Sanok is a historic town on the northern edge of the Bieszczady Mountains, often considered the gateway to these picturesque mountains. A small, but picturesque old town with a medieval royal castle has been preserved here, and the most important attraction of Sanok is the Folk Architecture Museum.
The Sanok stronghold was built in a strategic place, near the ford on the San River. In the Middle Ages it belonged to Ruthenia, and it was not attached to Poland until the reign of Casimir the Great in 1340. From the beginning of its existence it was an important trading settlement on the Hungarian route, and in the 14th century it also became the seat of the royal administration. The Royal Castle was erected here, where Polish rulers used to visit, and Władysław Jagiełło married Elżbieta Granowska in the local parish church.
The Castle in Sanok currently houses the Historical Museum with two of the most important exhibitions. The first one is the "Orthodox art" exhibition, where you can see icons and liturgical objects from the Bieszczady, Beskid Niski and Sanocko-Turczańskie Mountains, destroyed after World War II. The second is the Gallery of Zdzisław Beksiński, an outstanding Polish graphic artist and painter of the 20th century, who came from Sanok. There is also a Zdzisław Beksiński Monument in the city, and in the Central Cemetery you can visit the graves of Zdzisław Beksiński and his son Tomasz. In Sanok, the trail "In the footsteps of the Beksiński family" was marked out.
The location of Sanok on the border of the Bieszczady Mountains, the Sanocko-Turczańskie Mountains and the Jasielsko-Sanockie Doły also influenced the ethnography of these areas. Both Poles, Jews and Ruthenians lived in its vicinity, among which the largest groups were the Lemkos and Boykos. This cultural mix was completely destroyed by World War II and subsequent displacements. Its traces can be found on the premises of the Folk Architecture Museum. It presents the folk culture and construction of the inhabitants of the Bieszczady Mountains, Low Beskids and Pogórze and is one of the largest and most valuable buildings of this type in Poland.
The Old Town in Sanok is located by the Castle, on a hill above the San valley. Its central point is the Market Square with tenement houses and the neo-Gothic Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. A little further there is the Church of the Transfiguration, which is the successor of the parish church in Sanok, where Władysław Jagiełło was married.
