Attractions and Places To See around powiat kętrzyński - Top 20

On the way to the lost place. There will soon be a way inside. Unfortunately, I was a bit too early.

The castle in Barciany is an impressive example of Gothic Teutonic architecture from the 14th century, located on a small hill surrounded by former marshes. Although it lacks tall towers, it has retained its massive shape and defensive character, making it an interesting testimony to the evolution of monastic castles. After the war, it served economic functions and is currently closed to visitors, although its silhouette can be admired from the outside. The castle is easy to reach by bike, it is worth planning a short stop here for photos and to learn the history of the place.

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

Święta Lipka, although a small village in Kętrzyn County (Reszel commune), is known throughout Poland, thanks to the famous Marian Sanctuary. The Święta Lipka Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, together with the cloister and monastery, is a Baroque monument. Since 2018, it has had the status of a historical monument. The beginning of the cult of the Mother of God in Święta Lipka dates back to the early 14th century. According to legend, a prisoner sentenced by the court in Kętrzyn placed a figure of the Mother of God on a lime tree, and thanks to the prayers offered to her, he was pardoned. Since then, pilgrims have been coming to the village not only from Warmia, but also from further afield, e.g. from Warsaw, Białystok, and even Vilnius.

Well restored 14th century castle (founded as Ordensburg Rastenburg), now a museum and a library

great city and definitely worth a trip

great city and definitely worth a trip

There is a restaurant in the castle courtyard - good food, decent beer.