This section is dedicated to take away all your "I wish someone had told me that before I went!" experiences. This way, you can spend less time settling in, and more time making new friends in your chosen hostel. We share our insider knowledge of tips, tricks and important things to look out for in Lublin.
Lublin was first mentioned in the late twelfth century, but archaeological findings show that even five thousand years ago, there were settlements near Lublin. It grew as an important city in the Polish Kingdom, and later became part of Austria, and then Russia, before rejoining Poland again after World War I. Lublin was a Jewish center for centuries, so it was badly affected during the World War II.
In the city, there are many historical buildings, especially in the old town with buildings from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century. The Cracow Gate and the Grodzka Gate have been preserved. Between the Grodzka Gate and the Castle, there was a Jewish neighborhood that was completely destroyed during the German occupation of Poland. The Lublin Castle was built first in the fourteenth century and later rebuilt many times. The St. John's Cathedral, built as a Jesuit church, is considered one of the first Baroque buildings in Poland. South of the city, you can visit the grounds of a former concentration and extermination camp, the State Memorial, and the Museum Majdanek. You can also visit the Lublin Castle or the Pharmacy Museum. Lublin is also only one hundred and eighty kilometers from Lviv and one hundred fifty kilometers from Warsaw, so it is a good stopping point between both cities.
There are not so many hostels in Lublin, but you still have a decent choice (in terms of number of hostels in Lublin, at least, because some of them offer quite miserable conditions!). Generally, hostels in Lublin are not very good, but at least their prices are more than affordable and you can find very good deals for your Lublin hostel. There are mainly two places near which hostels in Lublin are concentrated -- the first is the near the Lublin Castle and the second is near the Synagogue.
Written by local enthusiast for Lublin hostels
George Traveller