Świdwin – Castle, Church and City Park

Świdwin offers a range of options to help you plan your trip: the castle's history and guided tours, St. Mary's Church, remnants of the town fortifications, a city park, and trails for hiking and cycling. The city's cultural life also includes a tradition that alternates between locations each year. You can choose the topics that interest you most during your stay.

Świdwin Castle and its history

The origins of Świdwin Castle date back to the late 13th century. Visitors can explore the oldest, northern wing and the defensive tower. The castle includes, among other spaces, an exhibition gallery, a knights' hall, an event hall, and museum rooms. The different rooms offer a variety of ways to engage with the site, from exhibitions to events.

A historical tour lasts about 45 minutes and is available only with a guide. If you plan this visit, bear in mind that the approximate duration and guided-tour requirement are fixed conditions. Tickets for the castle visit are sold at the Tourist Information Centre. The restored 13th-century castle has also been home to the Świdwiński Ośrodek Kultury since 1968; the building was converted into a cultural centre.

St. Mary's Church and the Jewish cemetery

The first historical mention of St. Mary's Church dates to 1338. It is considered one of the city's most significant Gothic architectural monuments. The church also preserves a unique medieval granite baptismal font. Its early written record, Gothic architecture, and a specific surviving artefact make the church a distinct focus of the city's history.

The Jewish cemetery in Świdwin is one of the best-preserved Jewish cemeteries in West Pomerania. Its surviving features include a stone wall with a square ground plan, a layout of avenues and burial plots, and numerous freestanding gravestones and grave slabs. These features describe the cemetery's stone enclosure, its layout, and its surviving grave markers.

Traces of the town fortifications

A 14-metre-long section of the medieval town walls survives above the Rega River. It is made of fieldstones and medieval bricks laid in the Wendish bond. The Stone Gate is also a remnant of the medieval town fortifications. It was built in 1475 on the foundations of an older structure and remodelled in the 17th and 18th centuries. While the length and building materials stand out in the surviving wall section, the gate's history can be traced through its construction and remodelling phases.

City park and trails

The city park covers 12 hectares. Its hilly terrain and naturalistic character offer a different focus from the historic buildings. This means that Świdwin offers both local history and a distinctive park landscape to choose from when planning your trip.

The “Kocioł Świdwiński” hiking and cycling trail starts and ends in Świdwin. The Świdwin–Świdwin Osiedle cycling route connects the city with the housing estate near the flight unit. The information describes two types of routes: the first starts and ends in Świdwin, while the second connects the city with the named housing estate. This is a practical distinction to bear in mind when choosing activities based on the routes' itineraries.

A tradition that alternates between locations each year

The “Bitwa o krowę” tradition takes place every year, alternating between Świdwin and Białogard. When planning a trip around this tradition, the host town matters: it switches between the two cities each year. So check in advance where the next edition will take place if you want to plan your stay around it.

Discover more destinations: Brusno, Slawa, Lipie, Jastrzębniki, Czarnkowie, Bad Polzin, Slawoborze, Kocury.

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