Wieza Trynitarska

The Trinitarian Tower is the tallest structure in Lublin's Old Town and its best viewpoint. It is a neo-Gothic tower standing beside the cathedral, with a square base rising to an octagonal top under a pointed metal roof. A climb up its stairs reaches a viewing gallery high over the quarter, and the lower floors hold the Archdiocesan Museum of religious art.

The view is the reason. From the gallery you look out over the tiled roofs and spires of the Old Town, across to the castle and out over the newer city beyond. On the way up you pass through the museum, so a single climb gives you both the art and the panorama. It is the clearest way to grasp the shape of the old quarter from above.

The Archdiocesan Museum fills the tower with religious art from across the region: icons, sculptures, paintings, vestments and old liturgical objects. Above the collection the stairs continue to the viewing gallery near the top of the tower. The gallery is reached by a long flight of steps, so the climb is part of the visit.

The tower stands among the former Jesuit college buildings by the cathedral. Its present neo-Gothic form was completed in the 1820s to the design of the Italian architect Antonio Corazzi, and the outline has changed little since. It later passed to the care of the church and now serves as the Archdiocesan Museum.

Around forty-five minutes covers the museum and the climb to the gallery. Allow a little longer if you stop to take in the view or linger over the collection.

The tower stands next to the cathedral at the edge of the Old Town, a couple of minutes from the Krakow Gate. Reach it on foot through the quarter. Access to the gallery is by stairs only. For the wider centre, see the Lublin guide.

The viewing gallery is reached by a long climb of stairs and is not suitable for those who cannot manage steps. There is no lift to the top.

The tower sits among the Old Town's main sights:

• The cathedral, right next door, with its Baroque frescoes.
• The Old Town, whose lanes spread out below.
• The Krakow Gate, a short walk away.

It is the highest viewpoint in the Old Town and gives a wide look over the rooftops, the castle and the city beyond. The round tower at the castle offers another good vantage lower down.

The Archdiocesan Museum, which shows religious art from the region, including icons, sculptures, paintings and vestments. The stairs run up through it to the viewing gallery.