Brzesko: City History, Pilgrimage Routes and Bocheniec

Brzesko brings together urban architectural history, places of religious remembrance and a distinctive hill. You can therefore choose different focuses when deciding where to go: the town hall and regional museum represent cultural history, Bocheniec combines landscape with archaeological heritage, and Szczepanów adds pilgrimage history and ecclesiastical art to the picture. The routes also provide their own guidance for planning your trip.

City History and Buildings

Brzesko’s town hall stands in the market square. This eclectic building was constructed in 1909–1910, and its four-storey tower defines its appearance. The Jewish cemetery offers another way to explore history: it was entered in the register of monuments in 1992. The Regional Museum in Brzesko displays two bourgeois interiors, landscapes, portraits and local historical memorabilia. The range therefore extends from urban architecture and cemetery history to domestic interiors, images and the memory of local history. The Church of Saint James the Apostle in Brzesko is also a historic building; its oldest part dates from the mid-15th century.

In Okocim, the heritage of the brewery and palace park shapes the area’s architectural history. The Brzesko–Okocim Brewery’s urban and architectural complex, the surrounding buildings and the adjacent Goetz-Okocimski family palace and park complex were established from 1845 onwards and expanded through the 1930s. The palace itself was built in 1898–1900 in the Neo-Baroque and Neo-Rococo styles. It is surrounded by an English landscape park dating from 1900, where native and exotic trees and shrubs grow. The development of the buildings and the design of the park can therefore be viewed as distinct but related aspects of the area’s heritage.

Bocheniec: Landscape and Archaeological Heritage

At 394 metres above sea level, Bocheniec is the highest point in the Brzesko area. The eastern rampart remains of a Wiślan hillfort dating from the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries have been preserved here. The rampart remains are about four metres high and 18 metres wide at the base. Those interested in archaeological heritage will find a tangible historical link to the hill here, while its elevation also characterises the area’s landscape.

A 25-metre-high, six-storey observation tower opened on Bocheniec in October 2023. Check before your trip whether a visit is currently possible. This lets you plan the stop without assuming that the tower is accessible today just because of its opening date.

Pilgrimage Routes and Discovery Route Stops

The Via Regia pilgrimage route runs from Brzesko via Jasień Brzeski and Brzeźnica to Bochnia. The Szlak wokół Brzeska is a waymarked walking trail.

Szczepanów also brings together religious history and specific artistic and commemorative sites. Pope John Paul II elevated the parish church there to the status of a minor basilica on 6 September 2003. A late-15th-century triptych is housed in the southern side chapel of the old church building. The Pantheon of Saints in Szczepanów is also a stop on the discovery route through the municipality of Brzesko. In Mokrzyska, the natural monument “Romeo i Julia” is one of the route’s stops; the Pavimentum Copernicanum in Brzesko is also a stop. Along these named routes, you will encounter religious and cultural heritage as well as a natural monument.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Mokrzyska, Brzesko, Czchów, Uszew, Szczepanów, Łysa Góra, Iwkowa, Biesiadki, Połom Mały.

For the main travel overview: Lesser Poland.