10 Filming Locations to Visit in Poland
Striking palaces and haunted castles. Amazing settings shaped by nature, and inconspicuous buildings which cinematography has saved from oblivion. Join us on a tour around Poland’s finest filming locations.
Ogrodzieniec Castle – ‘The Witcher’
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Ogrodzieniec Castle, photo: Marta Błażejowska / AG; still from 'The Witcher', 2019, photo: Netflix
Although it’s one of the oldest constructions on our list, its best time is yet to come. In December 2019, Ogrodzieniec Castle – or, more precisely, its picturesque ruins – starred in The Witcher. Its epic appearance in Netflix’s production sparked the abrupt interest of travel agencies and tourist websites from all over the world. Therefore, it seems that the 600-year-old Ogrodzieniec Castle is set to thrive once again.
This monumental castle, situated 60 kilometres from Kraków, is recognisable not only thanks to Netflix’s hit series, but also due to… a ghost who has allegedly been haunting the place for centuries. The phantom is an atypical one – it appears as a big, black dog dragging a long chain. Legend has it that it’s the ghost of the castle’s former owner, Stanisław Warszycki – who was so parsimonious and cruel in regard to his subjects that he ended up being sent to hell by the devil himself. Even so, the late magnate returns to the castle, as a dog, to guard his beloved fortune.
Orthodox Church in Kniazie village – ‘Cold War’
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Orthodox Church in Kniazie village, photo: Jakub Orzechowski / AG; still from ‘Cold War’ directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, 2018, photo: Łukasz Bąk / Kino Świat
As the success of The Witcher turned into an occasion for the tourism-related prosperity of Ogrodzieniec Castle, the on-screen appearance of the next item on our list may become its only chance for survival. Take a look at the Eastern Orthodox church in Kniazie, a small village in Lublin Region, right on the Polish-Ukrainian border.
This inconspicuous, crumbling church became famous thanks to Paweł Pawlikowski’s Cold War. Here, the meetings of the lovers played by Joanna Kulig and Tomasz Kot took place. The roofless church portrayed in Pawlikowski’s film resembles the unforgettable settings of Andrzej Wajda’s Ashes and Diamonds and within them, the beautiful, yet sad love story fulfilled.
The Church of St Paraskeva was constructed in the years 1798 to 1806 and funded by local knezi, whose ancestors came to Poland from either Moldova or Transylvania. During World War II, the church was destroyed – and after the Eastern Orthodox were forcibly relocated from the region after 1947, the building would only continue to perish. Local residents were the only caretakers of this witness to history and regional heritage. Now, after the success of Cold War, they are more likely to succeed in saving this historic church and turning it into a tourist hotspot.
Errant Rocks Labyrinth – ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’
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Stołowe Mountains National Park, photo: Gerard / Reporter / East News; still from ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’, directed by Andrew Adamson, 2005, photo: Forum Film Poland Sp. z o.o.
If during your stay in Poland, you’d also like to see Narnia, we’ve got good news – it can be done. Narnia lies nearby. To be precise – in the Stołowe Mountains. Near the border with Czech Republic, you can find the Errant Rocks, one of Poland’s most amazing rocky labyrinths. Andrew Adamson, the director of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was so fascinated by the labyrinth’s charm that he wanted to shoot part of his film right here.
This however did not happen. In the first part of The Chronicles of Narnia, the Stołowe Mountains were only recreated in a studio. First, production designers made photo documentation of the rocky location and then created the labyrinth in a New Zealand studio. It wasn’t until The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian that the Errant Rocks truly became a part of the film set.
For those who wish to walk in the footsteps of the brave children from Narnia, this is a tourist route with even more magic than Adamson’s films.
Roots Gorge in Kazimierz Dolny – ‘The Field Guide to Evil’
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Still from ‘The Kindler and The Virgin’ directed by Agnieszka Smoczyńska, segment of ‘The Field Guide to Evil’, 2018, photo: Aurum Film / EchoWolf Productions / Timpson Films
Kazimierz Dolny is one of the most charming Polish towns. Since decades it’s been attracting writers, painters and film-makers, thus becoming a haven for artists and one of the most popular resorts by the Wisła River.
