Can you say "Szlak Orlich Gniazd"?
⬅ previous ⬆intro next ➡Day 8 ~ 5 July ~ Olkusz
The sun is shining again this morning. There's supposed to be quite a bit to see in Olkusz, so we're not planning on cycling today.
This is our hotel; we didn't have the inclination or the light for a picture when we arrived yesterday. Our terrace is just out of sight to the left, but including it would have made a cluttered and ugly picture because of vehicles and street furniture, so I have prioritised aesthetics over information.
Yes ok, it's not the prettiest of hotels even so, but it's pleasant enough and meets our needs.
We walk the short way into the centre of town. If we hadn't already noticed that the Poles do like their religious art, we would clearly have been totally blind.
Across from the main square is St Andrew's Basilica
In the market, we're tempted to buy some strawberries or cherries, but the whole mega-punnets are way too much and there are no smaller containers. The locals bring their own if they are buying soft fruit in non-bulk quantity. We don't think we've got anything that we could use that wouldn't be full of fruit purée by the time we're back.
One end of town has a cross, another end of town has a mediaeval warrior. Obviously.
Back to the main square, and St Andrew's Basilica is not open, but it's still interesting architecture.
I think it's Conchita Wurst's younger sister. [Blimey, that's a reference to a comment I made nearly a decade ago: see this blog. Oh, and if you are too dissociated from the Eurovision Song Contest of 2014 to know who Conchita is, well just look here]
Now, down into the underground... The gothic town hall has an exhibition in the basement which tells about the history, of the town, and nearby is the entrance to a second part below the main square. It's in the former cellars of the HQ of the mining authorities from when silver and lead mining was a major industry here.
A replica of the Silver Cross of the Olkusz Miners, the original of which is located in the basilica.
Copy of an astrolabe originally used by a 14th century astronomer/astrologer from Olkusz named Marcin Bylica. At that time, there wasn't any real distinction between the two: astronomy as a true science didn't begin until the 16th century when Nicolaus Copernicus - also a Pole! - published his heliocentric model of (what was then considered) the universe. That said, of course, it wasn't accepted overnight, as Gallileo found to his cost.
Back above ground in the square.
A reconstruction of a small section of the original city wall with a guard tower.
And now for a spot of lunch followed by some further exploration of the town.
We've found the secret road sign store! This building is right by a level crossing, so could well be related to railway working, but it's not at all clear.
There's a museum of African art which is worth a visit. There are two other museums on the same site, but you have to pay more if you want to see more than one, and we're not that convinced we do
A little after seven-ish, we head back into the square to find some dinner.
Sitting outside Restaurant Batorówka in the last of the evening sun.
My starter, very nice. Not a small portion, and the main courses are huge!
If you look at online reviews, the generous helpings are noted by many.
As you can see, the place is very popular. We hadn't booked and it might have been difficult to get a table if we'd been later.
It's Friday evening, and the square is getting quite buzzy. There's some sort of free disco happening. I don't know what the chap in the white shirt is saying, but...
Whatever it was, he's got all the girls up for a conga!
I'm ready to party, but Amanda doesn't want to risk me causing an international incident so we sensibly retire to our hotel.
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