A strange place
Trip Start
Sep 12, 2006
1
8
100
Trip End
Sep 08, 2008
Nysa,
Poland
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Now Nysa isn't really famous for anything, and after an hour on the bus we soon found out why. Apparently it had once been one of the most important religious centres in Silesia, but it sustained massive damage during the Second World War, and all that remained were a few cathedrals, a strange tower, drab communist apartment blocks and very sour looking people. We found the Rynek within ten minutes, and were a little puzzled by what we saw. Perhaps it was the grey skies, but the place was quite literally dead.
Feeling a little peckish, we went into the first restaurant we came across and ordered some lunch and a beer. We weren't expecting to find much in Nysa, so food and beer was our main priority. After an hour or so inside the cosy restaurant we decided to at least see some of the city, so we spent another hour walking around. The main cathedral was the highlight; however the tower next to it was quite odd. Apparently begun in the 15th century, it was never completed, and consequently looked quite odd next to the huge cathedral. We found one quiet little cobblestone side street which made for some nice photos, but on the whole we just wandered around trying to make sense of the place. The post war architecture left a lot to be desired, and we continually walked past the same people. Within an hour we felt as if we knew everyone in the town! If the strangest thing we saw wasn't some old overgrown circle, it was a Romanian or Bulgarian gypsy woman asking us for a cigarette. In English!
Having felt we'd truly done the place justice, we found a subterranean restaurant and bar in the square, and spent about two hours drinking a few more Zywiecs. We attracted a number of curious stares from people who probably weren't accustomed to the sound of a foreign language in their small city; however there was nothing we could do but wait until the next train, which incidentally was the last for the day. Although we were far from amazed by the place, it certainly was a change from another quiet Sunday in Opole, and we managed to find more than enough to amuse ourselves!
Comments
Weird derelict market
Now Will, I know you weren't in Nysa for long but I can tell you that the 'Market' you spoke of is actually a Fort, one on seven in the City.
I am an English Teacher in the town, I hope you enjoyed your visit to Tevere and the beers.
Eighty percent of the City was destroyed in the second world war, and those strange towers you spoke of (There are two of them) used to be the City walls and look out posts.
Without defending the place as it is quite dull and as you rightly said the people aren't the warmest to strangers, I have noticed that the longer you stay the more welcome you become and I am something of a local celebrity being the only English man in town.
Regards,
Mark Daws.
Too Bad
While surfing the net, I came across your commentary about my hometown - Nysa, Poland. It's too bad that you didn't enjoy your stay in Nysa, but I can assure you if you did your research, you would've had much better time. Nysa is a very historic town, and what may seem as unfinished structures to you, holds decades and decades of history. I was born and grew up in Nysa, later on moving to Florida, but I miss my hometown everyday. Now I don't know what kind of attractions you guys were looking into, but from what I read you sound like you like to drink and party. Nysa being a valley, is surrounded by great natural attractions, one of them being the big lake (Jezioro Nyskie) right on the perimeters of Nysa. There you would've found many water sport attractions, small beach, horseback riding, camping, and many young 'college crowd type' individuals enjoing the outdoors if you know what I mean. Also, every last weekend in May, Nysa celebrates its days, it's like Nysa Days Fest. It's a 3 day event over the weekend, and takes place in an open stadium. There are stages set up, famous musicians come into town and perform, great food, plenty attractions and raffles, and most of all beer beer and more alcohol. I attended few of those events when I was living in Nysa and always had fun. Even though I enjoy my nights-out on South Beach much better, I wouldn't mind heading home for the fest. So with that said, I hope sometime in your lifetime you get a chance to revisit and see what Nysa has to offer - really. By the way, I enjoyed viewing the photos you took during your stay.
Re: Too Bad
Thank you for your comment, I appreciate it. Admittedly, we did do very little research before visiting Nysa. Only after we returned to Opole did we find out that there was a large lake nearby.
You're correct, I don't mind a beer, but I also enjoy visiting new places and learning about the history. Since I visited Nysa I've met a few people who come from there, and they've all given me a little more insight into the place. I hadn't heard of the festival you mentioned in May, but that might be a good time for me to revisit the town.
Re: Weird derelict market
oi mark gis your email address....sean misses you so much he wants to give you a big hug and kiss....(obviously thats me really!!) how's you? natalie p.
Re: Weird derelict market
Must admit Nysa can be boring, there are only a few spots worth visiting, Tromba, if you can get in, the small pizzeria just opened last year is nice, if you can get a seat, Tevere is good fo a pizza and a beer, however there are no good pubs in Nysa. Last New Years Eve, My wife and I visted NYSA and couldn't get into any f the pubs, they hold all private parties and if you are not a local or invited, you aint celebrating New Years in NYSA, shouldve went to Wroclaw like I had planned, New Year 2008 was spent sitting watching TV at my wifes parents,, Yippeee, Thanks NYSA..
The lake is worth a visit in Summer, plenty of little cafes on the way down to the main beach area and they set up beer tents in summer.. Unfortunately when we were there last summer 2007, there were a load of fights between rival gangs, this went on most of the night spilling out over the beach and totally ruined the atmosphere of the place. Guards or Police did nothing, it was a free for all.. Too much fire water, oh and watch out they charge you to go to the toilet, so if you are at a restaraunt it can get expensive if you need to run to the toilet after buying the beer.
