The best MTB trails around Barciany

Churches are always worth a visit. They offer travelers a place to relax and rest.

In Wolf's Lair I recommend a tour with an audio guide. Getting there by bike is not easy - especially when it's windy, rainy and thundering.

Probably an extension or storage area of the military muzeum 303 one kilometer to the east, rather than a separate attempt at capturing the lukrative tourists along their way to the Wolfs Lair Nazi bunkers in the neighboring Gierloz forest.

The relatively large, modern central square in the middle of the village has some new picnic tables with rain shelter, lots of bike parking, and a large ice-age boulder with a big bicycle carving. Clearly, this village appreciates and welcomes visitors on bikes.

The church in Czerniki (in the Gothic style) was built at the end of the 14th century on the site of the sacred grove of the Prussians. It is a hall-type building, with a sacristy and a porch on the north side and a tower on the north side. The church was rebuilt in the years 1749-1750 and 1771-1772, in 1886 a neo-Gothic tower was added, while the sacristy and porch were added at the end of the 19th century. After the Reformation, the church in Czerniki became an evangelical church until 1945. The first Holy Mass in Czerniki after the church was consecrated for Catholic worship took place on December 27, 1945. The church was consecrated under the invocation of St. John the Evangelist and Our Lady of the Scapular by Fr. Wacław Radziwon. Necessary renovations were carried out in the church. The main altar was changed - in place of the surviving stained glass window, a crucifix from the end of the 15th century was mounted, the origin of which is unknown.

The basilica, built on the site of a former watchtower from 1359, expanded until the early 16th century, is the best-preserved defensive church in Masuria. Initially, it was a hall-type, single-nave building located in the southwestern corner of the city. Defensive porches and a tower topped with battlements were built in the crown of the walls. At the beginning of the 15th century, a second tower (bell tower) was built, and at the end of the century, the building was rebuilt into a three-nave pseudo-basilica (the northern side nave was added, the central and southern naves are located within the outline of the hall church). After a fire in 1500, during the reconstruction, the existing and characteristic deviation of the church's axis was created. In the church, the following are worthy of attention: the crystal vaults from 1515 by Master Matz from Gdańsk, the 16th-century pulpit, the organs from 1721 (Josue Mosengel, the creator of the organs in Święta Lipka) were rebuilt - the current one from 1975 has 43 voices, the tombstone of Krzysztof Schenk von Tautenburg from 1597 and the prison (entrance from the church) located under the high tower. After the Germans were expelled in 1945, the church was used by the Kętrzyn Evangelical parish. A year later, in 1946, the building was requisitioned by the communist authorities and immediately transferred to the Roman Catholic Church. Since then, the small "Polish church" of St. George, built next door in the mid-16th century, has been the only Evangelical church in the city. As a Roman Catholic temple, the church of St. George has held the title of minor basilica since 22 July 1999, and since 7 June 1992 it has also served as a collegiate church. In the church, the former chapel of St. James served as a baptistery after the Reformation, which after 1946 was architecturally shaped on the model of the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius. Within the preserved defensive walls, adjacent to the church of St. George, there is a former rectory (14th/15th–16th centuries), built in the Middle Ages, and later a pastor's house (16th century – 1817), converted into a gymnasium in the 19th century (1817–1907), until 1945 it functioned as the so-called Widow's House – a place of residence for the wives of deceased priests. The gate at the western façade leads to the area between the walls, where a lapidarium has been arranged, containing a collection of historic tombstones, monuments, epitaphs and cast iron crosses. http://bazylika.ketrzyn.pl https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bazylika_kolegiacka_%C5%9Bw._Jerzego_w_K%C4%99trzynie

The building that once housed the headquarters of the Masonic Lodge Drei Thore des Tempels (Three Gates of the Temple). In the years 1860-1864, a neo-Gothic building was erected on the site of the former moat, which was to become a new meeting place and activity of the Masonic Lodge. The initiative for the construction was taken by Master Anton Brillowski, who wanted to create not only a headquarters for the Masonic Lodge, but also a true masterpiece of architecture. The lodge building was designed on a rectangular plan, and its main characteristic are four octagonal turrets that decorate its corners. The pentagonal projection with a staircase also adds a unique charm to the building. The entire structure was inspired by late English Gothic, which gives it a unique character. The Masonic Lodge in Kętrzyn, called "Drei Thore des Tempels" (Three Gates of the Temple), was established on October 9, 1818 and was part of the Grand National Lodge of the Prussian State. Its members, called the Masonic Brotherhood, met regularly in the lodge building to jointly develop their spiritual and intellectual horizons. The lodge was disbanded in the 1930s due to a decision by the authorities of the Third Reich. Its assets were taken over by the city of Kętrzyn, and the lodge building was used for various purposes over the following decades. After the dissolution of the Masonic Lodge, the building in Kętrzyn served various functions. In the post-war period, it housed the Cultural Center and the "Bajka" cinema, which were important cultural centers for the city's residents. However, with the passage of time, the building required renovation and some transformation. In 1999, thanks to the efforts of local communities and financial support, the former building of the Masonic Lodge was thoroughly restored. Currently, it serves as the headquarters of the Arno Holz Association for Polish-German Understanding, which brings together pre-war residents of Kętrzyn of Polish-German origin. In addition, the building also houses a branch of the Municipal Public Library and a charming café where you can relax and enjoy coffee specialties. The building of the former Masonic Lodge in Kętrzyn is not only an important element of the local architectural landscape, but also a testament to the history and culture of this region. Although the Masonic Lodge ceased to exist, its legacy remains alive in the memory of the residents of Kętrzyn, and the building itself is a tourist attraction. https://mazury.com.pl/atrakcje/budynek-dawnej-lozy-masonskiej-w-ketrzynie

Faily new greek-orthodox Church