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Lublin got kinda hot lately after serving as the backdrop for the Oscar-nominated movie A Real Pain. Since it was just a few hours away — and I’d already been almost everywhere else in Poland — I decided to go and see if it was worth a visit.
The city’s rich Jewish legacy made it a perfect location for Jesse Eisenberg’s story of two cousins traveling from the US to Poland to pay respects to their family roots.
Jewish Lublin ended in the concentration camps over 80 years ago, and today the memorial museum at Majdanek is one of the few places bearing the memories.
The present-day Lublin is a town of 330,000 people in southeastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus and Ukraine. You can tell it’s not the wealthiest part of the country.
Over the centuries, Lublin survived numerous fires, and though many of its Old Town marvels have been preserved, today they look as neglected as the rest of the city.
You may occasionally stumble upon spectacular pieces of modern architecture as well, like the new bus terminal or the multimedia Centre for the Meeting of Cultures.
Yet, like in many smaller towns, the main local attraction is probably the city mall — which has an outstanding terrace, or rather a rooftop park, overlooking the castle.
A short bus ride takes you to the Lublin Village Open Air Museum, which features traditional rural households from various eras and regions of Poland.
By night, Lublin feels dark and desolate. The bars look empty even in mid-May, and the restaurant from the movie (hence the most touristy one) closes by 10 pm.
Polish media went crazy when Jesse Eisenberg decided to claim Polish citizenship after finishing the movie. But I’m not sure if it was Lublin that convinced him.
For me, Lublin was the 30th city I visited in Poland. I can’t say it was the worst, but I did feel a real pain because of how much of its beauty is left to decay.
So, if I go there again, it won’t be anytime soon — not before the city’s next renaissance.
