Old City of Zamość

Zamosc was founded in the 16th century by the chancellor Jan Zamoysky on the trade route linking western and northern Europe with the Black Sea. Modelled on Italian theories of the 'ideal city' and built by the architect Bernando Morando, a native of Padua, Zamosc is a perfect example of a late-16th-century Renaissance town. It has retained its original layout and fortifications and a large number of buildings that combine Italian and central European architectural traditions.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/564

The Old City of Zamosc is a planned town from the Renaissance with blended Central European and Italian architecture. The city was built from 1582-1591 by the Paduan architect Bernando Morando, on the instructions of chancellor Jan Zamoysky. He named it after himself.

The new town was populated by merchants from all nationalities, religious tolerance was shown to attract people and an academy was founded.

The town also had an imposing fortress, of which now only little survives. It was built between 1579 and 1618, also by Zamoysky and Morando.

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/site.php?id=564

Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines

The deposit of rock salt in Wieliczka and Bochnia has been mined since the 13th century. This major industrial undertaking has royal status and is the oldest of its type in Europe. The site is a serial property consisting of Wieliczka and Bochnia salt mines and Wieliczka Saltworks Castle. The Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines illustrate the historic stages of the development of mining techniques in Europe from the 13th to the 20th centuries: both mines have hundreds of kilometers of galleries with works of art, underground chapels and statues sculpted in the salt, making a fascinating pilgrimage into the past. The mines were administratively and technically run by Wieliczka Saltworks Castle, which dates from the medieval period and has been rebuilt several times in the course of its history.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/32

The Wieliczka Salt Mine is an example of a well organized, large industrial establishment. The evolution of the mining processes since the Middle Ages is perfectly illustrated here, due to the conservation of the old galleries and the exhibition of tools used. 

First references to the winning of salt in Wieliczka were made in 1044. Salt was the most important economic commodity in Poland during the Middle Ages. The mining of salt quickly became a government monopoly. 

Technological progress turned the Wieliczka Salt Mine into a modern business enterprise in the 16th century. Machinery was being used to improve productivity, and the search for new salt deposits took the miners lower and lower underground.

The production of salt here ceased only in 1992 due to a heavy flooding. 

The Salt Mines of Wieliczka were on the first World Heritage List ever, publicized in 1978. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/site.php?id=32

Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski

A landscaped park of 559.9 ha astride the Neisse River and the border between Poland and Germany, it was created by Prince Hermann von Puckler-Muskau from 1815 to 1844. Blending seamlessly with the surrounding farmed landscape, the park pioneered new approaches to landscape design and influenced the development of landscape architecture in Europe and America. Designed as a ‘painting with plants’, it did not seek to evoke classical landscapes, paradise, or some lost perfection, instead using local plants to enhance the inherent qualities of the existing landscape. This integrated landscape extends into the town of Muskau with green passages that formed urban parks framing areas for development. The town thus became a design component in a utopian landscape. The site also features a reconstructed castle, bridges and an arboretum.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1127

Muskauer Park / Park Muzakowski is a mid 19th century landscape park. It covers 3.5 square kilometres of land in Poland and 2.1 in Germany. The park extends on both sides of the Lusatian Neisse river, which constitutes the border between the countries. 

The founder of the park was Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau (1785-1871), the author of the influential Hints on Landscape Gardening. He was the owner of Bad Muskau since 1811. After prolonged studies in England, in 1815 he founded the Park. As time went by, he established an international school of landscape management in Bad Muskau and outlined the construction of an extensive landscape park with the focus on 'improving' nature. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/muskauerpark.html

Wooden Churches of Southern Małopolska

The wooden churches of southern Little Poland represent outstanding examples of the different aspects of medieval church-building traditions in Roman Catholic culture. Built using the horizontal log technique, common in eastern and northern Europe since the Middle Ages, these churches were sponsored by noble families and became status symbols. They offered an alternative to the stone structures erected in urban centres.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1053

The Wooden Churches of Southern Malopolska are medieval Roman Catholic Gothic churches built in the horizontal log technique.

