Culture / Museums

Castle in Lublin

Address: Zamkowa 9 Street, Lublin

Webpage: www.zamek-lublin.pl

Description

The oldest relics remain on the castle hill are only donjon – a valuable Romanesque architectural monument raised in the 13th and the Church of the Holy Trinity erected in the second half of the 14th century, called the Chapel of Lublin Castle which ranks among the most precious and interesting monuments of Medieval art not only in Poland but also in the European context. It is a relic where the two great cultural traditions of the East and the West meet and mingle. The interior of this Gothic chapel was covered in 1418 with magnificent Russo-Byzantine murals in Eastern style and technique . It was here, within the castle’s walls, that Parliament held its sessions in 1569 to sign a momentous act of union with Lithuania, known as the union of Lublin. In the wars of the 17th c. the castle fell into disrepair.

In the XIXth. new buildings were erected on the site in English neo-Gothic style, to house a criminal prison till 1954. Since 1957 it has been the main seat of Lublin Museum, the institution which was first established in 1906. It continues to be multi-departmental and has the total number of items in its various collections. The various buildings of the museum are high class historic monuments. In 2001 Lublin Museum was awarded an honorary tile of ‘Ambassador of Lublin Voyvodeship’ in recognition of its role in national and international promotion of the region of Lublin.