Attractions and Places To See around Siemiatycze - Top 20

The Church of St. Nicholas is an Orthodox parish church in Drohiczyn. It belongs to the Siemiatycze deanery of the Warsaw-Bielsko diocese of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The church is located on the market square – Tadeusz Kościuszko Square. The church represents a classicist style. Built in 1792, funded by Konstancja née Kuczyńska and Jakub Ciecierski, it was dedicated to St. Nicholas, a Uniate church for the Basilian monastery. After the Uniate parish church (also dedicated to St. Nicholas) burned down in 1806, services were moved here. In 1826, it was handed over to the Uniate secular clergy. In 1839, following the Synod of Polotsk, the church was seized from the Uniates and placed under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church by the Russian partitioning authorities. After the fall of the January Uprising, the church was rebuilt around 1870 to give it a more Orthodox appearance. As a result, the exterior was topped with three additional onion-shaped bell towers, while the interior was modified and a new interior was created, including by removing the side altars, organs, and pulpit.

The ferry crossing on the Bug River connects its northern bank below Drohiczyn with the southern bank near the village of Bużyska, Korczew commune

Franciscan Church in Drohiczyn, dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – according to the monastery tradition recorded in 1797 by Father Karol Gaudenty Żero (1743–1802) in his work entitled "Fenix de pulveribus resuscitatus svaviter suam candit modulenam," the Franciscan convent in Drohiczyn was founded by Mikołaj Nassuta, mentioned in 1430 as the starost of Drohiczyn. The monks are said to have settled on a square known as "Narożnik" (Corner). The first endowments for the monks were confirmed in 1407 by Duke Witold Kiejstutowicz, who also provided offerings from the castle. During the reign of Janusz I the Elder, Duke of Mazovia, a wooden monastery and church dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary were built in 1409. In 1451, the guardian was Father Jan of Ruda, and in 1470, Father Szymon of Kraków. In the years 1460–1470, funds for the monastery were donated by, among others, the Drohicz court assessor Maciej Miłkowski (d. ca. 1478) and his wife Katarzyna. The Franciscan monastery was burned down by dissenters in 1583, and around 1595, the wooden church burned down. In 1595–1596, it was rebuilt thanks to the efforts of Father Mateusz Studziński, guardian, but in 1601, both buildings were destroyed by fire again. Another wooden Franciscan church was built in 1615 through the efforts of the guardian, Father Bartłomiej Klucziata vel Klimczata, and consecrated on October 4, 1618, by the titular bishop of Argivensis and suffragan of Lutsk, Father Stanisław Udrzycki (d. 1621). During this period, a new monastery building was constructed. In 1657, during the Swedish Deluge, following Misericordiae Sunday, the monastery was destroyed again, and several monks were murdered by Cossack, Transylvanian, and Swedish troops commanded by Magnus Gabriel de La Gardie.

A viewing point overlooking the Bug River and the monastery. A ferry crossing the river is located next to the tower.

Holy Mount Grabarka is the most important Orthodox center in Poland, located in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, near Siemiatycze. It is a pilgrimage site known as the "Hill of Crosses" because for centuries the faithful have brought votive crosses here, symbolizing prayers and thanksgiving. The complex includes the Saints Martha and Mary Monastery and three Orthodox churches.

A beautiful and magical place. It's impossible to describe, it must be seen.

Most of the "Molotov Line" bunkers along the Bug River are in very poor condition.

The Bug Valley tempts with picturesque views, but this is not the only attraction of this area. History enthusiasts flock here to discover the remains of one of the most famous fortifications of World War II. Around 1,900 structures of various purposes, over 150,000 soldiers and civilians working on their construction in 1940, over 1,000 km long – the scale of this undertaking is still admirable today. And all this in order to separate themselves from the German ally, with whom Minister Molotov had signed a friendship treaty just a few months earlier. However, Stalin knew that an alliance with Germany was as fleeting as the smoke from his favorite pipe. Hence the construction of large-scale fortifications, which were to stop the aggressor, enable mobilization in the event of war and support offensive operations. The Molotov Line, like its French “cousin” – the Maginot Line, did not live up to the hopes placed in it. The German attack surprised the Russians, some of the bunkers were not even occupied, others did not resist for long. Abandoned almost without a fight, some turned into a pile of rubble, after the war they became a treasure trove of engines and generators for the local population.