Every design for Świecie

Have you ever seen a lowland town that looks as if it belongs in the hills? Świecie sits on the west bank of the Vistula where the Wda flows into it, and the moraine upland drops so steeply towards the water that the place has the air of a mountain town. Its name comes from the Polish verb świecić, to shine, and it lies in Kociewie, in historic Pomerania.

The Zamek Krzyżacki w Świeciu is the town's signature. The Teutonic Order built it after taking the old Pomeranian stronghold, and it was from here that Henryk von Plauen set out to defend Malbork after the Battle of Grunwald. Around it, the Zespół Parków Krajobrazowych nad Dolną Wisłą protects the river landscape, while the town keeps a preserved market square, buildings in every style from Gothic to Neo-Gothic, one of the oldest psychiatric hospitals in Poland and the region's only Museum of Firefighting. A former royal town, Świecie prospered where the Amber Road met the route to Warmia, Masuria and Lithuania. The Głaz Świecki and the Park 800-lecia complete the picture.

If you know the view from the high bank down to where the Wda meets the Vistula, this map is for you – take Świecie with you wherever you go.