Located about a 30-minute drive north of Poznań, Szamotuły has preserved not only a clearly visible medieval layout of narrow streets but also – unlike most towns in the Wielkopolska Region – a castle that has survived to this day, including the legendary Gothic Halszka Tower. Szamotuły is also an excellent starting point for cycling excursions into the Noteć Forest.
Halszka Tower
Among the town’s historical landmarks is the 15th-century Szamotuły Castle, which is linked to the legend of Elżbieta Ostrogska – the wife of Łukasz III Górka – who was imprisoned in the tower. Elżbieta, known as Halszka, was said to have been one of the most beautiful women of her time. According to legend, her jealous husband, unloved in return, ordered her to be locked in the tower so that no one else could gaze upon her. It is said that on moonless nights, the ghost of this beautiful yet sorrowful woman, dressed in black, still wanders through the castle gardens…
The castle houses the Górka Castle Museum, where visitors can see not only an ethnographic exhibition devoted to the town and region but also a priceless collection of Orthodox and Greek Catholic icons – many of which originate from thwarted attempts to smuggle works of art from the East.
Collegiate church in Szamotuły
In Szamotuły, it is worth visiting the Gothic Church of Our Lady of Consolation and St Stanislaus the Bishop, which holds the status of a minor basilica. It is the oldest preserved monument in the town, dating from around 1423-1431. Over its long history, it has belonged not only to Catholics but also to Lutherans and the Moravian Brethren.
The image of Our Lady of Consolation is an object of particular veneration. Its origin is mysterious, but it is most likely an Orthodox icon – a copy of the Kazan Mother of God – which once belonged to the Moscow princes. It arrived in Szamotuły in the 17th century and quickly became renowned for its miraculous powers.
