A monument to revolutionary act
The Monument to the Revolutionary Deed, although it has become a permanent part of the city’s topography, continues to be the subject of heated discussions. It was established on the initiative of Władysław Kruczek, the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party in Rzeszów. Its construction took several years, and its unveiling took place on May 1, 1974. Why is it causing so much controversy? Mainly because of its shape. The author of the monument was a popular artist of the communist era, professor at the Academy of Fine Arts – Marian Konieczny, also known as the creator of the Warsaw Nike or the Lenin monument in Nowa Huta. Konieczny’s concept was very lofty – on the laurel leaves as a symbol of victory, dynamic images of Nike, a peasant, soldier and worker with the banner of the revolution were placed. During the construction, 180 kg of nails were used, and several dozen reinforced concrete piles with a length of approx. 10 m as foundations and 37 pairs of reinforced concrete segments over a meter high each as leaves. The final result did not impress the townspeople. Instead of the ambiguous symbol of the revolution, the monument was most often associated with donkey ears or male or female genitals. He is commonly referred to indiscriminately and derisively as “Big Dick”.
Town Hall
Rzeszów Town Hall is one of the most famous buildings in the city. It was built, like the castle, by Mikołaj Spytek Ligęza, most probably before the end of the 16th century. It took its present form at the end of the 19th century, when in 1867 and 1884, and then in 1897-98 it was thoroughly rebuilt, combining elements in the neo-Gothic and neo-Renaissance styles. As a result of shifting the front wall and supporting it on the arcades of the building, the main hall was created, where the City Council meets. To this day, the Town Hall remains the main building in which the seat of the President and the City Council is located.
Monastery of Bernardine with the church of Of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The founder of this magnificent temple was Mikołaj Ligęza, who decided to take care of his posthumous remains during his lifetime and build a mausoleum for himself and his family. In the place he chose, at that time still outside the city walls, there was already a wooden church. This small temple commemorated the site where the miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary was found at the beginning of the 16th century. The church was built in the years 1624-1629. When it was finished, Ligęza handed it over to the Bernardines brought to Rzeszów. Since the temple and the monastery were outside the city’s fortification system, the founder took care to strengthen the safety of its inhabitants by surrounding the entire building with durable defensive walls. Thus, the monastery became one of the strongholds of the city’s fortifications. Church of The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary combines features of the late Renaissance and early Baroque. The temple was built on the plan of a Latin cross, it consists of the nave and two side chapels covered with domes. The furnishings of the church deserve attention, especially the late Renaissance main altar. In the side walls of the presbytery there are beautiful alabaster figures of the founder of the church and his relatives. The left arm of the transept is the chapel. Lord Jesus with an altar with the mannerist image “Christ at the pillar”. The right arm of the transept is the chapel of Our Lady of Rzeszów. In its richly decorated late-baroque altar there is a miraculous figure of the Mother of God with the Child. It is a wooden, polychrome sculpture. Both saints are dressed in baroque robes and have silver crowns on their heads. The interior of the church is enriched by a colorful rococo illusionist polychrome decorating the nave’s vault.
Underground Tourist Route
In Rzeszów, not only what is on the surface is important, but also what is deep underground – under the pavement there is a complicated arrangement of cellars and corridors. Since the markets in the Middle Ages, as their name implied, had commercial functions, merchants had to store goods somewhere. Rzeszów was fortunate enough to be established on loess soils, in which it was quite easy to dig corridors. Thanks to this, local merchants had wonderful cellars where they could store their goods. The cellars reach up to 10-12 m into the ground and consist of two storeys. The first levels of cellars are made of stone or brick and vaulted, while the lower storeys are hollowed out in natural loess soil. It is also worth adding that these lower cellars are later – they come from the 16th-17th vortex. Underground corridors and dungeons covered not only the market area – some even led beyond the city walls. It is possible that the system of underground corridors was a place of refuge for the urban population during enemy invasions. When, after World War II, the foundations of the buildings in the old town began to collapse as a result of rinsing the loess, professional teams from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow were called for help. Renovation works were carried out intermittently for several years. The secured cellars, although they could no longer be used for trade, became a tourist attraction. The Underground Tourist Route, 214 m long, consists of 34 cellars, located on different levels. The lowest of them is at a depth of 9.58 m. The route covers several tenement houses and the space under the market square.
