Pilica
Pilica is a market town in the Silesian Voivodeship in southwest Poland. With a population of 1900 in 2019, it's the administrative centre for a straggle of villages in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, the limestone hills also known as the "Polish Jura".
Get in
[edit]
Map of Pilica
There is no public transport to Pilica. The nearest railway station is Wolbrom, which has trains every two hours from Katowice (80 min), heading for Kozlow. Welbrom to Pilica is 15 km northwest by Hwy 79 so bike-on-train would work.
Get around
[edit]The few sights are within walking or cycling distance.
See
[edit]- 1 Rynek is the market square in town centre, flanked by modern low-rise and with a repro of the 17th century town hall. Visitors find it a bit bare.
- Church of Saints John is 100 m west of Rynek - that's St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist, Kościół św Jana Chrzciciela i św Jana Ewangelisty, but mercifully none of the other 80 saints or holy men of that name. It was built around 1600 then modified in Baroque style. It remains closed in 2024.
- Chapel of St George (Kaplica św Jerzego) was built as a hospital chapel in 1630. It's 200 m south of Rynek at Krakowska 10, where you're unlikely to find it open.
- St Valentine's was the church of an Augustinian monastery. It's just a crumbling wall shrouded by cypress trees at Ogrodowa 6A.
- 2 Pilica Castle, Zamkowa. Closed. This is its third or fourth incarnation, the "Sobieskiej Palace" created in the 1730s by removing defensive features and making it a bling mansion. This passed through various private and state owners and in 1989 was bought by Barbara Piasecka Johnson (1937-2013) to house her art collection. Renovation work was halted in 1992 when the sale was disputed, and the legal ructions were still grinding through the courts 20 years later when Johnson died. Nobody else has the money or will to take on such a huge place mired in an ownership dispute, so this grand old pile has fallen derelict.
- 3 Church of the Holy Name of Jesus (Kościół Najświętszego Imienia Jezus) is run by the Franciscan Order. It includes the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Snows.
- 4 Church of St Peter and St Paul (Kościół pw św Piotra i Pawła) is a reconstruction of an old wooden church that burnt down in 1945.
- 5 Smoleń Castle (3 km south of Pilica). Daily 09:00-17:00. Ruins of a 13th century castle, partly restored, atop a limestone hill which is a nature reserve.
- 6 Moesa Palace is the burnt-out shell of a mansion of 1889, in the woods near Wierbka 4 km east of Pilica.
- Udórz Castle is a few scraps of masonry lost in the woods 8 km east of Pilica.
Do
[edit]
- Pilica Lake - the more southerly of the two bodies of water - is suitable for swimming, with grassy banks and a small beach.
Buy
[edit]- Lots of little stores around Rynek.
- Wafelek supermarket is 200 m north of Rynek at Żarnowiecka 40, open M-Sa 06:00-21:00.
Eat
[edit]- Rynek has Gol Kebab, Przystań Pilica ice cream shop and Pizzeria Na Rynku. Smakland is another kebab place nearby at Żarnowiecka 5.
- U Ryśka serves trad fare at Armii Krajowej 2, a block east of Rynek.
- Under the Columns has the best dining in town, see below.
Drink
[edit]- The town pub and brewery have both closed down, so try the cafes.
Sleep
[edit]
- 1 Pod Kolumnami (Under the Columns), Senatorska 13, ☏ +48 696 428 234. Smart comfy hotel with a good restaurant. B&B double 300 zł.
- Podzamcze 9 km west has more choice of accommodation.
Connect
[edit]As of June 2024, Pilica and its approach roads have 4G from Play, Plus and T-Mobile, and 5G from Orange.
Go next
[edit]- Ogrodzieniec 11 km west has two better castles - a 14th century stone ruin, and the reconstruction of a 12th century wooden fort.
- Kraków to the south is a must-see for its medieval walled city.
- Częstochowa to the north is a pilgrimage site for its church and icon of the Black Madonna.