The listed churches in Malopolska are:

1. The church of the Archangel Michael (Binarowa)

2. The church of All Saints (Blizne)

3. The church of Archangel Michael (Debno) (on the postcard)

4. The church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Archangel Michael (Haczow)

5. The church of St. Leonard (Lipnica Murowana)

6. The church of St. Philip and St. James the Apostles (Sekowa) 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/southernlittlepoland.html

Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine

Situated in the eastern fringe of Central Europe, the transnational property numbers a selection of sixteen tserkvas (churches). They were built of horizontal wooden logs between the 16th and 19th centuries by communities of Orthodox and Greek Catholic faiths. The tserkvas bear testimony to a distinct building tradition rooted in Orthodox ecclesiastic design interwoven with elements of local tradition, and symbolic references to their communities’ cosmogony. The tserkvas are built on a tri-partite plan surmounted by open quadrilateral or octagonal domes and cupolas. Integral to tserkvasare iconostasis screens, interior polychrome decorations, and other historic furnishings. Important elements of some tserkvas include wooden bell towers, churchyards, gatehouses and graveyards.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1424

The Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine comprises 16 wooden churches built by horizontal log construction. They are located in isolated parts of the Carpathian Mountains. They were built by communities of the Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic faiths in the 16th-19th centuries.

The 16 churches can be divided into four groups of different ethnographic architectural traditions. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/woodentserkvas.html

Medieval Town of Toruń

Torun owes its origins to the Teutonic Order, which built a castle there in the mid-13th century as a base for the conquest and evangelization of Prussia. It soon developed a commercial role as part of the Hanseatic League. In the Old and New Town, the many imposing public and private buildings from the 14th and 15th centuries (among them the house of Copernicus) are striking evidence of Torun's importance.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/835

The Medieval Town of Torun is a well-preserved example of a trading city from the 13th and 14th centuries. The town was an important element in the trading network of the Hanseatic League.

The World Heritage Site consists of three parts: the Old Town, the New Town and the Castle of the Teutonic Order. The authenticity of the medieval town center is highly praised.

Torun also is the birthplace of the astronomer Copernicus (1473). 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/torun.html

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: the Mannerist Architectural and Park Landscape Complex and Pilgrimage Park

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is a breathtaking cultural landscape of great spiritual significance. Its natural setting – in which a series of symbolic places of worship relating to the Passion of Jesus Christ and the life of the Virgin Mary was laid out at the beginning of the 17th century – has remained virtually unchanged. It is still today a place of pilgrimage.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/905

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, south of Krakow, is a landscape park and a pilgrimage site. The layout was designed by Feliks Zebrowski in 1604. It intended to represent the landscape of Jerusalem at the time of Christ. It's an example of a so-called Calvary (a man-made landscape symbolizing the stages that led up to Christ's crucifixion), of which many were built in Europe in the 17th century. 

The site includes a total of 44 buildings, among them many diverse chapels. It was named after its founder, Mikolaj Zebrzydowski, at the time governor of Krakow. The distances between the chapels here are longer than in Jerusalem itself, but within the same proportions. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/kalwariazebrzydowska.html

Historic Centre of Warsaw

During the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944, more than 85% of Warsaw's historic centre was destroyed by Nazi troops. After the war, a five-year reconstruction campaign by its citizens resulted in today's meticulous restoration of the Old Town, with its churches, palaces and market-place. It is an outstanding example of a near-total reconstruction of a span of history covering the 13th to the 20th century.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/30

The Historic Centre of Warsaw is a near-total reconstruction of a city center from the 13th to 20th centuries.

Warsaw was razed in August 1944, during World War II, by Nazi occupation troups. About 85% of the city had been destroyed, including the historic Old Town and the Royal Castle.

After the war a reconstruction campaign resulted in the rebuilding of monuments like the Cathedral of St John and the Town Market Square.

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/warsaw.html

Historic Centre of Kraków

The historic centre of Cracow, the former capital of Poland, is situated at the foot of the Royal Wawel Castle. The 13th-century merchants' town has Europe's largest market square and numerous historical houses, palaces and churches with their magnificent interiors. Further evidence of the town's fascinating history is provided by the remnants of the 14th-century fortifications and the medieval site of Kazimierz with its ancient synagogues in the southern part of town, Jagellonian University and the Gothic cathedral where the kings of Poland were buried.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/29

Cracow's Historic Centre holds Europe's largest marktesquare and numerous medieval buildings. Cracow was on Unesco's first World Heritage List, publicized in 1978. This city in the south east of Poland was founded in 1257. The formidable town square dates from the same year. 