Re: Re: Weird derelict market
Of all the places I've been in the world and written about on my blog, why has Nysa received the most comments?! Anyway, from what you describe, it doesn't sound remarkably different from anywhere else in Poland (which was my initial impression). Some nice pubs where it's hard to get a seat, beer gardens, 'buraki' beating the crap out of each other and having to pay to take a piss! Hmm, maybe one day I'll make it back down that way, but don't count on it :)
Nysa Poland
My ancestors came from this town and/or small vilages in the area back in about 1850! I'd love to visit someday just for that reason.
Retracing the roots
Retracing your roots is a terrific thing to do. Nysa isn't the most interesting part of Poland by any means, but you could combine it with a trip to more exciting destinations in Central Europe.
I am from Nysa
You've made me laugh by this text: 'We attracted a number of curious stares from people who probably weren't accustomed to the sound of a foreign language in their small city'... Dude! We have thousands of tourists from Germany every summer. You can see them everywhere then. And they are not coming just for few hours like you did, but they are staying for week or two. A lot of their ancestors came from this city which used to be German.
You can ask what do they do here by such a long time. Well, if you would ask some local people to show you real Nysa, not just the Town Centre ('Rynek') I'm sure that you'd have better opinion about this place. You could at least try to ask - I can assure you that a lot of young people can speak in English. They would show you few GREAT pubs and amazing restaurants. I won't go into details but pub named 'Staromiejska' is doing huge impression on people even from Wroclaw or Krakow. Or pub/restaurant named 'Traba' or the other one 'Fort' are outstanding! But you must know where to look for.
Anyway, one of the biggest attractions in Nysa is big 'Nysa Lake' just next to the city. There is a lot of villas, houses for rent, campsite, two great, clean, big beaches, tens of small pubs and restaurants, and many young people (beautiful girls) from all country (and not only). If you were in Nysa during spring/summer time and you didn't go there - you saw nothing :)
If you like to see monuments we have tens of historic buildings in the city and many of them are recognized as a unique in european use. Churches, historic forts and bunkers, underground secret tunnels (left by nazi), outstanding old buildings. But again - you must know where to look for!
Well, if you would come to Nysa again (by accident), let mi know. I'll show the beauty of this place :)
P.S. - at the moment I'm in Dublin. Before Ireland I 've been in London. A just want to tell you something: there is as many 'buraki' as it is in Poland. Maybe even more :)
Best Regards
Re: Re: Weird derelict market
Mark Daws... How it's possible that I do not know you :)?
BTW - in Ireland when I say that I'm from small city with the population only 50 000 people they say: 'Small? It's big! Galway is one of the biggest cities in Ireland and it has 70 000'. Heheh... :D
Re: I am from Nysa
Don't mind my 'P.S.'... It's not what I wanted to say...
Aye!
Re: I am from Nysa
I'm sure Nysa has more to offer than what I saw. And perhaps there are a lot of German tourists there, but there certainly aren't many English speakers, which is why I drew the stares. Or perhaps I just looked strange.
Nysa used to be Neisse
Nysa used to be Neisse,known as the Silesian Rome. In January 1945 ,the inhabitants were evacuated as the Russians pressed closer. These people left mostly on foot in freezing cold temperatures, my husband, then aged nine was one of them. By the end of the war, much of the city had suffered numerous bombardments from the English and the Americans.It was truly in ruins, and most likely would have officially been declared dead by German authorities.
Neisse was once a very fine center of Prussian culture and history. For my information on this time in history, I recommend 'The Tragedy of Silesia' . It is out of print, but may be able to be obtained through your local library.
This area of Germany was given to Poland , and next to nothing was done to rebuild the city in any aesthetic style. My bother in law visited as part of a scientific exchange with the then Soviet Union and found that that gravestones from the cemeteries had been used to pave the streets. There was nothing left of most of the homes and villas he knew. He left sobbing, and his wife said she would never take him there again. It was simply too heartbreaking.
What you see in today's Nysa is a dead shell of a town that belongs to no one but the ghosts. How very sad, and indeed tragic. I hope that today's inhabitants are able to reflect on the blood that was spilled, the terror and destruction , and somehow respond in a constructive way.
Re: Nysa used to be Neisse
Thank you for your post. It's certainly the most insightful I've received here.
.... ive been to nysa.....
.... and i think i met the guy who has posted 'i am from nysa'... tomo?
anyway, i just wanted to say that i have been to Nysa and i am from the UK and i happen to think it is a pretty cool little place. yeah it is suffering a little from the migration of a lot of young people, but this is changing fast.
I didnt get to see the forts or the tunnels or the beaches (i did drive over the dam!) because the weather was awful when i was there last year (very brittish i must say!), but i met a lot of cool people and there are lots of cool bars (especially Tromba) and reterants, some pretty cool little shops if you look and the countryside around is stunning. I will say however that local knowledge is a must to get the best out of this little town which is in fact jammed with historic interest and buildings which have survived times that hopefully none of us can contemplate.
i cant wait to go back there in the summer and hang out at the lake for a while... and see what happens when the sun is shining....... and of course have some kashanka in tromba with a zywiec!!
Nysa is delightful!
Hi,
I was shocked to read the neg comments about Nysa! Nobody there considers the foreign tourists or their language' strange'. Most younger locals study English or German and everyone seems very hospitable.
I visit Nysaevery two or three years and I think it's a very nice old Polish town though not as charming or interesting as Opole. It does have a great town square, a couple of wonderful restaurants and ice cream and pastry places. The park along the lake is wonderful too.
You should make it a base for exploring the wonderful Polish Spa resorts of Szklarska Poreba, Polanica, Duszniki (with its August Chopin Music Festival)and many others.
Nina
Re: I am from Nysa
Hi, I will be visiting Nysa for a week in June and would like to know where the best places are to eat and go for a quite drink.Would also appreciate any more info
Thanks