing of the school originating from the 13th century and a 15th-century Gothic tower with an astronomical observatory hav been preserved. There is a School Museum in "Małachowianka" high school, with relics of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. Among the eminent students of this school were, among others, Ignacy Mościcki - President of the Second Republic of Poland and Tadeusz Mazowiecki - the first Prime Minister of the Third Republic of Poland, traveler Tony Halik and Jan Zumbach - the commander of the legendary No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron.
Grodzka Street is one of the oldest municipal tracks originating from the 13th-century. It used to connect the old Canonical Market to the Old Market Square. The street is dominated by Neoclassicist tenement houses from the 19th century. In one of them, at number 5, lived Stefan Themerson, an avant-garde writer and film maker. Grodzka Street is Płock inhabitants' favorite one, with the greatest number of bars, pubs and pizzerias in the city. At number 2, in a Baroque tenement house, Stanisław Staszewski lived, the father of the well-known vocalist, Kazik, leader of the band "Kult".
God's Mercy Sanctuary, a holy place with the picture of the Merciful Jesus and the relics of St. Faustina can be found a few dozen meters from the Małachowianka, in the monastery of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Heavenly Mother of Mercy. This is where, on 22 February 1931, the Saint Sister Faustina Kowalska had a vision of Merciful Jesus. A museum was opened on 25 August 2005, on the hundredth anniversary of the nun's birthday, in the old bakery where she worked. An authentic furnace for bread baking has been preserved and in the neighboring rooms kitchen equipment and Faustina's monastic cellar have been reconstructed with many keepsakes and documents.
The Old Market Square never sleeps In the past, it housed inns, taverns and the richest stores. In the middle of the market square there was a Gothic town hall with a tower. In front of it there was a Gallows Pole, where sentences were performed on the convicted. The tenement houses around the market square date back to the turn of the 18th and 19th century. One of the oldest is a Baroque tenement house from the end of the 17th century (at Stary Rynek 17). At number 8 House Darmstadt is located, the former Berlin Hotel, where the German writer and composer E.T.A. Hoffman, the precursor of Romanticism in Europe, lived.
Built in the 1820s, the Town Hall, was the place of the last meeting of the Sejm of the Polish Kingdom in 1831.In 1998, the historical building was modernized and the Old Market Square was rebuilt. A modern, illuminated fountain stands there now.
A great attraction for tourists is the bugle-call played live and the scene of knighting Boleslaus the Wry-Mouthed's, presented on the Town Hall Tower right after the bulge-call at 12:00. From spring to autumn, the market is the place of many cultural events and in the winter an ice rink serves as the main attraction.
St. Bartholomew's Parish Church, with a Gothic origin (1356), stands next to the town hall. In the 18th century, the church was rebuilt, and the entrance facade in the Baroque style was added on the side of the Old Market Square. The gem of the parish church is an early Baroque altar, dating back to 1640. In 2006, under the presbytery, two crypts originating probably from the first period of functioning of the church and slightly later the primary entrance to the temple (at the place of the present presbytery) and Gothic-Renaissance windows were discovered. The bell-tower, standing at the parish church since the beginning of the 17th century, is also interesting.
The Cathedral and the monastery of the Mariavites, constructed in the early 20th century, in the Neo-Gothic style are a few hundred meters away from the Old Market Square at 27 Kazimierza Wielkiego Street. In the monastic room where the foundress of the Mariavite church, St. Maria Franciszka Kozłowska, used to live, a Memory Chamber was arranged. In the cellar of the temple, the tombs of St. Maria Franciszka and three mariavite bishops are located. Every year, on 15 August, for the Marian celebrations Mariavites from around the world come to Płock.
At Kazimierza Wielkiego Street you should also visit two preserved granaries, originating from the 19th century. In the restored facilities the following are presently located: The National Archives and the Ethnographic Department of the Mazovian Museum. Every year, in August, at the square at the granaries Archaeological – Ethnographic Picnic takes place, where, among others, the medieval craft is presented and knight fight shows take place.
