Exploring Medieval Radom - 1-Day Trip

RADOM - one of the oldest Polish cities, existing since before the 9th century. The early medieval settlement of Piotrówka has been preserved, with an earthen mound rising 6 m. Within the former defensive walls, the Old Town with medieval street layout, which has remained unchanged since the 14th century. The parish church of St. John with a Renaissance chapel, the Bernardine church and monastery from the 15th century with baroque decorations. In the modern city center, shaped in the early 19th century, a series of neoclassical public utility buildings. A museum with a valuable collection of Polish painting, including works by Jacek Malczewski.

The tour route passes through:

• The settlement "Piotrówka" from the 9th/10th century, considered the cradle of today's Radom, a remnant of the Radom castellany; at the turn of the 18th/19th century, a burial ground for old and new Radom. The name comes from the first Roman Catholic church dedicated to St. Peter (10th/11th century). Currently, there is a monument - a boulder with the image of Mieszko I and the first emblem of the Polish State, referring to the beginnings of the formation of the state.
• The Old Town along with the first brick 13th-century Roman Catholic church dedicated to St. Wenceslaus - the oldest architectural monument of Radom, built on the initiative of Leszek Biały, and endowed, as tradition states, by Prince Bolesław the Shy, a mute witness to the granting of "Średzka" municipal rights around 1300. This church was the parish church of "Old Radom", and from 1802 it served as a warehouse, prison, and even a department of a psychiatric hospital. After numerous renovations, the church was restored in the years 1980-1985 under the guidance of Professor Wiktor Zin and returned to its original function. There is also a mysterious stone tombstone with a relief of a sword, paintings, stained glass, wall paintings, interesting chandeliers and candelabra featuring the Polish emblem, referring to Poland's history.
• The New Town - Kazimierzowski City - founded on "raw roots" during the reign of King Kazimierz the Great around 1340; granted rights around 1350, and from 1364 under Magdeburg law. It had three gates: Lublin, Piotrków, and Kraków. Remains from this period include fragments of defensive walls (demolished in the years 1816-1818) and the outline of the Kraków gate can currently be seen behind the Museum of Jacek Malczewski from the Wałowa street side; the royal castle from the mid-14th century.
• The parish church dedicated to St. John the Baptist, from the 14th century, rebuilt by Józef Pius Dziekoński, constructed around 1360-1370, from the foundation of King Kazimierz the Great, in the Gothic style, single-nave, expanded in the 15th and 16th centuries with the addition of five chapels; to this day, the following have been preserved: the Rosary chapel, the Kochanowski chapel in late Renaissance style, late Gothic portal from the presbytery to the sacristy, iron doors reinforced with diagonal grating featuring rosettes, the Polish Eagle, the Odrowąż coat of arms, and the monogram of Christ, a font from the mid-15th century, the painting "Crucifixion", and in the square by the church, there is a sculpture of St. John Nepomucene.
• The parish building - a remnant of the Gothic royal castle from the 14th century - the corner of Wałowa and Grodzka streets, currently the rectory of the parish dedicated to St. John the Baptist, described in the 16th century as "a great house with cloisters", destroyed during the Swedish Deluge, lost its glory and in the 19th century was leased to the parish dedicated to St. John the Baptist. In the years 1481-1482, the son of King Kazimierz Jagiellończyk, Prince St. Kazimierz, who was canonized in 1602 - the patron of Radom and the diocese of Radom, resided in the castle, and in 1505 the Sejm adopted the "Nihil Novi" Constitution here.
• The Market of Kazimierzowski City maintained a clear urban layout, characteristic of cities established in Europe under Magdeburg law; the market features: neoclassical tenement houses - Gąski House (baroque) and Esterki House (neo-baroque) - currently the seat of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Next to them, the neo-Renaissance Town Hall from the 19th century, built according to the design of the architect Henryk Marcconi, with a clock tower playing the melody "Alleluia" by the 15th-century composer Mikołaj from Radom, currently the State Archive. In the central point of the market, you can see the monument to the Acts of the Legions of Józef Piłsudski, rebuilt in 1998. On the opposite side of the square is the Museum of Jacek Malczewski, formerly the Piarist College, built between 1737-1756 according to the design of Antonio Solari, with the former church dedicated to St. John of Kanty, featuring medieval dungeons and a shoemaker's workshop. Currently, there are interesting exhibitions in the museum. The building features commemorative plaques, one of which is dedicated to Tytus Chałubiński, a student of the College.
• The medieval Lublin route - Stefan Żeromski street 6/8: the church dedicated to St. Catherine and monastery - the most valuable late medieval monument; located east of the Market, built between 1468-1507 from the foundation of King Kazimierz Jagiellończyk in late Gothic style; formerly the Radom fortress of patriotism. In the church, you can see typical Gothic ribbed vaults in the presbytery and star-shaped in the main nave, a 15th-century sculpted Passion group - crucifix, Mater Dolorosa, John the Evangelist, as well as stalls from the 16th century, coffin portraits, epitaph tablets from the 16th century, a sarcophagus with the ashes of Dionizy Czachowski - the commander of the military of the Sandomierz province during the January Uprising.

Hiring a guide for the group: the cost is 300 PLN / whole day