Swieta Lipka

Swieta Lipka - Holy Linden - is a village of a few dozen people with one of the finest baroque churches in northern Poland in it, built between 1687 and 1693 by Jerzy Ertli of Vilnius on the site of a medieval shrine, and it is complete: church, arcaded cloister enclosing it on four sides with corner chapels, and the original furnishing. Two things stand out. The ceiling paintings, by Maciej Meyer of Lidzbark in the 1720s, include architectural illusions - a dome painted on a flat vault that only resolves from one point on the floor. And the organ, built by Johann Josua Mosengel in 1719-1721, has a case with figures of saints and angels that turn and move when it plays, demonstrated several times a day in season and often to a crowd. It is a Jesuit foundation and remains a working pilgrimage church.

What you actually see

• A church inside a cloister - the arcaded square enclosing it with corner chapels.
• Painted false domes - Meyer's illusion ceilings that resolve from one spot.
• The Mosengel organ of 1721 - carved figures that move as it plays.
• The whole ensemble intact - built 1687-1693 with its furnishing in place.

When to go

May to September. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The organ demonstration runs to a timetable and is short and crowded. The church closes to sightseeing during services and pilgrimages. The village has almost no services. Coach groups dominate summer mornings.

Nearby

Reszel castle is six kilometres west; the Masurian lakes are south.