Destination: Poland

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Top Tens

Historic Castles

Poland has more than 100 castles, some of them among the most impressive in Europe. Here’s our top 10.

Malbork
Lidzbark Warmilski
Kwidzyn
Wawel
Pieskowa Skala
Baranów Sandomierski
Niedzica
Ksill
Goluchów
Krzyltopór

Must-See Movies

Head down to the local video store or browse the DVDs on www.amazon.com to pick up our choice of the 10 best films by Polish directors. Most are in Polish (except for The Pianist and Three Colours: Blue), but are available with English subtitles.

Nól w wodzie (Knife in the Water; 1962) Director: Roman Polanski
Kanal (Sewer; 1957) Director: Andrzej Wajda
Czlowiek z marmaru (Man of Marble; 1976) Director: Andrzej Wajda
Mil (Teddy Bear; 1981) Director: Stanislaw Bareja
Przesluchanie (Interrogation; 1982) Director: Ryszard Bugajski
Seksmisja (Sexmission; 1984) Director: Juliusz Machilski
Dekalog (The Decalogue; 1987) Director: Krzysztof Kiellowski
Three Colours: Blue (1993) Director: Krzysztof Kiellowski
Dlug (Debt; 1999) Director: Krzysztof Krauze
The Pianist (2003) Director: Roman Polanski

Novels

The following novels are mostly classics by leading Polish authors, except for The Polish Officer, which is by an American novelist but lends some insight into the Polish experience of WWII. All are available in English translation.

Quo Vadis (1905) by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Under Western Eyes (1911) by Joseph Conrad
Ashes and Diamonds (1958) by Jerzy Andrzejewski
Solaris (1961) by Stanis?aw Lem
A Minor Apocalypse (1984) by Tadeusz Konwicki
Who Was David Weiser? (1987) by Pawel Huelle
The Polish Officer (1995) by Alan Furst
Prawiek and Other Times (1996) by Olga Tokarczuk
Never Again! (2001) by Katarzyna Grochola
Dreams and Stones (2004) by Magdalena Tulli

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