Museums
a Gothic castle on an island with a tower, Lubinus's map of Pomerania and a collection of Oriental art
Churches and monasteries
a Gothic church with the sarcophagi of the Dukes of Pomerania and an oak from 1817 next to it
Churches and monasteries
a former cemetery chapel on a hexagonal plan with a twelve-sided ambulatory and polychromes
Historic sites
the only surviving one of Darłowo's four town gates, brick with four storeys
Historic sites
Baroque town hall of 1725 with a stone portal from its predecessor and a fountain with a fisherman
Historic sites
a shipowners' house with a gable decorated with bas-reliefs and a plaque with a cog on the side wall
Architecture in Darłowo: a Gothic castle on an island, St Mary's Church, the High Gate, a Baroque town hall and a shipowner's house dated 1604.
Darłowo has a compact centre where buildings from different centuries stand a short distance apart. That makes the selection a ready walking plan: from the castle through the market square to a cemetery chapel in the suburb. Other addresses in town are gathered under Darłowo, and buildings from the whole region under architecture.
The castle was raised in brick in the 14th century in the Gothic style. The waters of the Wieprza and the Mill Canal surround it, so it seems to stand on an island. A museum works within the walls, so besides the outline you also see the interiors.
Zamek Książąt Pomorskich w Darłowie (Castle of the Pomeranian Dukes) lies on Zamkowa street. Its exhibitions, among them Eastern art, sculpture and an early map of Pomerania, make it a fair choice for a poor-weather day. A museum has been based in the castle since 1930. The history of the walls and later alterations is described in the article the castle in Darłowo: a Gothic building on the Wieprza and its alterations.
Around Plac Kościuszki stand the town hall, St Mary's Church and a house dated 1604. Within a few hundred metres you see Baroque, Gothic and burgher architecture.
Ratusz w Darłowie (Town Hall) was set up in 1725 in a building that had been market halls, to which a storey and a Baroque appearance were added. A Renaissance portal from its predecessor survives, and a fountain of 1919 stands in the square. Next to it is Kościół Mariacki w Darłowie (St Mary's Church), brick, 14th-century, with sarcophagi of the Pomeranian dukes and an oak planted in 1817. The parish is run by Franciscans. On the corner of Powstańców Warszawskich and Rynkowa streets stands Kamienica Hemptenmacherów w Darłowie (Hemptenmacher House), a shipowner's house on the register of monuments, with reliefs on the gable and a cog shown on a plaque at the side. Wider background comes in Darłowo's old town between St Mary's, the High Gate and the houses and in town halls of the eastern part of the region.
The High Gate stands about 120 metres north of the market square, and St Gertrude's lies further out, in the former Słupsk Suburb. One route to the north links both.
Brama Wysoka w Darłowie (High Gate) of the 14th century is the only one of the town's four old gates to survive. It is square in plan and privately owned, so it is admired from Powstańców Warszawskich street. Further on stands Kościół św. Gertrudy w Darłowie (St Gertrude's Church), once a cemetery chapel. It resembles a rotunda: a hexagonal space inside, circled by a twelve-sided ambulatory. Today it is a parish church and stands in an active cemetery, so keep quiet there.
At the castle on the island, then on to Plac Kościuszki with the town hall and St Mary's. Leave the High Gate and St Gertrude's for last, as they lie north of the square.
The gate is privately owned, so it is usually seen from outside.
A museum. Visitors can see, among other things, a section of Eastern art, sculpture and a historic map of Pomerania.
It comes from a shipowners' family who lived in the house in the 19th century. The date 1604 is on the building, and a cog appears on the side plaque.
