- MUST SEE
- History Tours, Must See
- 8 hrs
Visit the Auschwitz Museum, the site of the largest Third Reich concentration camp. Learn how the complex functioned and see the barracks where prisoners were kept.
Quick Details
Visit the Hometown of Karol Wojtyła
The trip to Wadowice is an occasion to learn more about the life of the Holy Father in the days of his youth spent in Wadowice. The charming market square in Wadowice with the remarkable characteristic tower of the parish church of the Offering of the Blessed Virgin Mary as well as the Family House commemorating the life and activity of John Paul II in Poland will take tourists to the day of 18th May 1920, when Karol Wojtyła was born in a flat adjoining the wall of the temple. “Time flies, eternity awaits” – these words are still inscribed on the sundial painted on the church wall visible from the room in which the Pope was born.
The memorable last pilgrimage of John Paul II to Wadowice took place on 16th June 1999. On that day, talking to inhabitants who had arrived at the meeting, he described his beloved hometown in the following words: “Here, in this town, in Wadowice, everything began.” The beginning mentioned by the Pope referred to his life, whose paths were directed towards the priesthood.
During the tour:
- Tourists will visit the famous Wadowice market square, from which the view spans the most important places for Karol Wojtyła: his family home (currently the Museum Family Home of the Holy Father John Paul II), the parish church where he was baptized and the primary school he attended (today’s Magistrate). During the tour, references will be made to the aforementioned passions and moments that put a smile on the Holy Father’s face.
- Trip includes a tasting of young Lolek’s favorite cake – “kremówka” – the recipe of which is based on two pieces of puff pastry sprinkled with powdered sugar between which a layer of sweet cream is inserted.
- Tourists will visit the Sanctuary of Our Lady in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, which was a favorite place of pilgrimage for young Karol Wojtyła as a child.
- During the journey there will also be magnificent views of the Pope’s beloved mountains – the Beskids – into which he repeatedly made long solitary journeys.