Editor’s note: I truly love when our amazing writer Sam Spector does a series on a country I haven’t visited yet, and really don’t know much about. I hadn’t even known Lublin existed before reading this piece, and now it is on my future Poland itinerary. For more of Sam’s writing, click here to visit his index page. And be sure to click the links in the article to read his pieces on those places.

When it comes to Poland, most tourists only know two cities, Warsaw and Krakow (and perhaps Gdansk if you are on a cruise). However, there is a prominent city near the eastern border of the nation that is worth spending a day or two and is a good midway point between the two more notable cities I mentioned before. Lublin (pronounced Loob-lin, not like Dublin) is the 8th largest city in Poland (and the largest city east of Warsaw) and shares its name with the province it is in. The city’s population is around 350,000 with almost a third of its population (100,000) being university students. While not on the tourist path as much as Warsaw, Krakow, and Gdansk, there is something beautifully authentic about the city, though it is a little more challenging to get by on just English here. Lublin is also in the area that was the Pale of Settlement region and Galicia, making the area particularly rich in Jewish culture and history. The city rose to prominence as it was on the route between Krakow (formerly the medieval capital) and Vilnius in Lithuania, as well as being close to Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia, and right on the Vistula River.

When staying in Lublin, try to stay in the Srodmiescie (downtown) area, which is where its best attractions are located. Lublin’s most iconic landmark is its castle, which looks similar to those in the Milan area, as it was remodeled in the 17th century in an Italian Renaissance style. The short hill going up into the castle and the Old Town give a good view of the modern city below. Initially used as the royal residence in Lublin when the Polish monarchy was passing through, this castle was used in the 19th and 20th centuries as a prison by the Russians when they annexed the area, and then by the Nazis as a prison and place of torture during World War II. Following the war, as communism swept through Poland, the castle was used to torture Stalin’s detractors until it was closed in 1954. While there, check out the chapel and the 15th century Byzantine artwork.

After leaving the castle, you will likely go through Grodzka Gate, which dates to the 14th century, but was rebuilt in the late 18th century. This gate used to separate the Jewish part of town from the rest of the Old Town. Prior to World War II, about a third of Lublin’s population was Jewish (nearly 45,000), but only 10% survived the war. Inside the gate is an exhibition about the Jewish history of the town and its eventual liquidation. The other medieval gate to the Old Town is Krakow Gate, which is also beautiful. In the Old Town, the primary street with shops and cafes is ul. Krakowskie Przedmiescie, which starts off at Krakow Gate.

In the Old Town, a couple of 16th century Renaissance buildings to check out are the Crown Tribunal building, which today hosts events, but once was important politically, and the bright red Lubomelski Tenement, which today is a museum showing how the elite lived in medieval Lublin. The exterior walls of the Renaissance buildings in Lublin’s Old Town are painted with various designs and Renaissance artwork. Throughout the Old Town you will also see pictures of goats and a handful of bronze statues of goats. Each of the bronze statues has its own name and reflects a different period of heroism in Lublin’s history. The goat is the symbol of Lublin when, according to legend, a Tatar invasion occurred in the 13th century, and a bunch of children hid in a ravine. While there, the children were sustained and survived due to a goat providing its milk. In the Old Town, a common meeting place is Po Farze Square, a historic square built on the remains of a 13th century church, where you can still see the foundation of the excavated ruins. On a warm summer evening, being in the Old Town is a real treat.

As mentioned, Lublin is a place rich in Jewish history, which, like elsewhere in Poland, has been tragic. In the outskirts of town, only about a 10 minute car ride away is the Majdanek Concentration and Death Camp. Of the 155,000 people who came through this camp, mostly Jews, but also Poles and political prisoners, 78,000 perished here. While many do not know of Majdanek compared to more notorious camps like Auschwitz (click here to read about Auschwitz), it was one of the main death camps and a place of horrors. When I took a group here, many told me they appreciated this site more than Auschwitz as it gave a better sense of what the camp was originally like and was less touristy and a museum than Auschwitz. Be prepared to do a lot of walking here. Upon arrival at Majdanek is a monument that is imposing and rough meant to look like a barbed wire fence, showing the separation between the camp and the outside world. After a drive, you will arrive at the camp itself. It is an expansive site and right away are the gas chambers. These are smaller and are different than those at Auschwitz and separated by sex. People would go in thinking they were changing rooms, but turned out to be gas chambers. Connected to the gas chambers were delousing rooms and actual showers for those who were not put to death. In visiting the camp, you will be able to enter communal latrines and barracks as well and see the terrible conditions that people were kept. Further up a hill, past guard towers, is the crematorium. Outside of this building, tens of thousands were murdered in mass shootings in ditches. At the crematorium, the commander of the camp’s depravity is on full display as there is a bathtub in the crematorium. He would sit in this bathtub while bodies were cremated and have the heat from the crematorium heat the bath for his personal enjoyment. By the ditches where the shootings took place is another massive monument, designed to look like a giant urn. Inside of there are the ashes of tens of thousands of those killed at Majdanek, who namelessly were interred there. This monument, like the other one, was designed in the 1960s, giving it an older appearance. On it states the ominous words, “Let our fate be a warning to you”, a reminder of the importance of learning from history. Majdanek is a powerful and moving place, and while it is often overlooked by others in favor of Auschwitz, it is different and should be visited, if nothing else to bear witness and remember what occurred here.

Sadly, with all of the focus on the Holocaust, it is often overlooked that Poland had a vibrant Jewish history and culture. In the Lublin area there are numerous places to visit to be reminded of this, such as Chelm just north of Lublin, which was a place legendary in Jewish folklore, and Kazimierz Dolny about an hour west of Lublin. Kazimierz Dolny is a charming town of 3500 people on the Vistula River. It has become popular among Israelis and Jewish groups, but also Poles who wish to go and see a romanticized version of what the Jewish community once was. Kazimierz Dolny is a fantastic example of what shtetl life once was. For those unfamiliar with what a shtetl is, there used to be thousands of these little towns in the region that were predominately Jewish, relatively poor, and rural (think the town of Anatevka in Fiddler on the Roof). Kazimierz Dolny has a beautiful medieval square, old houses, and a prominent Catholic church in the town square. There is a museum that shows off the metalwork done in the town for people of different faiths, and that is neat to check out. In the Jewish area of the shtetl is an old synagogue that has been turned into a museum. There is a beautiful photography exhibition of the Jewish life of Kazimierz Dolny before the Holocaust, showing traditional Jews fetching water from the river and working the fields. Outside of the synagogue are numerous places to buy souvenirs and art, an art gallery, a museum of a prominent local family, and several traditional Ashkenazi Jewish restaurants. Eating at one of these restaurants in Kazimierz Dolny is a must to get the full experience and ambiance of the town and to transport yourself further back into shtetl life.

If you go to Poland (which you absolutely should), you will most likely go to the tourist gem of Krakow, the tragic site of Auschwitz, and the wonderful museums of Warsaw. However, if you want to go a bit off the beaten path and experience authentic Poland with all its charm, as well as its sorrow, you will not regret putting Lublin and the surrounding area on a couple days of your itinerary.

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