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Five kilometres south of Jaskinia Raj along the Krakow road (at the end of the #31 bus route), the little town of CHECINY makes for an interesting historical diversion. A sleepy provincial town nestled peacefully at the foot of the overlooking hill, and focused around a characteristic open square, the town looks and feels like the kind of place where nothing much has or is ever going to happen. Though there's not a great deal to see, as often, an awareness of historical context lends places like this their peculiar aura of poignancy mingled with charm. For centuries Checiny, like many towns in the surrounding area, was a typical Polish shtetl , with Jews making up more than half the population. The Jews are gone now, but the buildings they created remain - synagogue, merchant houses, cemetery - in silent testimony to their age-long presence. Look carefully at some of the houses on and around the square, for example, and you can still see the spot on the doorpost where the mezuzah ripped out by the Nazis once sat. On one side of the square stands the Parish Kosciol sw. Jozefa (St Joseph's Church), an unremarkable place notable mainly for its organ, built in the 1680s and still functioning with the help of its intricate original mechanical action. A short walk along ul. Dluga is the former synagogue , a characteristically solid brick structure with a two-tiered roof built in the early seventeenth century. Like many former synagogues this is now a cultural centre, but as with all too many other former Jewish places of worship, a few decorative features apart there's been little attempt to preserve anything of the original features of the building, the main prayer hall now functioning as a weekend disco complete with glittering lights illuminating the empty frame of the Aron Ha Kodesh. More encouragingly, the place has recently acquired a sign that at least indicates its previous function. If you're feeling reasonably fit it's worth scrambling up the hill behind the square to the imposing castle ruins perched at the top (Tues-Sun 9am-6pm; 1zl). Completed in the 1310s for King Wladyslaw I and remodelled three centuries later, following major destruction by the Swedes, this strategically significant outpost was eventually allowed to slide into ruin. All that remains today is the polygonal plan of the outer wall, the main gate and a couple of towers, which you can wander around freely. What really makes the trek up worthwhile is the excellent views over the surrounding countryside, with Kielce, and on a clear day, the Swietokrzyskie Mountains visible in the distance. Scrambling down the hill right of the castle brings you to the evocative Jewish cemetery , crumbling and overgrown, but with a fair number of carved tombstones still in evidence. For an overnight stay you're limited to the rudimentary youth hostel at ul. Bialego Zaglebia 1 (tel 041/315 1068); or the Franciskanski Osrodek Rekolekcyjny , ul Franciskanska 10 (tel 041/315 1069, fran@kielce.opoka.org.pl ) in Fransiscan monastery buildings in triples or multi-bed dorms. For a bite to eat, about your only option is the bar at ul. Lokietka 26, a short way down the hill from the Rynek, a local beer- and vodka-swiller's haunt that provides the bare culinary minimum.
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