Chelmno

Chelmno was laid out by the Teutonic Order in 1233 on a bluff above the Vistula and its grid, its walls and its churches have all survived, which is rare: two and a quarter kilometres of medieval wall with the Grudziadz gate still standing, a large market square, and six Gothic brick churches in a town of twenty thousand, all built between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The town hall in the square is a Renaissance rebuild of 1567-1572 with a decorated attic, and on its wall is a medieval measuring rod, the Chelmno rod, cut into the stone. The parish church holds a reliquary said to contain relics of St Valentine, given in the Middle Ages, and Chelmno has built on this to call itself the town of lovers, with a February festival. The layout of the Chelmno law, the town charter used across northern Poland, took its name from here.

What you actually see

• Two kilometres of wall - the medieval circuit largely complete, with a surviving gate.
• Six Gothic churches - all thirteenth and fourteenth century, in a small town.
• A Renaissance town hall - rebuilt in the 1560s, with the measuring rod on its wall.
• The Valentine relics - the basis of the town-of-lovers festival in February.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Honest expectations

Several of the churches are open only for services or by arrangement. The town is quiet with limited food outside the square. February brings the Valentine crowds. The bluff walk is exposed.

Nearby

Grudziadz is north; Torun is upstream.