Walking around Rzeszow

Rzeszów, the cultural and industrial centre of Podkarpackie, can take pride in its varied history. We would be pleased to invite you for a stroll along the city streets, and to bring you closer to the story of the Rzech borough. 1. We begin our trip in the very heart of the old town, in the market square. Like all market squares, it was once the main area of trade. Below the square, traders hollowed out cellars which played a dual role: not only were they for storing goods, but also a shelter for local people in wartime. At present, there are guided tours of the renovated cellars, during which we can be introduced to the secrets of the Podkarpacie capital. 2. When we exit the cellars, we will find ourselves in front of the Museum of the History of the City of Rzeszów, situated in tenement house no 12. There's an exhibition here detailing Rzeszów's over 600-year-history. There's also a display of local handicrafts, Jewish goods, historical records and photos, as well as mementos connected with well-known locals. 3. Heading east, we find ourselves facing one of the shortest streets of the city, Przesmyk Street. Up till WWII this street was believed to be so insignificant that it didn't even have a name. The entranceway to this street, the façade of tenement house no 2, is decorated with a frolicsome little blue duck. At Cichociemni Square you can admire a sculptre “Passage 2001” by Józef Szajna, famous director and stage designer born in Rzeszów. 4. In the building complex on the eastern frontage of the market square there are only three tenement houses. In the first two, no 13 and 14, there stands a comfortable hotel. An interesting nugget of history, on the other hand, surrounds tenement house no 15, known as Baldorff’s House. As legend has it, Estera, Kazimierz the Great’s Jewish mistress, lived there. In the 18th century the building became the property of Jacob Baldorff, valet of the Lubomirski Prince. 5. The northern frontage of the market is the most resplendent of all. It used to belong to the wealthiest locals. In this part of the square the most notable is tenement house no 19 known as “Dom Polonii” (The House of Polish Emigrants). Its history stretches back to the Middle Ages. In the 18th century a new floor was built on the top of the medieval building. Under the house, there are cellars, a significant part of which reach beyond the building’s façade, creating the so-called perron. At present it is part of the Underground Tourist Route. 6. While walking through the market we notice a historical well. On its pinnacle, there's a plate stamped 2002 – the date its reconstruction. 7. The next stage of our route will take us towards the southern frontage. In house no 6, on the other hand, there is The Francis Kotula Etnographic Museum. It holds a fine collection of folk art and culture exhibits. 8. On the building’s façade there is a commemorative plaque, which informs us about the history of the Tadeusz Kościuszko monument under German occupation. The monument was erected in the market square in 1887. The commander-in-chief of the insurrection is depicted here in a heroic pose, and at his feet the Polish Eagle is rising to fly. The monument, which was damaged by war, was reconstructed in the 80’s by Piotr Kida. 9. We stand below the most magnificent edifice in the market square – The City Hall. It has undergone numerous alterations since its creation in the 16th century by the contemporary city owner, Mikołaj Spytek Ligęza. It was not until the 19th century that the building was given its present classicistic shape. Then another floor was built and the edifice was widened. The southern wall, on the other hand, was adorned with a Gothic staircase and stained-glass windows, which depict portraits of the greatest people connected to Rzeszow, such as: Stanisław Maczek, Władysław Sikorski, Mikołaj Spytek Ligęza, or Jerzy Lubomirski. The city hall interiors are decorated with heavy ceilings and ornamental paintings. In its renovated cellars, there is today the “Galeria pod Ratuszem” (The Gallery below the City Hall), where occasional exhibitions are held. In the City Hall interiors there are a few plates commemorating crucial events in the city’s history, such as the city expansion, Pope John Paul II's visit, and the dedication of the city to the Virgin Mary. On the second floor there is a contemporary painting depicting the act of the city's founding, January 19, 1354. In the picture, Kazimierz the Great is granting its knight, Jan Pakosławic, the Rzeszów coat of arms, which symbolizes the act of handing the city to its new steward. 10. Leaving the City Hall and heading towards 3 Maja Street, on the corner of Słowackiego and Kościuszki Streets, on our left there's a tenement house which prides itself in its interesting history. In the 19th century it used to serve as the “Pod Różą” hotel (Under the Rose). In the mid century it used to be a crowded meeting place for city folk. It was even visited by Ignacy Łukasiewicz – inventor of the oil-lamp - then an apprentice in the Edward Hűbel pharmacy in Rzeszów. 11. Kościuszki Street is the oldest in Rzeszów. From the city’s very beginning, it has linked the market square with the parish church. At the mouth of the street (known as Farna Street at the time) there used to be a gate called Oak Gate and, later, the Castle Gate. In 1894, to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the Kościuszkowski insurrection, the street was given its present name. 12. The end of the street is embellished with the St Stanisław and St Wojciech Parish Church. This is by far the oldest church in Rzeszów, dating back to the 15th century. The church owes its present form to numerous reconstructions of this originally Gothic temple. After a fire in the first quarter of the 17th century, Spytek Ligęza undertook reconstruction of the site. In the 18th century the main altar was also reconstructed, and the temple as a whole was given a baroque décor. The stone portal situated at the entrance to the sacristy is from the 15th century. On the presbytery’s northern wall there are three sepulchral monuments of the Rzeszowski Family. The central spot has been reserved for the collective gravestone of the Rzeszowski family, which is believed to be the work of Santi Gucci, on which there are, among others, female busts depicting Urszula and Elżbieta Rzeszowski in widow’s attire. To the right, in a deep niche, there is a torso of a knight, presumably Jan Rzeszowski, the city’s first owner. Near the church, there is a baroque belfry. It was once crowned with a slender dome, topped with a street lamp. The dome was given its present shape by Marcin Borelowski, a well known local artisan. 