Discover Schwiebus: History and Hotels

Historic Layout and Buildings

Schwiebus (Świebodzin) is best explored through its historic urban layout. The town centre has preserved an almost unchanged medieval plan: a rectangular market square lies at its heart, with streets running towards it at right angles. If you are interested in historic urban planning, the market square offers a practical starting point for understanding the layout of the centre.

Świebodzin Town Hall was probably built in the second half of the 14th century. Its cellars retain stone barrel vaults from that period. The Church of St Michael the Archangel (pw. św. Michała Archanioła) stands at the northeastern corner of the market square. It was built largely in the second half of the 15th century as a three-aisled hall church with a pentagonal chancel. The town hall and church bring together different architectural details in the historic town centre, without implying that they were built during the same period.

The town fortifications also offer a glimpse into the town’s development over several centuries. They date back to the 14th century. In the 16th century, Świebodzin was surrounded by a defensive wall with twelve towers and three town gates, as well as a wide moat. The castle was built in the 16th century as part of the fortifications and extensively altered over time; two ruined wings of the castle survive.

Another chapter in the town’s ecclesiastical architecture is the Church of Our Lady, Queen of Poland (NMP Królowej Polski). It was built in the Neo-Gothic style on the site of two earlier Protestant churches. The church on the market square dates from the 15th century; NMP Królowej Polski features a Neo-Gothic design and therefore represents a different architectural style.

The municipal route “Szlakiem murów miejskich” (“Along the Town Walls”) is another way to find your bearings in the historic townscape. It runs via Plac Jana Pawła II, ul. Wałowa, ul. Okrężna, ul. Bramkowa, ul. Szpitalna, Chopin Park, and ul. Kilińskiego.

Town History and Landscape at the Regional Museum

The permanent exhibition “Historia miasta i regionu” (“History of the Town and Region”) at the Regional Museum in Świebodzin presents the multicultural traditions of the Świebodzin area and the town’s connections to the history of the Silesian–Greater Poland borderland.

A second permanent exhibition at the Regional Museum, “Przyroda Ziemi Lubuskiej” (“Nature of the Lubusz Land”), focuses on the landscape of the Lubusz region. Its subjects include forests, lakes, meadows, and peat bogs, as well as numerous representatives of the region’s flora and fauna. It also covers designated protected species and areas. “Historia miasta i regionu” presents multicultural traditions and historical connections; “Przyroda Ziemi Lubuskiej” focuses on the landscape of the Lubusz region.

The Christ the King Statue

The monumental statue of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, welcomes pilgrims arriving individually or in organised groups from Poland and various parts of the world. Construction of the Christ the King statue in Świebodzin lasted from 2005 to 2010; it was blessed on 21 November 2010.

Discover more destinations: Niedźwiedź, Łagów, Rokitnica, Lubrza, Zbąszynek, Szczaniec, Mostki, Zawisze

For the full travel overview: Świebodziński.