Białystok

City with county rights

Postal code: 15-950 Dialling code: +48 (0)85 Area: 90 km² Population: 285.507

As the biggest city in north-eastern Poland and the centre of industry and services, Bialystok also plays an important role in the border trade and as a transit point on the routes leading to the North and the East.
Here, various ethnic groups end their cultures blended in the past. Thus, different masterpieces of architecture and art were created.
It was only in the mid-18th century that Bialystok really began to develop. At that time, it was owned by Hetman Jan Klemens Branicki. A splendid magnate residence was built in place of a former palace, and the whole city was reconstructed after destruction caused by a grand fire.
Today, the former stately mansion is the sent of the medical academy and only partly reminds us of the luxurious park-and-palace residence which used to be referred to as the Versailles of the North. Both gardens were designed by the same architect, André Le Nôtre. In the middle of the unusual triangular market place stands the 18th century town hall, now home to the Bialystok branch of the National Museum. It has an interesting collection of folk textile art, Polish painting section and icons.

Worth visiting is a strange merger of churches: a small 17th century parish church and two Orthodox churches with numerous icons and rich wall paintings. Bialystok is the main centre of the Belarussian minority in Poland. It is also the birthplace of the creator of Esperanto, Ludwik Zamenhof.

Only 16 kilometres cast of Bialystok is Suprasl, a well-known holiday centre and health resort located amidst the Knyszynski Wilderness Area. Its pride is the former monastery of the Basilian Friars who came here in the early 16th century and soon created an important religious centre influencing the whole territory of western Ruthenia. The reconstruction works, which have been under way for the last few years, focus on the former Orthodox church which combines both elements of Gothic and Byzantine architecture. Famous wall paintings will return to the church after the completion of reconstructing works; now they are on display in the monastic refectory. The village of Tykocin is situated on the Narew River, not far from the Warsaw-Bialystok road. It boasts the biggest Baroque architectural complex in the region, encompassing the Holy Trinity Church overlooking the spacious market place lined with old timber houses, and the monument to Hetman Stefan Czarniecki standing in the middle of the square. The mid-17th century Baroque synagogue, now a Jewish Museum, stands in the western part of the village, which was traditionally inhabited by Jews.