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Kielce – capital city of the region – is an important centre of cultural life in Świętokrzyskie. Every year Kielce hosts a whole array of events which attract thousands from all corners of the country. The city’s three theatres are widely known and highly regarded in Poland and abroad. The city’s cultural potential is enhanced with the activity of the Stefan Żeromski Theatre. The Theatre’s spectacles have earned numerous awards of prestigious festivals. The Kielce Dance Theatre and Puppet and Actor Theatre “Kubuś” also enjoy a broad-scale recognition.
Sienkiewicza Street is one of Kielce inhabitants’ favourite places, this is also the city’s main promenade. Sienkiewicza is where the historic character blends with the present-day commercial functions, this is also the city’s cultural life’s focal point.
The important cultural facilities of the Świętokrzyskie Region include Oskar Kolberg Philharmonic, Kielce Culture Centre and numerous museums and art galleries. Kielce’s architecture is dominated with sacral and historical monuments such as the Krakow Bishops’ Palace, the Kielce’s oldest Church of Saint Wojciech or the Cathedral Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumption.
Nowadays, Krakow Bishops’ Palace houses National Museum. It is Poland’s best-preserved historical monument of architecture from the Vasa dynasty times. The upper floor rooms have original interior decorations with beam ceilings, ceiling frescoes and friezes on walls. There are precious paintings from XVII and XVIII century, furniture, Gobelins, marble fireplaces and portals. It is one of the richest galleries of polish paintings. An Italian garden beds with 17th century layout were reconstructed in the back yard of the residence.
In Tokarnia near Kielce, you can see one of the largest skansen in Poland – Ethnographic Museum – showing the way the villagers in XVIII century lived. Its main goal is to collect, protect and share the folk cultures monuments from the area of Świętokrzyskie voivodeship, with particular emphasis on folk architecture, and popularization of folk culture.
Sources: targikielce.pl
