Every design for Świdnica

Świdnica was famous for its beer in the Middle Ages, so much so that taverns called Świdnica Cellars served it in Wrocław, Kraków, Prague and Pisa – and the one in Wrocław is still open. The town was recorded as early as the eleventh century and later became the capital of a principality ruled by a local line of the Piasts.

It lies on the Świdnica Plain beside the Bystrzyca river, at the foot of the Sudetes and the Wałbrzych Mountains, and is the most densely populated town in Lower Silesia. Life here moves between a preserved Old Town, its Gothic and Baroque churches and the industries that keep the place working. The Muzeum Dawnego Kupiectwa, the only museum of old-time trade in Poland, suits a town that grew rich on markets, while the Katedra św. Stanisława i św. Wacława stands among the old streets and the Ławeczka Marii Cunitz invites you to sit down for a while.

The great draw, though, is the Kościół Pokoju w Świdnicy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a church like no other – worth carrying with you on a shirt.