Until 1609 Cracow was the Polish capital, when it was moved to the more central Warsaw. This important role in Polish history is symbolized in the Royal Wawel Castle, a site of royal coronations and royal sepulchres. 

Cracow also has one of the world's oldest university buildings and the Kazimierz district containing many Jewish memorial sites. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/cracow.html

Centennial Hall in Wrocław

The Centennial Hall, a landmark in the history of reinforced concrete architecture, was erected in 1911-1913 by the architect Max Berg as a multi-purpose recreational building, situated in the Exhibition Grounds. In form it is a symmetrical quatrefoil with a vast circular central space that can seat some 6,000 persons. The 23m-high dome is topped with a lantern in steel and glass. The Centennial Hall is a pioneering work of modern engineering and architecture, which exhibits an important interchange of influences in the early 20th century, becoming a key reference in the later development of reinforced concrete structures.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1165

The Centennial Hall in Wroclaw is a multi-purpose recreational building that is a landmark in the history of reinforced concrete architecture. It was built in 20 months during the years 1911-1913, when the city (then named Breslau) was part of Germany. The Hall had the largest dome of the world of its time, with a diameter of 65 meter (50% larger than the size of the Pantheon). The use of steel and concrete for such a large construction was considered both revolutionary and daring, and officials and workers were concerned for safety issues.

The Hall was built to the plans of Max Berg. An important city like Wroclaw felt the need to have a prestigious location to hold exhibitions and fairs. So the Centennial Hall was built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of victory over Napoleon in the Liberation Wars of 1813-15. The core area also includes the exhibition grounds of Wroclaw, and therefore (like the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne) is an outstanding example of modern recreational architecture. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/centennialhall.html

Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork

This 13th-century fortified monastery belonging to the Teutonic Order was substantially enlarged and embellished after 1309, when the seat of the Grand Master moved here from Venice. A particularly fine example of a medieval brick castle, it later fell into decay, but was meticulously restored in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of the conservation techniques now accepted as standard were evolved here. Following severe damage in the Second World War it was once again restored, using the detailed documentation prepared by earlier conservators.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/847

The Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork is an architecturally influential brick castle complex built by the Teutonic Knights. 

Malbork Castle was founded by the Teutonic Order after the conquest of Old Prussia. Its main purpose was to strengthen their own control of the area following the Order's 1274 suppression of the Great Prussian Uprising of the Baltic tribes.

Malbork (or Marienburg in German) was built from the late 13th century by the Knights, who controlled at that time the Baltic coast. From 1309 Malbork was the Order's headquarters.

The castle is the largest brick building in Europe, and possibly in the world. It has kept its original Medieval design. 

Following major damage during World War II, Malbork Castle was extensively rebuilt and restored. The Castle is now a museum.

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/malbork.html

Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940-1945)

The fortified walls, barbed wire, platforms, barracks, gallows, gas chambers and cremation ovens show the conditions within which the Nazi genocide took place in the former concentration and extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest in the Third Reich. According to historical investigations, 1.5 million people, among them a great number of Jews, were systematically starved, tortured and murdered in this camp, the symbol of humanity's cruelty to its fellow human beings in the 20th century.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/31

"Auschwitz Birkenau - German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940-1945)" was the principal and largest of the concentration camps that were erected by Nazi Germany for the Final Solution. Located in southern Poland, it took its name from the nearby town of Oświęcim (Auschwitz in German). 

Auschwitz I, the original concentration camp, served as the administrative center for the whole complex, and was the site of the deaths of roughly 70,000 people, mostly Poles and Soviet prisoners of war. Auschwitz II (Birkenau) was an extermination camp or Vernichtungslager, and was the site of the deaths of at least 960,000 Jews, 75,000 Poles, and some 19,000 Roma (Gypsies). Birkenau was the largest of all the Nazi extermination camps. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/auschwitz.html