A late Gothic brick building, the preserved Stary Rynek and an artificial reservoir north of the town offer contrasting highlights in Środa Wielkopolska. Also worth noting are a historic narrow-gauge railway, a museum in the station building and a cycle route through the town. When planning your visit, you can consider the town’s history, transport links and waterside recreation as distinct focal points.
History and Architecture in the Town Centre
The historic centre retains its original street layout within the former town fortifications. Stary Rynek is the preserved market square of the medieval town. Together, these features show two sides of the town centre: the street layout within the former fortifications and the medieval market.
The Collegiate Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is late Gothic and was built of brick between 1423 and 1428. During the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, regional assemblies of the Poznań and Kalisz voivodeships were held there. The construction dates place its origins in context, while the assemblies point to the building’s political importance at the time.
On Wiosny Ludów Street stands a former Evangelical church in the Neo-Romanesque style, built from 1881 to 1888. The two buildings differ in style and period of construction: one is the late Gothic collegiate church, the other the former Evangelical church. By the water tower in Środa Wielkopolska stands a monument to General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski, erected in 1997 and designed by Robert Sobociński. It is considered the first monument of its kind in Poland.
Rail and Cycling Links
Transport links also vary in scale. The historic Środa Wielkopolska–Zaniemyśl narrow-gauge railway connects the two towns, while the Transwielkopolska Cycling Route passes through Środa Wielkopolska. The Środa Narrow-Gauge Railway Museum is located in the ŚRODA WIELKOPOLSKA MIASTO station building. Thus, a historic rail connection, a cycle route through the town and a station museum offer different points of interest.
Reservoir, Sport and Landscape
An artificial reservoir lies north of Środa Wielkopolska. It was created by damming the Moskawa between 1968 and 1971 and has a geodetic area of 47.7 hectares. It serves mainly as a recreational area for the town’s residents.
There are sand courts for beach volleyball on Plażowa Street. Two are next to a tennis court, while two more are right by the shore of Lake Średzkie. Their locations make the four courts easy to distinguish.
In the southwest of the Środa Wielkopolska municipality, the Struga Średzka streams form the extensive Bagna Średzkie wetlands, a protected landscape area. Rare and protected bird species occur there, including herons, mute swans, grebes, black-headed gulls, lapwings and penduline tits. This natural area is located at the municipal level and complements the town’s cultural and transport attractions with wetlands and a specifically named range of birdlife.
Discover more destinations: Jeziory Wielkie, Pierzchno, Koszuty, Chłapowo, Murzynowo Kościelne, Brodowo, Chocicza, Zaniemysl.
For the broader travel overview: Schroda.
