A crossroads between the East and the West, Lublin is a city where different cultures and religions have coexisted for centuries. Warsaw is around 170 kilometers away. Less than 80 kilometers east stretches Ukraine, less than 100 kilometers northeast is Belarus. Today, in this place of hidden courtyards, art galleries and cultural centers. An artistic revolution is well underway.

Lublin centers on a cobbled Old Town (Stare Miasto) of restored facades, as pretty as Prague’s. A cache of pre-war photographic plates discovered at the Café Trybunalska are on display on buildings across the Old Town. They afford an evocative glimpse into its past. At the time of taking the pictures, Lublin was an important Jewish hub of trade and culture, as it had been since the 15th century.

The community, centered on a Jewish Quarter at the foot of Castle Hill, perished during the Holocaust. A dark moment in the city’s history. The past is far from forgotten, but today the city is looking forwards, and to a future where culture will play a crucial role.

With its five universities, Lublin is very much a student town, brimming with energy and life. The entire city threw its heart and soul into a bid to become European Capital of Culture 2016. Although Wroclaw was the eventual winner, Lublin’s art scene still benefited.

Between East and west

For many ages on the borders between Western and Eastern Europe Lublin played an important cultural role. Centuries ago, trade and diplomatic activity crossed here. Today the city is a meeting place of artists, scientists, students and business people. When in 1317 Lublin obtained civic rights, it strengthened its place among the important towns of Poland and Europe. The Lublin Fairs attracted merchants from the Caucasus and Black Sea regions, Lithuania and Russia.

In 1569 the Lublin Union treaty was signed, binding Poland and Lithuania into a one body state in existence until the end of the 18th century. During this time king Stefan Batory established the Crown Tribunal. This was the gentry’s highest court. In 1918, after almost 130 years of occupation, the Temporary Government of the Republic of Poland was formed in Lublin.

It gave birth to the modern state, and establishment of the Lublin Catholic University. One of the most significant social movements of the 20th century, ‘Solidarity’ began in Lublin and nearby Świdnik. Here, a month before the strikes in Gdańsk and Szczecin, the workers of Lublin demonstrated against the Communist Party.

Under the one roof of the town

Lublin through centuries has given a noble example of tolerance. The town was home toy Jews, the Rusins from Belorussia, Ukraine, Lithuania, the native inhabitants of these lands, Protestants, Catholics and other nationalities. Podzamcze, an Old Town district, was the place of the Jews and an international intellectual center of Jewish culture.

From 1554 a Jewish printing-house functioned here. From 1567, the famous Wisemen Academy and from 1580 the Parliament of the Four Lands, the main Jewish legation of the 1st Republic of Poland, and the rabbi ,lived here. During the era of the Reformation (17th century) next to the Catholic parish, Calvinist and Arian temples existed.

Religious debates resolved in a spirit of tolerance and science. The religious wars, which haunted Europe, bypassed Lublin. The Russ community has written an interesting chapter in the town’s history. In 1588 there was the formation of the brotherhood of the Orthodox Church.

The St Trinity Castle Chapel, decorated with Russian-Byzantine fresco's, is the visible symbol of their power. This also goes for the Orthodox Church belonging to the community of the eastern church. In the biggest necropolis in Lublin, cemeteries of all religions are next to each other. The old Jewish Cemetery is on Grodzisko Hill. In contemporary Lublin you feel the openness and friendliness at every step.

Lublin Poland History inscribed in stone

It's worth starting a tour of Lublin at the Tower of the Trinity, with its view of the picturesque Old Town spread over four hills. Czwartek (Thursday), Grodzisko (Old settlement), Zamkowe (Castle) and Staromiejskie (Old-Town). Here you will find a stone defensive tower.

It's the oldest historical site (dating back to the 13th century) and the symbol of the long history of the town. Lublin Castle, built in the Neo-Gothic style (1828) on the ruins of a former king’s castle, was a prison until 1954.

This is a place where many thousands of Polish people were murdered during World War II and the years of Stalinist terror, 1948-1954. Currently the Castle is in use by the Lublin Museum. Lublin Old Town is the best preserved Medieval town in Poland.

Across an area of 7 ha on a hill, there are 100 historic mansions and other important buildings. The way to them is through the Krakovian Gate (14th century). This is the cultural symbol of Lublin and the seat of the Museum of the History of the Town. In the Old Town Market stands the classical Old Town Hall, once the seat of the Crown Tribunal.

It's surrounded by mansions dating back to the 15th century. Each one of them is a separate history book written on facades, gates, windows, yards and basements. Underneath the Old Town, there is an underground tourist trail, leading through the basements of former merchants’ stores, wine cellars during the various epochs in the history of the town.