Once, important trade center. Now, an art center and picturesque touristy town. Located on the bank of Vistula river and surrounded by loess gullies it offers not only historic architecture but also beautiful unique nature.

The history of Kazimierz Dolny dates back to 12th century but the peak development period was in 16th and the beginning of 17th century. The town was located on the main river trade route and the grain trade let local merchants amass great wealth.

In the 14th century first Jewish people settled down in Kazimierz Dolny and in the end of 19th and the beginning of 20th century they constituted half of the local population.

In 1657 the town was occupied by Swedish army during Deluge. Later wars, fires, plunders and plague completely destroyed Kazimierz Dolny and it never regained its former greatness.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Kazimierz Dolny became the favourite spot for painting en plein air for art schools professors and students, and tourist traffic was developing.

In World War II the Jewish community was killed and the town was ruined. It was reconstructed after the war and it preserved its renaissance urban plan and appearance. It is still an art center and popular tourist destination. The above photo I made at 8 o’clock and the below photo in March, while it was pretty cold. During the day in nice summer weekends it is full of tourists.

I’m not a big fan of architecture and monuments but Kazimierz Dolny has something special. Something what prompted me once to spend there a night and get up early in the morning to just walk around while it was quiet and empty, and take a look at this town.

One of places worth to see in Kazimierz Dolny, beside historic houses and the church, is the castle from 14th century.

I encourage also to climb the hill – Góra Trzech Krzyży (Three Crosses Mount) where you can see a picturesque view on the whole town and Wisła (Vistula) river. Perfect place for a sunset.

And last but not least – loess gullies. Surrounding of Kazimierz Dolny is a region with the biggest density of loess gullies in Europe and probably the most beautiful of them lies just about 2 km from this town. “Root gully” (“wąwóz korzeniowy”) – my favourite place in this region.

You can get there following blue trail from Kazimierz Dolny. You can also find it in Google Maps, searching “Korzeniowy Dół”.

It’s not a long gully, only about 500 m but everywhere you look, it’s great. Few metres high walls, orange-yellow color of ground and trees which make you wonder how it’s possible they hold on. It’s magical!

There is also another one gully close to this one – “Norowy Dół” but that one isn’t so amazing.

How to get to Kazimierz Dolny?

Kazimierz Dolny is located about 2 hours by car from Warsaw and 1 hour from Lublin. You can also get there easily by bus – find connection on e-podroznik.pl.

Another possibility is to take a bike :) This is the best choice, because in this region there are also other places worth to see and if you like mountainbiking, gullies in Kazimierz Landscape Park can be a great fun for you. There are train stations in Puławy and Nałęczów, and also from Lublin or Dęblin you can make great biking trips. I will describe it in more details in my next post :)

Now see how amazing is Kazimierz Dolny.