This is where Tadeusz Nalepa started his legendary band Blackout, and Ignacy Łukasiewicz, the pioneer of oil industry, attended secondary school. A colourful Galician town, once situated along the important route connecting Vienna with Lviv, Rzeszów still benefits from its location at the junction of the international highways. After WWII, it took over the administrative functions previously held by Lviv. In the 1990s, when four provinces were merged into one, Rzeszów became the capital of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship. Since that time the city has been growing rapidly in many respects. Its territory has increased more than two-fold, and opportunities for doing business here have attracted many companies to start their operation in this area. Last but not least, Rzeszów has changed into a beautiful city which attracts more and more visitors.
Rzeszów, which is home to many companies and organisations, today frequently is a destination for business travellers, who in fact predominate over those coming here to see the landmarks and museums. The guests can use a wide range of hotels in the city and in the suburbs near the Rzeszów-Jasionka International Airport. In many of them, you can receive spa treatments and enjoy swimming pools. The menus in hotel restaurants obviously offer local dishes as well as wines and other products made in the Podkarpackie.
"Both business tourists and those who are simply fond of travelling are keen to try the local cuisine and they also want to visit places, see something, drink coffee or kraft beer in Rzeszów's Town Square," says Dr Krzysztof Szpara, member of the Polish Geographical Society, Branch in Rzeszów and a mountain guide; he also points out that the central square, and the entire Old Town are among the major landmarks of the city. Here you can visit the Rzeszów Cellars, with lots of multimedia attractions, as well as two old synagogues, relics of the past when the Jewish community constituted a significant part of the town’s population. One of the best known representatives of this community was the famous Hollywood director Fred Zinnemann, who was born in Rzeszów. The large mural referring to his classic film High Noon on Lisa-Kuli Street is a reminder of this fact.
"During a tour of the city, you cannot overlook the Old Cemetery, the town parish Church of St. Adalbert and St. Stanislaus, the Church and Monastery of the Bernardine Fathers - the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Rzeszów, the Wanda Siemaszkowa Theatre, or the complex of the former Piarist Convent, today the Secondary School No. 1, which boasts such alumni as Ignacy Łukasiewicz, the inventor of the kerosene lamp and founder of the world's first oil plant. Other magnificent landmarks include the Lubomirski Castle and Summer Palace. Interesting collections are on display in the museums in Rzeszów," mentions Krzysztof Szpara.
You will definitely enjoy a stroll along Aleja pod Kasztanami (Chestnut Avenue) where you can admire lovely Art Nouveau villas. The historic 3 Maja Street always attracts local people and visitors, but it is especially crowded during the Paniaga Festival held each year on the 3rd day of May. Those who would like to go jogging or roller-skating will definitely have a good time in the park along the Wisłok river, leading towards the Lisia Góra nature reserve. The promenade and the area around the artificial lake are as popular as the Old Town and the Rzeszów's shopping malls with boutiques of well-known brands and with local products.
Rzeszów is an excellent destination for those into culinary travels. Here, visitors can try delicacies from all over the region; in fact the Podkarpackie is known for many registered traditional food products, as well as honey and wine produced locally. "I don’t think I'm the only one who likes to explore the world through flavours, by visiting pubs and restaurants. In Rzeszów, there are lots of these, and many of them have local dishes on the menu, tasty, attractively served and unique," smiles traveller, ethnographer and journalist Jolanta Danak-Gajda. She likes to take her guests coming from abroad to the castle in Łańcut, located nearby.
"My friends from Rome came with their son when he was a child and we visited this stunning residence of the Potocki family," adds the traveller.
"Now, when he comes here in the summer, I suggest other interesting places to him. As a child, he especially loved the multimedia fountain, the trampoline parks and go-karts in the old Zelmer hall. In addition to the fun activities, I showed him attractions related to the cultural heritage. He really enjoyed the Rzeszów Ethnographic Museum. I also took him for a concert of organ music in Leżajsk and to a pottery fair in Medynia Głogowska; when we were leaving he was all covered in clay, but he also had a pot which he made himself".
"As a teenager, he visited the Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews During World War II in Markowa. He was deeply affected by what he saw. On the other hand, his fondest memories are associated with the trip by the 100-year-old narrow-gauge train from Przeworsk to Dynów. When the train entered the 600-metre-long tunnel in Szklary, the boy screamed overjoyed. A visit to the railway bunkers was also a great success; one is hidden inside Mount Żarnowska in Strzyżów, and the other located in Stępina. He especially enjoyed the one in Stępina, where you can peek into the rooms located alongside".
The railway shelter for military trains was built by Germans during WWII and this was where Hitler and Mussolini met in 1941. Today this is a landmark attracting those into military artefacts and historical re-enactments which take place here.
"Indeed, Rzeszów and the nearby areas are very interesting for those into military and industrial tourism, confirms Krzysztof Szpara. ‘The Central Industrial District created in this region during the interwar period was mainly associated with defence and aviation industry. The factories built at that time can still be seen today in many towns in the Podkarpackie region. Today, the traditions of the aviation industry in the area are continued by the Aviation Valley association of businesses operating in aerospace industry. Another unique tourist attraction connected with both industry and military history is the old research facility with rocket range in Blizna, where Germans tested V1 and V2 rockets during WWII". The Blizna Historical Park is located within forests and in the vicinity of a nature and history trail leading past the Polish Konik Breeding Reserve and valuable natural habitats.
Owing to the nearby forests and rolling hills, the surroundings of Rzeszów are really attractive. "The southern suburbs of Rzeszów are part of the Central Beskid Foothills, which include the Strzyżów and Dynów Foothills, truly beautiful regions with a wealth of natural and cultural attractions. The landscape of the rolling hills is captivating for tourists coming from the flatlands. You can admire the scenery from the new viewing tower on top of Maria Magdalena Hill (‘Magdalenka’); in good weather, you can actually see the Tatra Mountains from there," says Krzysztof Szpara. "Those into physical activity usually prefer to go to the mountains, but you can enjoy cycling and canoeing in the areas close to Rzeszów, as well. In the city there are also many options for those into various forms of physical recreation".
Cyclists, as well as cross-country skiers, enjoy the paths in the Bór Nature Reserve near Głogów Małopolski, within the natural ecosystem of the old Sandomierz Forest. Along the trail you can encounter national memorials honouring the victims of World War II. During a one-day trip out of town you can visit many fascinating historical landmarks, such as the Late Baroque Dominican Monastery and Church in Borek Stary, the synagogue and the Museum of Distillery in Łańcut, the lovely hunting lodge in Julin, once part of the large Potocki estate, as well as the palace in Werynia, once a residence of the Tyszkiewicz family.
The Ethnographic Park in Kolbuszowa presenting the cultural heritage of the Lasowiacy and Rzeszowiacy ethnographic groups also attracts lots of tourists. The collection comprises over 80 artefacts of wooden architecture: cottages, windmills, a water mill, a granary, a weaver's workshop, a blacksmith's shop, a school, an inn and shrines. While here, you can also visit the nearby Poręby Dymarskie to stop in the wooden church from the 17th century and see a true rarity, the image of the devil Tutivillus, especially feared in the Middle Ages. If it is the end of summer, and you travel along the road running through the beautiful forests, you will encounter mushroom pickers with baskets full of magnificent porcini and saffron milk caps.