Discover Szydłowiecki: Castle, Music and Cycling Routes

Szydłowiec Castle stands on an artificially raised island in the floodplain of the Korzeniówka. Together with a music museum housed in the castle chambers, buildings and places of remembrance, as well as cycling and walking routes, Szydłowiec offers a range of highlights for a stay.

Castle and Music Museum

Stanisław Szydłowiecki had the brick castle built between 1470 and 1480. Its chambers house the Muzeum Ludowych Instrumentów Muzycznych, which presents exhibitions, including three permanent exhibitions. Founded in 1968, the museum is considered the world’s first independent museum dedicated to folk musical instruments.

The Eksperymentarium Dźwięku is located in one of the castle’s oldest chambers and is considered a unique venue in Poland. Visitors can play rare musical instruments and create digital compositions here. The educational program also caters to different age groups: the museum offers lessons for children and adults in the form of workshops or lectures.

Sandstone, the Town Hall and Remembrance

St. Sigismund’s Church stands on the south side of the Great Market Square and is built from local sandstone. The church contains a tombstone for Mikołaj Szydłowiecki made of red marble. Alongside the sandstone, it represents a different material and another facet of local architectural history. Szydłowiec has a more than 600-year-old tradition of sandstone quarrying and stoneworking.

The Town Hall was built between 1602 and 1629. Its tower houses a reconstructed workshop of Władysław Malecki and an observation terrace. The gallery in the Town Hall tower offers wide-ranging views of the surrounding area. Together, the Town Hall’s rooms offer another element for a program focused on architectural history and craft traditions.

The Jewish cemetery is also among the city’s important places of remembrance: it is one of the largest preserved Jewish cemeteries in Poland. The symbolism on its tombstones points to the gender, profession and piety of the deceased. The significance of the site can therefore be understood not only through its size but also through the symbols on the tombstones.

Cycling Routes, Reservoir and Quarry

There are several cycling routes with specified distances. A description of Cycling Route No. 1 published in 2016 gives a distance of 23 kilometers, with a 33-kilometer variant. It runs from Szydłowiec via Szydłowiec PKP, Sadek and Barak, then back to Szydłowiec. Check route conditions before setting off. Cycling Route No. 6 is 25 kilometers long and starts and ends in Szydłowiec; Cycling Route No. 8 covers 24 kilometers and also starts and ends there. The options therefore differ both in length and in the named waypoints for Route No. 1 and its additional variant.

At the reservoir, a 4.5-kilometer walking path leads south out of the city. A combined pedestrian and vehicular promenade also connects the reservoir with the Great Market Square. Walking paths and observation terraces are available at the Podkowiński Quarry. These options offer different experiences: a longer walk, a connection between two places, or paths with views of the quarry.

Location and Orientation

Szydłowiec lies in the southern part of the Masovian Voivodeship, on the border with the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. The city is located on National Road S7, which runs through Gdańsk, Warsaw, Radom, Kraków and Chyżne. The stretch of the S7 that runs through the city and municipality of Szydłowiec is named “Indiańska Droga Sat-Okha”; the decision to give it this name was made in 2016.

When planning your trip, you can first decide whether to focus on the castle, music museum and historic buildings, or on cycling and walking routes. The specified route distances give cyclists a concrete basis for comparison; when planning cultural visits, architectural history, folk musical instruments and the symbols on the tombstones each offer distinct themes.

Discover more destinations: Jastrząb, Ostałówek, Sulistrowice, Szydłowiec, Chlewiska, Chustki, Grójec, Miński.

For the regional travel overview: Masovia.