Museums
steam locomotives from 1909-1928, carriages and a turntable on the tracks of a former light railway
Churches and monasteries
a Gothic hall church of the 13th-15th centuries with a 51.5 m tower and Baroque interior furnishings
Historic sites
brick defensive gate of the 15th century, housing a tourist information point and a museum
Historic sites
Gothic gate of the 14th century with a clock and a bugle call, today with guest rooms
Churches and monasteries
neo-Gothic church, a former brick Old Lutheran church, Orthodox since 1954
Lakes
Churches and monasteries
Gothic brick chapel of the 15th century in the cemetery, formerly a hospital chapel, today with a lapidarium
Historic sites
a Gothic brick tower from the 15th century, 25 m high, with a viewing balcony over the town
Historic sites
an oval circuit of walls with gates and towers that still surrounds the Gryfice Old Town
Churches and monasteries
a Modernist brick church of 1930-1932, entered in the heritage register
Solo in Gryfice means a walk along the gates and towers of the Old Town, a few churches and a narrow-gauge railway museum, with no plan needed.
Gryfice is easy for one person: the Old Town is tiny, its sights lie a few minutes apart, and you view most of them from the street, so there is nothing to reserve. Other places in town are on the page of things to do in Gryfice, and the wider regional list is solo travel attractions.
Start with a loop along the former town walls: about an hour and a half at an easy pace, with stops at the gates, towers and churches. Plan the railway museum separately, as it lies on the edge of town, and the lake if you have time for a quiet rest.
Fortifications are the most coherent theme here and fit into one loop. You begin in the south and finish by the Rega river in the north-east.
Brama Wysoka w Gryficach (High Gate in Gryfice) closes the Old Town from the south, a brick gate built in the 1400s. Inside are a tourist information point and a gallery, which makes it a handy start for getting a map and asking questions. In the north stands Brama Kamienna w Gryficach (Stone Gate), an older gate dating from the 14th century, fitted with a clock that plays a bugle call; a provincial road passes right under it, so traffic is audible up close. Between them run the Mury obronne w Gryficach (Town Walls), whose surviving fragments can be seen along several streets and by the river.
At the end of the loop, on Nadbrzeżna street, is Wieża Prochowa w Gryficach (Gunpowder Tower), a Gothic tower made of two cylinders, with a viewing balcony added in 2007. How the towns of the region kept their defences is covered in the article Walls and gates of West Pomeranian towns.
Three churches and a chapel represent four different periods, so they are best seen on a single walk: from Gothic through Neo-Gothic to modernism.
Kościół pw. Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Gryficach (the Assumption church), also called the Mariacki church, is a Gothic hall whose tower, 51.5 metres tall, dominates the skyline of the Old Town. The brick Cerkiew Zaśnięcia Przenajświętszej Bogurodzicy w Gryficach (Orthodox church) on Nowy Świat street is Neo-Gothic, a former Old Lutheran church that has been Orthodox since 1954. The Kościół Najświętszego Serca Pana Jezusa w Gryficach (Sacred Heart church) on Górska street dates from 1930-1932, a modernist brick building listed in the register of monuments. Outside the centre, by the cemetery on Broniszewska street, stands Kaplica św. Jerzego w Gryficach (St George's Chapel), a Gothic cemetery chapel with a lapidarium, so keep a quiet, respectful tone there.
Stała Wystawa Pomorskich Kolei Wąskotorowych w Gryficach (narrow-gauge railway exhibition) on Błonie 2 street shows old steam locomotives and wagons of the region's small railways and belongs to the National Museum in Szczecin. The exhibits explain themselves, and the tag marks it as a rainy-day option, so a solo visit works well. If you prefer water, Jezioro Kołomąckie (Lake Kołomąckie) has a beach and piers in its north-eastern part, while the rest of the shore is wooded and reedy.
Yes. The Old Town sights lie a few minutes apart and are viewed from the street, and the tourist information point in the High Gate helps with choosing a route.
The best choice is the narrow-gauge railway exhibition, which carries the rainy-day tag. Leave the gates and towers for a dry spell.
Yes, Lake Kołomąckie has a beach and piers in its north-eastern part. The rest of the shoreline is wooded and reedy.
An hour and a half to two hours is enough for the gates, walls and towers, and a whole morning with the churches.
