Small town of Ketzryn

The city of Ketzryn is a small town in the north eastern corner of Poland – there really aren’t a lot of great sights within the city but we still stayed here a couple of days. The city has a small old castle and a pretty lake in the outskirts of the city which is some of the most interesting thing to see in the town. There is a few nice buildings and a large church in the town in addition to the other attractions.

Really there is not enough in this town to deserve an extended visit – but the city is home to some of the few hotels in the area which will stay open outside the peak tourist season. Therefore the city is the natural base if you want to explore the area around Ketzryn – and there is good reason to go and explore this area since you actually find some of the most interesting sights in Poland within a short drive away from the town.

About 30 kilometers to the east of Ketzryn you find the town of Gizycko which is the main town at the Masurian Lakes. From this town you can get out on the lakes for a quick boat trip or you can just get around the area and see some of the different lakes which are spread out over 90 kilometers at this part of Poland. Just outside the center of Gizycko you find the old Boyen Fortress which is a large former German fortress which was built to defend the eastern border of Germany against an attack from Russia. The fortress was actually never used in battle but it is still an interesting place to visit and it operates as a museum now.

The most notorious sight around the city of Ketzryn is the Wolf’s Liar which was Hitler’s headquarter during most of the time between late June 1941 and November 1944. Hitler spent 800 days here at this remote part of East Prussia during the battle on the eastern front of World War II. You find the Wolf’s Liar just outside the small town of Gierloz which is about 8 kilometers to the east of Ketzryn.

About 13 kilometers to the west of Ketzryn you find the large old monastery of Swieta Lipka Sanctuary. It is a large complex which is good for a visit and unlike the other places of interest in the area it is actually free to visit the monastery. All these sights outside Ketzryn is pretty high on a list of the most interesting tourist sites in Poland so it is actually worth spending a couple of nights in the small town despite the lack of attractions inside the city itself.