The house of Władysław Broniewski at 4 Kościuszki Street . In the family house of the outstanding poet the Teacher's House is located now, and in one of halls keepsakes of the well-known Płock resident are kept. On the courtyard a branchy oak grows, which had appeared in Broniewski's poems. Slightly further, at the Plac Obrońców Warszawy (The Defenders of Warsaw Square), stands the monument of the poet from 1972, built according to the design of Gustaw Zemła. In the collections of the Zielińscy Library copies of a secret magazine "Młodzi idą" were preserved, edited by Broniewski – a student the Płock "Jagiellonka", with his early poems.
Kamera pruska (Kriegs-und Domänen Kammer), at 15 Kolegialna Street. A Classicistic building from 1802, built by the Prussians for their administrative and treasury authorities. The name of street comes from the historical name of the facility - Collegien Haus. In front of the building stands the monument of the Marshal Józef Piłsudski who honoured the city of Płock with the Cross of Valour for the heroic attitude of its inhabitants in the defensive war in the 1920. Apart from Płock only Lvov was honoured in a similar way.
The Municipal Zoological Garden, at Norbertańska 2, is one of Poland's top zoos. In the summer season, you can get there by the Tumska Ciuchcia (Steam-engine train). The ZOO it is a real magical garden with inhabited by more than 3,500 animals, including giraffes, lions, penguins (who have their special walk) as well as the smallest monkeys in the world – tamarins and marmosets. Children love the mini ZOO with a herb garden. The educational pavilion is worth visiting, with the greatest collection of reptiles in Poland and the oldest 80-year old alligator, which acted in the "Hydrozagadka", movie by Andrzej Kondratiuk, as well as a real jungle full of tropical flora species and animals-snakes, turtles and butterflies.
The Tumskie Hill with vantage points of the Vistula River and its second bank is a place from which a beautiful panorama and magnificent sunsets can be seen and after dusk you can see the wonderfully illuminated bridge. The historical road-railway crossing is illuminated in three colours, referring to the city flag colours: yellow, red and blue. The heavy steel structure, overwhelming at daytime, at night delights with its lightness. This is the longest colourful bridge illumination in Europe (690 m).
The night panorama of the Tumskie Hill with beautifully lit monuments and a modern spaceship shaped amphitheatre are also bound to captivate you. In 2008, after a thorough reconstruction and roofing it gained a new appearance and became a place of many interesting cultural events.
The Sobótka Lake - is truly unique with the lake created in the old river beds - a municipal lido with a beach at the foot of the Płock slope, near the center of the city. Sobótka is known as one of the cleanest lidos in the Mazovia region. It is also the place where Polish national rowing competitions and beach volleyball tournaments take place. It can be reached by car through a concrete road. At the boulevard at the Vistula the passenger Rusałka boat and fast motor boats moor It is worth going for a ride on the Vistula River or on a walk on the new pier to admire the charming – both during the day and in the evening, panorama of the Tumskie Hill.
A tour on the original Tumska Ciuchcia (Steam-engine train) is the offer for everyone who wants to see the monuments of the Płock old town.
In the rhythm of festivals
From spring to autumn the amphitheatre, the beach at the Vistula River and the Old Market Square are filled with music. Thousands of fans come to Płock for the festival of electronic music Audioriver, Letni Festiwal Muzyczny (Summer Music Festival), Piknik Cygański (Gypsy Picnic) or Pożegnanie Lata (Farewell to Summer). Entire families take part in Dni Historii Płocka (Płock History Days) and Piknik Lotniczy (Air Show). The constant group of supporters and television transmission accompany the Festival Piękna (Beauty Festival) - elections for the Miss Polski (Miss Polonia) and Miss Nastolatek (Miss Teenager). A summer Art Market also has its supporters, it is an interesting combination of street performances with jazz and "open air" cinema.
Culinary
The Old Town offers food which is not only tasty but very varied. Apart from the numerous pizzerias it is worth tasting different flavors. "Arturo" at the Old Market Square 2 offers Italian cuisine. "La Petite" at 9 Grodzka Street specializes in pancakes. In "Karczma pod Strzechą" at Grodzka 12 we will eat pierogi and other old Polish dishes, Polish cuisine can be also found in the "Art Deco" at the Old Market Square 17. The lovers of the Jewish cuisine should visit "Estera" for kreplah, potato kugel and mefarka Beer fans should consider accepting the invitation of "Browar Tumski" (Tumski Brewery) where freshly brewed beer is served. It is brewed in historical cellars which are over 350 years old.
