Discover Brieg (Brzeg)

Chapel, town hall and the history of church architecture

At the St. Hedwig Castle Chapel in Brieg, at least 43 members of the ducal family are buried. The town hall is a well-preserved Renaissance building. In its grand hall on the first floor of the south wing, the larch-wood ceiling was given its impressive design in 1646.

The Holy Cross Parish Church also tells the story of several building phases at the same site: the present-day church was built between 1734 and 1739. Before that, a Dominican monastery with a Holy Cross Church stood there and remained in existence until 1545. Together with the town hall and castle chapel, this architectural history offers different starting points for a city walk, without requiring you to focus on just one period in the city’s history.

City routes and wall paintings

Tourist walking and cycling trails run through Brieg. These include the Brzeski Polychromy Trail, which highlights Gothic wall-painting landmarks. The first tourist route passes, among other places, the amphitheatre, Central Park and the “Brat Ledy z łabędziem” fountain. Other stops include St. Nicholas Church, the town hall, the Holy Cross Church and the castle.

This makes it possible to combine two interests when finding your way around: those mainly interested in architecture will find churches, the town hall and the castle included in the route description; those interested in Gothic wall paintings can explore the Polychromy Trail as a separate theme. These routes give you specific destinations to explore without prescribing a walking time or a particular itinerary.

Brzeg as a broader travel destination

In the broader travel destination of Brzeg, the Old Town is listed in the heritage register of the Opole Voivodeship. The entries listed are decisions No. 132/54 of 23 October 1954 and No. 622/59 of 13 November 1959. Brzeg’s historical heritage also includes the Castle of the Silesian Piasts, with its Renaissance gate and St. Hedwig Castle Chapel: it was declared a Monument of History by a decree of the President of the Republic of Poland on 10 December 2018.

The green spaces also help visitors find their way around the broader travel destination of Brzeg: the city has six parks covering more than 90 hectares in total, including four parks in the centre. The parks are home to around 150 tree and shrub species from Europe, Asia and North America. Juliusza-Peppela Park, formerly called Freedom Park, was established between 1901 and 1905 and is the largest park in Brzeg.

All parks in Brzeg are open to visitors. Modernised paths make them accessible by wheelchair, scooter and bicycle; some paths are lit at night. Check the condition of the paths before your visit. To reach the broader travel destination of Brzeg, you can take the A4 motorway, rail connections or national roads 39 and 94. The A4 can be accessed via the Przylesie junction, exit 190. Check route details before travelling.

Other places at the same broader level

If you would like to include other destinations at the same broader level, you can find Borkowice, Pisarzowice, Grodków, Sulisław and Kopice here.

For the broader travel overview: Brzeg.