Chęciny

Chęciny is a town of 4,400 people (2021) in the Świętokrzyskie province in central Poland. It is 15 km south of the regional capital of Kielce.

Understand
It was first mentioned in historical documents from 1275, and obtained its city charter in 1325. At that time was one of major urban centres of northern Lesser Poland.

The most important sight in Chęciny is the royal castle built in the late 13th or early 14th century on the Castle Hill above the town. It fell into a ruin in the 18th century and remains in that state.

For centuries Chęciny (or Chentshin) had a Jewish community and it had been the center of the Hasidic Chentshin dynasty, (Chęciny being pronounced as "Chentshin" or "Khantchin" in Yiddish.)



Get in
Chęciny does not have a railway stop. It is possible to reach Chęciny from Kielce by private minibus departing from the main bus station. Kielce's bus line #31 runs a few times a day between the centre of Kielce and Chęciny.

It's much easier to reach the town by car as it's right next to the S7 expressway which will eventually connect Warsaw and Kraków.

Get around
The town is small enough to explore on foot.

Go next

 * Kielce – the regional capital