Białystok combines a well-preserved Baroque residence with routes exploring Jewish heritage and other stories of the city. The “Las Zwierzyniecki” nature reserve near Park Zwierzyniecki adds a natural highlight. When choosing what to focus on during your stay, you can explore the history of the palace and its gardens, Jewish memorial sites, wooden architecture or the Mural Route. Visiting conditions vary: the Branicki Garden is open free of charge all year round, while the tower clock can be visited during the tourist season.

Palace, Garden and Family History

The Branicki Palace is a well-preserved Baroque magnate residence. Created in 2025, the “Polski Wersal” tourist route leads through the Branicki palace and garden complex. The Branicki Family Route takes visitors to sites associated with the lives and work of Stefan Mikołaj Branicki, Jan Klemens Branicki and Izabela née Poniatowska. The distinction is useful when choosing what to focus on: “Polski Wersal” runs through the complex, while the family route focuses on people and their sites.

The walk “Spacer w przeszłość Pałacu Branickich w Białymstoku” (A Walk into the Past of the Branicki Palace in Białystok) includes exhibitions on the site’s “medical” history since the time of the Branickis, the palace cellars with a multimedia story, and selected state rooms. These include the vestibule and the Aula Wielka. This themed experience differs from routes through the palace and garden complex or to sites connected with the family’s history.

The Branicki Palace is also home to the mechanism of one of Poland’s oldest functioning tower clocks. The clock can be visited during the tourist season. The Branicki Garden is open free of charge all year round; check local information before your visit.

Jewish Heritage and Remembrance

The Jewish Heritage Route leads to places and sites associated with the centuries-long presence of the Jewish population in Białystok, notable figures, initiatives and memorial sites. It encompasses both surviving sites and places whose traces have disappeared. This range extends beyond visible evidence and gives the route a distinct historical focus.

The Great Synagogue Memorial commemorates the synagogue built between 1903 and 1913. On 27 June 1941, about 800 people were locked inside the synagogue before the building and the surrounding Jewish quarter of Szulhof were set on fire.

Wooden Architecture, Murals and Forest

Unlike the well-preserved Branicki Palace, the Wooden Architecture Route draws attention to particularly interesting wooden buildings and clusters of wooden buildings in Białystok. Some of these buildings are falling into disrepair or are being lost. The route therefore focuses on a different building style and state of preservation from those of the Baroque residence.

In 2019, a printed map described walking, cycling and bus options for the official Białystok Mural Route; the map reflects the situation as of August 2021. Street art routes often need updating, so check for current route information before planning your visit.

The “Las Zwierzyniecki” nature reserve is part of a municipal woodland complex of about 70 hectares near Park Zwierzyniecki in Białystok. The approximate area refers to the entire woodland complex.

Discover more destinations: Łaźnie, Łapy, Oliszki, Zabłudów, Mińce, Uhowo, Zaścianki, Stelmachowo-Kolonia.

For the broader travel overview: Białostocki.