On the Trail of the Holy Warmia

Warmia, which was once called Holy Warmia, is a unique land in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, the history and culture of which is evidenced by the rich heritage of sacred architecture (over 2.500 monuments), places of worship associated with revelations, relics or miraculous images, as well as roadside shrines.

The latter were erected as votive offerings, supplications, and sometimes as places of ancient pagan worship to drive away evil spirits.

Mapa Szlaku Św. Warmii narysowana na mapie Warmii i Mazur. Na mapie widoczna pogrubiona linia Szlaku oraz wyszczególnione miejscowości dawnego Szlaku.

Following the footsteps of great Poles

Holy Warmia is also connected to outstanding people of the Church. Among its bishops, there were men of royal blood, later cardinals, primates of Poland, as well as outstanding creators of culture, including Jan Dantyszek, Marcin Kromer and Ignacy Krasicki. Here, Karol Wojtyła rested as a priest and traveled as Pope John Paul II. Here was the place of the forced isolation of the Primate of the Millennium, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński.

Here, Józef Glemp served as a bishop before he became the primate. In this area, for over 40 years, Nicolaus Copernicus, the great astronomer and canon of the cathedral chapter, lived and made discoveries.

Sixteen stations

The Holy Warmia Trail leads through these outstanding personalities and places important for the history of the Warmian bishopric and the Church itself. The stories are often colored with local legends. The Trail consists of sixteen stations – stops worth visiting either for a while or a little longer: Bałdy, Gietrzwałd, Olsztyn, Głotowo, Dobre Miasto, Lidzbark Warmiński, Stoczek Klasztorny, Bisztynek, Reszel, Święta Lipka, Tłokowo, Krosno, Chwalęcin, Pieniężno, Frombork, and Braniewo.

I. Bałdy: THE GATE TO MASURIA