Stary Sącz: market square and Poor Clares' convent

Stary Sącz is a small town where the Poprad flows into the Dunajec, and one of the oldest towns in Małopolska. Its history is closely tied to Saint Kinga (Cunegunda), a Hungarian princess and wife of Duke Bolesław the Chaste of Kraków. In 1257 the duke granted her the Sącz Land, and Kinga founded a convent of Poor Clares here, endowing it with the town. After her husband's death, in 1279, she entered the convent herself. The town received Magdeburg rights in 1358 from Casimir the Great. When Nowy Sącz, founded in 1292, grew up nearby, the old town gradually lost importance — which is exactly why it kept the feel of an old market town.

In 1795 a great fire destroyed almost the whole town, including the town hall; only one 17th-century stone house survived, known as the "House on the Hollows" (Dom na Dołkach). Because of its preserved medieval layout, Stary Sącz was declared an urban heritage reserve in 1954.

What to see

• The market square — one of the largest and best-preserved squares in Poland, paved with river cobbles and lined with low 18th–19th-century houses. There has been no town hall since the fire of 1795.
• The Seweryn Udziela Regional Museum in the Dom na Dołkach (Rynek 6) — the history and culture of the town, with exhibitions on the opera singer Ada Sari, who spent her childhood here, and on the philosopher Father Józef Tischner, a native of Stary Sącz.
• The Poor Clares' convent with the Gothic Church of the Holy Trinity and St Clare. Inside are Baroque paintings of the life of Saint Kinga and a 1671 pulpit in the form of a Tree of Jesse. The convent library holds 13th-century music manuscripts, among them the conductus "Omnia beneficia", the oldest known example of Polish polyphony. The convent is active, so keep quiet and respect services.
• The Church of St Elizabeth of Hungary — the parish church from the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, with an organ of 1679 reconstructed in 2021–2023.
• The Papal Altar on the Stary Sącz meadows, where John Paul II canonised Kinga on 16 June 1999.
• The Forest Pier (Leśne Molo) on Miejska Góra — a wooden treetop walkway opened in 2021.

Every year the town hosts the Stary Sącz Festival of Early Music, held since 1975; concerts take place in the Poor Clares' church and in St Elizabeth's.

Practical information

Stary Sącz lies about 8 km (as the crow flies) south-west of central Nowy Sącz. It has a railway station on the Tarnów–Leluchów line and bus connections with Nowy Sącz, and there is parking on and around the market square. The VeloDunajec cycle route passes through the town, and a hiking trail starts at the station towards Wielka Przehyba in the Radziejowa range (about 4 h 50 min).

The Regional Museum is open in May, June and September Tuesday to Saturday 10:00–16:00 and Sunday 10:00–13:00; in July and August Tuesday to Saturday 10:00–17:00 and Sunday 10:00–16:00; from October to April Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–13:00. Tickets cost 18 zł, reduced 12 zł, family 42 zł. Information as of October 2026. The town is flat and compact; exploring it on foot takes half a day and suits families with children and older visitors.

Nearby

In Nowy Sącz, visit the Sądecki Ethnographic Park, where a replica of the town hall once planned for Stary Sącz now stands. South along the Poprad are the ruins of Rytro Castle and the spa town of Krynica-Zdrój; west along the Dunajec are Szczawnica and the Dunajec raft trip.

Official website: muzeum.starysacz.org.pl

Photos: Chris Olszewski, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Pankrzysztoff, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons; Ffolas, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons; Fmbar22, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons; Panoramer360, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; John Samuel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Henryk Bielamowicz, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.