Every design for Przemyśl

Przemyśl is the second-oldest city in south-eastern Poland after Kraków, a fortified settlement of the Lendians long before borders took their present shape. It grew at the Przemyśl Gate, where mountains give way to lowland, on the navigable San, and trade routes have crossed here ever since.

The city has a layered, almost watchful feel, as if it remembers being fought over by Poland, Kievan Rus and Hungary. The Zamek Kazimierzowski belongs to an Old Town listed as a Historic Monument of Poland, and the great fortress, once the third largest in Europe, is remembered at the Muzeum Twierdzy Przemyśl. Below, the river runs through fertile country, and the border with Ukraine lies close by.

Then there is the Ławeczka Józefa Szwejka, the bench of the good soldier Švejk. Sit down beside him and you will see why this city is worth carrying with you.