Lębork – City Walls, Museum and Trails

Lębork combines medieval city history with a signposted walking trail, museums and the Łeba River, which flows through the city. Your planned visits and travel arrangements can help guide your choice of hotel. If you are particularly interested in the city’s fortifications, you will find historic structures, trails and museum exhibits related to them.

City Fortifications and Trails

The medieval defensive walls of Lębork were built from 1341 to around 1363. Originally, they were 1,220 meters long and included 32 towers and half-towers. The Baszta Bluszczowa is a surviving corner tower in the original style and part of the city fortifications; it was built around 1363 during construction of the defensive walls.

The Trasa średniowiecznego Lęborka, or medieval Lębork Trail, is just under 1,200 meters long and offers a walk through the era when the city was founded in the 14th century. It mostly follows the city fortifications and is marked with information boards in accordance with current PTTK standards. The walking trail begins at the intersection of ul. Staromiejska and ul. Skłodowskiej.

The Lębork–Łeba section of the Pomorska Droga św. Jakuba offers a different route. It starts at the Sanktuarium św. Jakuba Apostoła in Lębork and connects the apostle shrines in Lębork and Łeba. The wider region is also crossed by the approximately 100-kilometer-long Lęborska Droga św. Jakuba. It was signposted in 2007 and connects Sianowo with Smołdzino.

Church, Museum and City History

The Teutonic castle in Lębork was already in existence in 1363. It was the seat of Dytrych von Loupheim, the first Teutonic Order vogt of Lębork. The Sanctuary of St. James the Apostle is a Gothic brick church built as a defensive structure and dating to the turn of the 15th century.

At the Muzeum w Lęborku, visitors can watch a 3D film about the city’s medieval defensive system. The museum also presents collections on the history of the city and region, ancient art, archaeology and ethnography. In Baszta nr 24, an exhibition depicts the lives of the city’s inhabitants in the second half of the 15th century. The “Gabinet Nipkowa” is dedicated to inventor Paul Nipkow.

The Jarmarku św. Jakuba program includes craft and trade stalls, family activities and historical events. It also features Kashubian folklore and traditions surrounding the city’s patron saint, St. James the Apostle. If you would like to include this event in your travel plans, check the specific event dates.

Landscape and Getting There

Lębork lies in the proglacial valley of the Łeba and Reda rivers. The valley is bordered to the south by the hills of the Kashubian Lake District and to the north by the Żarnowiec Plateau. The navigable Łeba River flows through the city, where its tributary, the Okalica, joins it. The varied terrain around Lębork offers good conditions for cycling and water activities.

For rail travel, Lębork is on line 202 between Stargard Szczeciński and Gdańsk Główny. The station is served by trains operated by PKP Intercity and the SKM in the Gdańsk metropolitan area. In summer, there is also a rail connection to Łeba. If you plan to use this connection, check the timetable for your travel dates.

Within the wider Lauenburg travel destination, Lębork lies on the international E28 road between Gdańsk and Szczecin; here it is also known as Polish National Road 6.

Discover more destinations: Poraj, Łeba, Roszczyce, Bukowina, Wicko, Łebień, Sarbsk, Dymnica.

Return to the wider travel overview: Lauenburg.