13. To the east of the church lies Farny square. In its northern part there is a monument, which was reconstructed 1992, of the war of independence hero, colonel Leopold Lis-Kula (“Lis”, meaning “Fox”, is the pseudonym the colonel adopted in the Rifle Club). The original monument, unveiled in 1932, was destroyed by the Nazis. Rzeszów citizens only managed to recover the head, which at present can be found in the Rzeszów History Museum. 14. Within view from the monument, on a wall of a tenement house, stands a mural copy of an 18th century city plan drawn up by Wiedemann, who imprinted the shapes of the buildings in Rzeszów in the year 1762. The city, surrounded at the time with embankments and water channels, was concentrated around the market square and the present 3 Maja Street. Nearly half of its area constituted residences of the Lubomirski Family. The mural was commissioned to celebrate the city’s 650th anniversary. Nearby, there proudly stands a Viennese tobacconist's, a kiosk built in Vienna at the beginning of the previous century. Originally, these shops were used exclusively to sell tobacco. This tobacco shop is very precious, as this type of kiosk hasn't even been preserved in Vienna itself. At present, it serves as an ice-cream parlour.Opposite the kiosk, there is the main post office building, which also has an interesting past. In the 60's The Signaller’s Club (Klub Łącznościowca) used to be there, where hopeful future stars of Polish entertainment and music made their debuts. There were, among others: Mira Kubasińska, Tadeusz Nalepa and Stan Borys. 15. When visiting the Old Town, it would be impossible to miss the city’s main promenade – 3 Maja Street, with an over 350 year-old tradition. It used to be named Pijarska Street after a Piarist Monastery located there. In the year 1828, it was given the name “Herrengasse”, which means “Pańska” (The Lord’s) Street – locally referred to as “Paniaga”. After independence it was given its present name, 3 Maja. It is also worth mentioning that in the 18th century this promenade looked much different. For example, the street was layered with fir tree logs, so that the Lubomirski Family could make it comfortably to Sunday mass at The Church of Saint Cross, where they used to own a private gallery. The Street wasn't covered with paving-stones until the beginning of the 20th century. In Galician times, the most affluent citizens lived there. Then, it used to be the meeting place for Rzeszów’s patrician ladies, who used to enjoy strolls along the promenade. 16. Among the buildings situated here, the piarist complex deserves special attention. In the middle of the 16th century the third piarist establishment in Poland was set up in Rzeszów. The newly built church was then called “the prince’s church”, since it had a representative function for the city owners. Hence, at the entrance to the temple, there is a foundation plate and their Szreniawa and Junosza Coats of Arms. One of the most memorable events in the history of the church was the visit of King Jan Sobieski III. The king, in March, 1684, thanked the citizens of Rzeszów for their participation in defense during the Siege of Vienna. Moreover, it would be worthwhile to visit the Regional Museum located in building no 15 on 3 Maja Street. Here we will find, among others, the following permanent displays: Porcelain and Faience from 17th to 20th century, Ancient Folk Sculpture, The Gallery of the Polish Painting, The Dąmbski Gallery, The Armed Action of the Polish Soldier in the years 1914-1945, and many others. 17. The remaining route will take us along Zamkowa (Castle) Street towards the Lubomirski Family estate. On the left, behind a decorated gate, there is an enchanting little palace called the summer palace. It was erected at the turn of the 17th and 18th century according to a design by Tylman of Gameren. The palace is an example of the residential architecture in the spirit of the French Baroque. It is arranged on the projection of the letter “H”, with one storey in the middle part. On the niches, above the windows, there are busts the Lubomirski family members depicted in the attire of the Roman senators. In the time of Joanna of the Stein Family (J.I. Lubomirski’s wife), the palace held numerous balls and receptions. She maintained animated contacts with the Saxon court, whence, in the middle of the 18th century, Rzeszów was often called “The Little Dresden”. It needs to be added, that in the thirties of the 20th century it used to be the home of the Grotowski family. The director and reformer of the theatre, Jerzy Grotowski, was born here. 18. The next part of our route, along the Lubomirski Castle, will lead us along the picturesque avenue under the chestnut trees. It originated in the 19th century as a promenade and for building exclusive houses. Three villas in the art nouveau style have remained from the genuine building complex. The eclectic villa, no 6, has traces of the Baroque vogue. Villas no 8 and 9 were built according to the design by T. Tekielski, in Swiss style. Villa no 9, Under an Owl, considerably taller than the others, was meant to resemble a small castle. Its façade is adorned with a sundial. Just behind the villas, on one of the forsaken plots of land, there are ruins of the kordegarda of the baroque garden, which used to constitute part of the Lubomirski summer palace. 19. The castle, which is surrounded by a deep moat, is situated in the place of the late Lubomirski residency, which was destroyed at the beginning of the 20th century due to safety hazards. Only the gate tower and bastion pinnacles have been preserved in their original form. The first defensive construction was probably built here as early as the 16th century. From 1637, the castle belonged to the Lubomirski family. Later it was taken over by Austrian authorities and adapted for court and prison purposes. At present, the castle is the seat of the regional court. 20. Finally, as a way of ending our tour, we recommend a popular promenade along the Wisłok river. Here you can admire diverse bird species and near the dam you might also find beavers. The dam itself is most pleasant at night, when it is colourfully lit. This walk will be best remembered if you take a picture in front of the monument to the ferryman – Stanisław Nitka, situated near the footbridge on the Boulevards. Before bridges were built, there were ferries crossing the river. The last ferry for many generation belonged to the Nitka family, who were called “The Admirals” in Rzeszów.

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