Lock
Castle in Rzeszów – one of the main monuments of the city, built in 1902-1906 on the site of the former Lubomirski Castle. It is located between Aleja Pod Kasztanami, Aleja Lubomirskich, Chopina Street, Śreniawitów Square and Colonel Lisa-Kuli Street. Currently, it is the seat of a district court, and until 1981 it was also a prison. The first defensive structure was built in the same place, probably in the 16th century. Then, at the end of this century, Mikołaj Spytek Ligęza built his fortified manor in Rzeszów. In 1620 he extended it in the style of Palazzo in fortezza. From 1637, the castle was owned by the Lubomirski family. The main construction works were carried out by Tylman of Gameren and Karol Henryk Wiedemann. In 1820 the complex was taken over by the Austrian authorities and adapted for judicial and prison purposes. Its demolition at the beginning of the 20th century was caused by a very poor condition of the structure. In the historical form, only the gatehouse and bastion turrets have been preserved until the present day. In the vicinity of the Castle there is the Lubomirski Summer Palace in Rzeszów.
Palace and park complex in Łańcut
The city owes its original foundation to a palazzo in fortezza (palace with defensive elements) to Stanisław Lubomirski, who brought outstanding Italian artists and architects to his residence in the 1730s. Thanks to them, the original castle acquired the features of northern Italian architecture. The residence was surrounded by a Dutch-style bastion, designed by Krzysztof Mieroszewski, and the interior was decorated by the most famous stucco master in Poland – Giovanni Battista Falconi. The palace was built in several stages, as each successive owner tried to modernize the residence and adapt it to the patterns of the latest architecture. The palace complex consists of several parts. In the main building of the palace you can admire the original interiors from the eighteenth and nineteenth vortex, incl. ballroom, dining rooms, bedrooms, sculpture gallery, court theater – a total of 62 rooms on three floors. On the left side of the monumental palace there is the Library, and on the right side the Orangery – a classicistic building housing a winter garden. In the immediate vicinity of the castle, there are three themed gardens: rose, perennial and Italian (the vegetation is grouped in regular, symmetrical, geometrical plots, fringed with trimmed boxwood). They are completely different in character than the spacious, pseudo-natural English-style park. As centuries ago, it is a great place for summer rest. It is true that only the chosen ones can play on the magnate tennis court today, but everyone can visit the other buildings that make up the Museum. Right next to the courts, there is the Riding School and the Gardener’s House, now housing the Music School. In the northern part of the park, there is the Romantic Castle – a typical element of the romantic-sentimental English gardens. The most interesting objects, however, are the Stables and Wozownia. In the former stable building, you can see not only historic horse stalls and spectacular harnesses, but also an exhibition devoted to the 10th Horse Rifle Regiment. In the eastern wing, there are collections of orthodox art for some time. Behind the Stables there is a Wozownia – a real treat for every visitor, because the presented carriages (over 100 models), costumes and travel accessories make up the largest collection of this type in Poland. but also an exhibition devoted to the 10th Regiment of Mounted Rifles. In the eastern wing, there are collections of orthodox art for some time. Behind the Stables there is a Wozownia – a real treat for every visitor, because the presented carriages (over 100 models), costumes and travel accessories make up the largest collection of this type in Poland. but also an exhibition devoted to the 10th Regiment of Mounted Rifles. In the eastern wing, there are collections of orthodox art for some time. Behind the Stables there is a Wozownia – a real treat for every visitor, because the presented carriages (over 100 models), costumes and travel accessories make up the largest collection of this type in Poland.