St Sigismund

The medieval town had a large Jewish population, and in the 18th / 19th century was a hotbed of Frankism, an anarchic Jewish sect. Almost all 30,000 were wiped out in 1941, events depicted in Art Spiegelman's graphic novel Maus.

Built from 1901 to 1927 in sturdy Neo-gothic redbrick, with the towers added in 1997, it's cavernous inside.

Halina Poświatowska (née Myga, 1935-67) was a poet and writer, whose lyrical but melancholy works remain popular today. At age 9 a streptococcal infection exacerbated a congenital heart condition, so she was an invalid with heart failure for her short life in spite of two operations. At 19 she married a similar young invalid, Adolf Ryszard Poświatowski, who died two years later. Her brother Zbigniew Myga curates this museum of her life and work.

Production of matches began here in 1882. What you see now is the process from 1930, when the factory was re-built after a second fire; a third fire in 2008 busted the owners and it never resumed production. Guided tours (only in Polish) walk you through the manufacture.

This is the main site of the museum, exhibiting history of the city and its citizens. There's a viewing gallery atop the clock tower. However vandals ripped open a water valve and flooded the place: the exhibits were saved, but it's not known if the building will be reparable.

Built as an Orthodox church in 1870, it passed to the Roman Catholics in 1914.