Olsztyn

Olsztyn is a small city with a famous connection that I'll get to shortly. The 1st picture is the upper gate to the city and is the only part of the medieval walls I saw. The 2nd picture is the back of that gate. The mosaic is a gift from Pope John Paul II during his papal visit. The 3rd picture is the exterior of the Church of St. James where the Pope visited. I was surprised to see the scallop shell symbol of Santiago de Compostela, linking this church to the cathedral all the way at the west end of Europe on Spain. BTW, I didnt get to see inside the church as I visited on a Sunday, and there were back to back to back masses, precluding a tourist visit.
The 4th picture is actually about the famous historic connection. This is a a statue of Copernicus. He worked here in charge of the castle in the 5th picture and made many of his astronomic observations from the tower shown.
The last picture is unusual. This is a carving of a female deity that is a memorial to the pre-Christian warriors who died in battle but were not buried in their home towns.Read more