Biala Podlaska is a beautiful town in Lublin Voivodeship (see our selection of trips around Lublin). It may boast of many interesting monuments and therefore it is an unquestionable attraction for history lovers. Moreover, its location near the border with Belarus makes the town a perfect starting point to Poland’s eastern neighbour.
Biala Podlaska can boast of many monuments. The most interesting are: the Radziwill’s palace & park complex from the 17th century, the church of St. Anna from 1572, Jewish cemetery from the 18th century, the late Baroque church of the Nativity of the Theotokos from the half of the 18th century and Bialska Academy from 1628 (currently a high school building).
There are many folk music groups in Biala Podlaska, including a choir, dance group and folk band. Biala Podlaska is also a popular pottery centre. Locals – Kazimierz and Ludwik Rogowski – are famous for grey ceramic manufacture. There is also a foundation (Kreacja – Magia Rąk) operating in the town. It promotes the region’s handicraft.
Biala Podlaska is also famous for its cyclical events. The most interesting are Biala Podlaska Days and A Farewell to Summer Vacations.
Biala Podlaska is a town in eastern Poland, in Lublin Voivodeship. It is situated at the boarder of South Podlachia Plain and Western Polesia, by the Krzna – the left tributary of the Bug. There are also two smaller rivers flowing through the town; they are the Klukowka and Rudka.
Biala Podlaska is a significant transport hub. Apart from the public transport (8 regular bus lines and two weekend lines), it has a bus terminal, from which private microbuses go to capital of Poland – Warsaw, Lublin, Terespol, Parczew, Bialystok, Konstantynow and Janow Podlaski.
There are two voivodeship roads (811 and 812) and A2 motorway (Terespol-Swiecko) running through Biala Podlaska.
The first records about Biala Podlaska are from 1345. The founder of the town may have been Piotr Janowicz, nicknamed “Biały” (Polish for “white”), who was the hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which Biala Podlaska was then a part of. In 1569 the town changed hands; the new owners were the Radziwill family. Under their rule, Biala Podlaska had been growing for two and half centuries. In 1622 the fortress and the castle were built and in 1628 Bialska Academy (since 1633 it was a branch of the Jagiellonian University, then called Krakow Academy) was established.
The prosperity period finished with Swedish invasion in 1655. The town was significantly destroyed; however, thanks to Michal Radziwill and his wife Katarzyna Sobieska, it quickly recovered. In 1670 Michal Kazimierz Radziwill gave Biala Podlaska town rights and the coat of arms. The last heir of the Radziwills, Dominik, died on 11 November 1813 in France.
In the interwar period, Biala Podlaska was growing fast. Then, Raabe’s Factory, the power plant and the Podlachia Plane Plant (Polish: Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów, PWS), which manufactured Polish airplanes, came into existence.
In 1944 Biala Podlaska was conquered by the Red Army and by soldiers of Home Army, who cooperated with them.
| Province: | Lublin |
| Telephone: | +48 83 |
| Accommodation: | Biala Podlaska hotels |