The town lured film-makers well before World War II, during the Interwar period. At the time, it was a notable centre of Jewish culture, with over 60% of its dwellers being Polish Jews. The legendary Dybbuk, directed by Michał Waszyński, as well as Yiddle with His Fiddle by Józef Green and Jan Nowina-Przybylski, featuring Molly Picon, were filmed here. After the war, Kazimierzy Dolny continued to serve as a site for numerous productions (e.g. Andrzej Barański’s Two Moons).
The town continues to tempt filmmakers today, and Agnieszka Smoczyńska-Konopka’s horror proves it. After the success of The Lure, the director was invited to join an international production of an eight-part, feature-length horror anthology called The Field Guide to Evil. As her part of the project, Smoczyńska made a short based on a 19th-century Masurian folk tale about Kindler, a man who devoured human hearts to win lawsuits.
Parts of the short were filmed in Kazimierzy Dolny, and the Roots Gorge facilitated shooting some of the horror film’s most vivid scenes.
Wrocław – ‘Bridge of Spies’, ‘Cold War’ & Others
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Wrocław, film set of ‘Bridge of Spies’, directed by Steven Spielberg, 2015, photo: Krzysztof Zatycki / Forum
Of all the Polish cities that appear in international productions, Wrocław deserves the title ‘master of metamorphosis’. On the screen, Wrocław became Prague in Tomás Weinreb’s and Petr Kazda’s I, Olga Hepnarová. It was transformed into cold-war Berlin in Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies and Paweł Pawlikowski’s Cold War. In Mamoru Oshii’s Avalon, Wrocław turned into a dystopic arena, while in Mike van Diem’s Oscar-winning Character, it became a part of truly Dickensian story based in 1920s Rotterdam. Greats of the cinematic world, such as Peter Greenaway, Andrzej Wajda, Wojciech Has and Agnieszka Holland, have also shot their films in Wrocław.
One of Poland’s most interesting cities, it continues to attract filmmakers with its beauty and architectural diversity. The city has long been a haven for Polish directors, as the Feature Film Studio was located here. The studio hosted productions of films such as Ashes and Diamonds by Andrzej Wajda, Polański’s Knife in the Water, The Saragossa Manuscript by Wojciech Has and On the Silver Globe by Andrzej Żuławski.
Warsaw: Inflancka & Służew nad Dolinką Estates – ‘Decalogue’
Krzysztof Kieślowski never asked simple questions, nor did he give obvious answers or use plain effects in his films. It’s no surprise, then, that he chosen average, communist-style housing estates to be the centre of his masterpiece – the Decalogue series.
In the series, the Warsaw-based Inflancka and Służew nad Dolinką estates became myth-like spaces. Amongst the tall grey blocks, endless sidewalks and massive, glass front door, all of the Decalogue characters met or passed one another. It is here that the young milkman from A Short Film About Love used to peep on his beautiful neighbour, and that the young woman from Decalogue IV started a dangerous game with her father and it is here that Artur Barciś (the Angel) wandered about with a kayak over his head.
The estates, which became sort of a macrocosm in Kieślowski’s films, really exist and haven’t changed a whole lot. The same goes for the different locations shown in Decalogue, like the small lake in Gocław, Ursynów’s Church of Ascension, the hospital on Lindley Street or the Central Railway Station.
A tool for an online tour around locations shown in Decalogue has recently been made available thanks to the film director Natalia Koryncka-Gruz. Visit Kieślowski’s Warsaw on https://mapadekalogu.pl/en.
