Złotów: City History and Lakeside Routes

Architecture Through the Centuries

The Działyński Palace was built around the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries in the Neoclassical style, with landscaped grounds. In the 1830s, at the initiative of the Hohenzollerns, it was remodelled to a design by the Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The building thus brings together both its original design and a later transformation.

Beside the former Evangelical Church of St. Stanislaus Kostka stands the red-brick building of the former courthouse. It dates from 1866. The Neo-Gothic Church of St. Roch was built in 1904. Nearby are a disused Evangelical cemetery with a lapidarium established in 1998, and a military cemetery for soldiers who fell in the 1945 battles for the Złotowszczyzna region.

Civic buildings, too, tell of different functions and periods: The building at 5 Domańskiego Street dates from 1905, has an Art Nouveau façade, and housed the headquarters of the Fifth District of the Union of Poles in Germany. The town hall was built in 1914 to a design by Adolf Behr. Together with the palace and churches, this selection offers various points of interest if you are interested in Złotów’s architecture and history.

Places of Remembrance, Art and Collections

The outline of the synagogue destroyed in 1938 is marked on Plac Paderewskiego. Another place of remembrance is the Piast Kołodziej Monument: it has stood in front of the district administration building since 1957 and is described as the only one of its kind in Poland. These places have different points of focus—from a visible marker in a square to a monument with a distinctive name passed down through the years.

The main altar of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary features the painting “Koronacja Najświętszej Marii Panny.” Paulus Hack painted the altarpiece in 1666. The Muzeum Ziemi Złotowskiej holds archaeological, historical and ethnographic collections relating to Złotów and the surrounding area; less than half of its holdings are on display. Together, a specific work of art and collections covering various aspects of the city and its surroundings offer complementary perspectives.

Routes by the Lake and in Green Spaces

The 4 km pedestrian and cycle promenade runs alongside Jezioro Miejskie, which covers about 47 hectares. You can walk or cycle around the lake. Along the promenade are a wooden footbridge over the Głomia and a viewing platform with views of the city skyline. It also connects the lakeshore with the Półwysep Rybacki. There you will find a plant maze and information boards about the city’s history, the noble families that ruled in Złotów, and archaeological finds.

Five educational trails marked with information boards wind through Zwierzyniec Park: Poznawcza, Żabia, Łowiecka, Leśna and Dendrologiczna. Another way to connect the city and green space is the Szlak Złotowskiego Jelenia. Its nine stops and twelve information boards lead through the Old Town towards Zwierzyniec, a park-like woodland and leisure complex that is also the seat of the Złotów Forest District. When planning your trip, you can choose between lakeside paths, marked educational trails and a route with stops in the Old Town.

Whether you are mainly looking for historic buildings, art and places of remembrance, or routes by the water and in green spaces, Złotów offers several distinct themes. The places and routes mentioned here give you a basis for weighing up your interests for your stay and then looking for suitable accommodation in Złotów.

Discover more destinations: Zakrzewo, Łąkie, Skórka, Jastrowie, Radawnica, Okonek, Głomsk.

Go to the main travel overview: Flatow.