Fourteen Polish Cities from the Piast Capitals to the Baltic Coast

Gniezno was one of the Piast dynasty's chief cities and the first historical capital of Poland in the tenth and early eleventh centuries. It is still the seat of Poland's oldest archdiocese, founded in the year 1000, so its archbishop serves as primate of the country.

Płock on the Vistula was capital of Poland from 1079 to 1138 and the main administrative center of Mazovia before Warsaw rose. Its Cathedral Hill, castle and cathedral holding the sarcophagi of several monarchs are a Historic Monument of Poland.

Kalisz on the Prosna river is described as one of Poland's oldest cities and, with Poznan, a traditional capital of Greater Poland. It is the second-largest city of Greater Poland Voivodeship and the seat of a Roman Catholic diocese.

Zamość did not grow slowly: Jan Zamoyski, Grand Chancellor of Poland, founded it in 1580 as an ideal city. Its historical centre joined the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1992 as a unique Renaissance town in Central Europe.

Radom was a royal city that hosted the Crown Council ratifying the 1401 Pact of Vilnius and Radom, and the Sejm adopted the Nihil novi act there in 1505. Today it hosts the biennial Radom Air Show, the largest in Poland.

Kielce is first mentioned in documents from 1212 and had city status under German law by 1295. It grew after the Kraków province capital moved there in 1818 and a railway arrived in 1885, and it is now capital of the Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship.

Zabrze sits on the Bytomka River within the Katowice urban area of 2.7 million people. Its historic coal mine complex is a Historic Monument of Poland, and its football club Górnik Zabrze is one of the most accomplished in the country.

Chorzów lies on the Rawa River in the same Silesian conurbation and had 105,628 residents in December 2021. It is known for the Silesian Stadium and for Ruch Chorzów, another of the country's most accomplished football clubs.

Bielsko-Biała was formed in 1951 by merging two towns, Bielsko from the thirteenth century and Biała, which received city rights in 1723. Known as Little Vienna, it was once the third largest textile center of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy.

Legnica on the Kaczawa River was the site of the Battle of Legnica against Mongol forces in 1241. It was seat of the Piast Duchy of Legnica from 1248 to 1675 and became a major copper and nickel center from the 1950s.

Jelenia Góra lies near the Karkonosze mountains and ski resorts such as Karpacz and Szklarska Poręba. It had 77,366 residents in 2021, and its historic spa district of Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój is among the most valued leisure destinations in Poland.

Gorzów Wielkopolski on the Warta River was called Landsberg an der Warthe before 1945. It received city rights in 1257, shares the Lubusz Voivodeship seat with Zielona Góra, and its speedway team Stal is a nine-time Polish champion.

Olsztyn began around 1346 when the Teutonic Knights started a castle, and it received municipal rights in 1353. Nicolaus Copernicus administered the town from that castle and directed its defense between 1516 and 1521.

Sopot is a Baltic resort between Gdańsk and Gdynia that took city rights in 1901 as Zoppot and passed to Poland in 1945. It has Europe's longest wooden pier at 511.5 meters and hosts the Sopot International Song Festival.