Tykocin is a gem of the Baroque, a meeting place of Polish and Jewish cultures, a sleepy and quiet town, as if painted by Chagal, a one which lives on the memories of its glorious past even today.
Tykocin, spread along the left bank of the Narew River, on the edge of the Knyszyn Forest (Puszcza Knyszyńska), 27 km (17 mi) west of Bialystok, is the oldest and the most beautiful urban complex in the historic Podlasie region. Its vintage buildings and unique spatial arrangement show that centuries ago, the town played a significant role in the Polish history.
Tykocin was particularly dear to the king Sigismund August, who had a fortified castle built here, including the main royal arsenal, a library and a treasury. Recently, the castle has been partly renovated.
Tykocin’s old market square, unchanged for centuries, with its small-town buildings, spreads an air of nostalgia. On the market square, there is a statue of the hetman Stefan Czarniecki (1763) with a ceremonial golden baton in his hand – the oldest secular statue in Poland. The town was an endowment to Czarniecki as a token of gratitude for his victory over the Swedes. Then the town become the property of the aristocratic Branicki family. The vista of the square market is closed by a Baroque Holy Trinity Church (1740-1750) with beautiful frescoes and richly ornamented altars.
Tykocin was one of the major Jewish centres. It is shown by the dimensions of the Baroque synagogue of 1642, Poland’s second-largest (after the Krakow). It reminds of the Jews murdered during the World War II. Inside the renovated temple, a number of artifacts are exhibited, including a bimah (an elevated platform with a table used for reading the Torah), aron kodesh (a cabinet used for storing the Torah), candelabra, cabinets with ritual vessels. The walls are covered with inscriptions in Hebrew. A special highlight is a dedication written by Chaim Herzog, a former president of Israel, whose family came from the Podlasie. Next to the synagogue, there is a former study and prayer hall, which now houses a branch of the Bialystok District Museum with a large collection of Judaica.
Visitors to Tykocin, especially those who come here with children, are encouraged to make a stop at a small village of Pentowo on the Narew river, which, in recognition of a great number of storks living here, has been awarded the title of the “European Stork Village’ by a Germany-based EURONATUR European Nature Heritage Fund.
There are many incentives for making at least a brief stay in Tykocin, not only the town’s magical atmosphere of the bygone centuries, but also its quiet, picturesque landscapes, rich wildlife and the hospitality of the local population.
www.tykocin.hg.pl /English/