Gdańsk – ‘The Tin Drum’
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Katownia (Torture Tower), Gdańsk, photo: Renata Dąbrowska / AG; still from ‘The Tin Drum’, directed by Volker Schlöndorff, 1979, photo: Argos Films / Artémis Productions / Bioskop Film
As one of the most picturesque Polish cities, Gdańsk has always been popular amongst film-makers. It’s not just its good looks though – the historical context matters too. Suffice it to say, the city made it to the history of film thanks in particular to Andrzej Wajda’s Gdańsk-based Man of Marble, Man of Iron as well as Walesa: Man of Hope – a historical fresco about the fall of communism in Poland.
But Gdańsk has also appeared in international productions, like the Bollywood Mersal, directed by Atlee Kumar, and in Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, where Gdańsk was depicted as a location for the CIA's infamous operations.
Volker Schlöndorff has made the most remarkable portrayal of Gdańsk, in his adaptation of The Tin Drum, a novel by Günter Grass. This Oscar-winning film follows the story of a young boy (also Oscar) who decides to stop growing in order to protest against the world around him – the world of rising fascism in the pre-war Free City of Danzig (Wolne Miasto Gdańsk). In Schlöndorff’s film, we can see Gdańsk Town Hall, the church in Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz and the Coal Market. In the scene where the boy’s squeaky scream shatters the windowpanes, the Golden Gate appears.
Książ Castle – ‘Valley of the Gods’ & ‘The Devil’
Built between 1288 and 1292, Książ Castle in Wałbrzych is one of the oldest remaining Polish castles and also the third-largest castle in Poland. During World War II, it served as one of Adolf Hitler’s lodgings. The Nazi German-built tunnels which run underneath the castle are one of the greatest tourist attractions in this area.
The eventful history of Książ Castle, as well as its majestic form, made this Wałbrzych-based monument one of the most attractive filming locations in Poland. The director Borys Lankosz took advantage of the place’s dark legend to film his spine-chilling Dark, Almost Night. For years, Książ Castle hosted productions of numerous adventure series for teenagers, such as Znak Orła (The Sign of the Eagle) and Mr Blot’s Academy. The castle has also attracted masters of cinematography: filmed within its walls were Andrzej Żuławski’s The Devil and Lech Majewski’s Valley of the Gods.
Książ Castle also hosted a Bollywood production of an action comedy, Sapthagiri Express, by Arun Pawar.
Goetz Palace in Brzesko – ‘Great Expectations’
The next film location on our list is also a favourite of Bollywood filmmakers. Goetz Palace is the former home of the owners of the Okocim Brewery, located in Brzesko, a small town near Kraków. This grand residence has been neglected for years, but nowadays flourishes as an exclusive hotel and restaurant complex – and it’s a perfect filming location.
For example, the makers of Fitoor, a Bollywood adaptation of Dickens’ Great Expectations, ‘hired’ Goetz Palace in 2014 and 2015 as a setting for their story about a love mésalliance and class conflict. Polish directors appreciate this location too. It has appeared in two films by Wojciech Smarzowski – first, in Angel; then, the former Goetz residence was turned into a bishop’s palace in the renowned Clergy, the most popular Polish blockbuster in years.
Izrael Poznański Palace in Łódź – from ‘The Promised Land’ to ‘Inland Empire’
It was impossible not to include this city on our list. Once a multicultural, working-class city, Łódź is a cradle of Polish cinematography and contains most of Polish filming locations. The Łódź Film School – attended by Polański, Kieślowski and Wajda – is located here too, as well as countless buildings and settings for filming purposes, many of which Paweł Pawlikowski used in Ida.
And although the whole city of Łódź forms a kind of history of Polish film, there are a few locations which deserve more of our attention – in particular the Izrael Poznański Palace. Often referred to as ‘the Łódź-based Louvre’, the 19th-century palace is one of the most popular filming locations in the city. It is here that Andrzej Wajda filmed his remarkable Promised Land, Filip Bajon shot Aria for an Athlete and David Lynch created Inland Empire. It was also amongst these walls that Cellin Gluck filmed his Persona Non Grata, the story of a Japanese diplomat who saved Jewish refugees during World War II.
Originally written in Polish, Mar 2020, translated by Agata Dudek-Woyke, Dec 2020
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