Editing Lesser Poland Voivodeship (section)

== Tourism ==
[[File:Wieliczka salt mine.jpg|thumb|left|[[Wieliczka Salt Mine]], [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]]]
Lesser Poland Voivodeship is the voivodeship with the highest number of [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]s in Poland with six entries, encompassing the [[Kraków]] Old Town with the [[Wawel|Wawel Royal Castle]], former main royal residence and burial site of Polish monarchs, the old salt mines of [[Bochnia Salt Mine|Bochnia]] (Europe's oldest) and [[Wieliczka Salt Mine|Wieliczka]], the pilgrimage town of [[Kalwaria Zebrzydowska]], the former Nazi German concentration camp [[Auschwitz]] in [[Oświęcim]], the [[wooden churches of Southern Lesser Poland]], and the [[wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine]].

Four national parks and numerous reserves have been established in the voivodeship to protect the environment of [[Lesser Poland]]. The region has areas for tourism and recreation, including [[Zakopane]] (Poland's most popular winter resort) and the Tatra, [[Pieniny]] and Beskidy Mountains. There are ten [[spa town]]s: [[Krynica-Zdrój]], [[Muszyna]], [[Piwniczna-Zdrój]], [[Rabka-Zdrój]], [[Szczawnica]], [[Wapienne]], [[Wieliczka]], [[Wysowa-Zdrój]], [[Zakopane]], [[Żegiestów]]. The natural landscape features many historic sites.
[[File:DJI 0332 Wawel.jpg|thumb|[[Wawel Castle]] in Kraków, [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]]]

The voivodeship is rich in historic architecture ranging from [[Romanesque architecture in Poland|Romanesque]] and [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] to [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]], [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] and [[Art Nouveau]]. Numerous towns possess preserved historic market squares and town halls, as in Kraków and [[Tarnów]]. At [[Wadowice]], birthplace of John Paul II (50 kilometers southwest of Kraków) is a museum dedicated to the late pope's childhood.

The voivodeship, especially Kraków, is home to various museums, art galleries and cultural institutions. Major museums include the [[National Museum in Kraków]] with the branch [[Czartoryski Museum]], one of the oldest museums of Poland, which contains works by various artists including [[Leonardo da Vinci]], [[Rembrandt]] and Kraków-native [[Jan Matejko]], and the [[Archaeological Museum of Kraków]], the oldest archaeological museum in Poland. There are museums dedicated to painters [[Jan Matejko House|Jan Matejko]] and [[Józef Mehoffer]] at their former homes in Kraków, to composer and pianist [[Karol Szymanowski]] and writer [[Kornel Makuszyński]] at their homes in Zakopane, to writer [[Władysław Orkan]] at his home in [[Poręba Wielka, Limanowa County|Poręba Wielka]] and to writer [[Emil Zegadłowicz]] in his manor in [[Gorzeń Górny]]. [[Manggha]], the largest Polish museum of Japanese art, is located in Kraków.

There are numerous World War II memorials in the province, including a museum at the site of the former [[Nazi concentration camp]]s [[Auschwitz]]-I and Auschwitz-II-Birkenau, as well as the [[Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oświęcim|Auschwitz Jewish Center]], visited annually by a million people. There are memorials at the sites of German-perpetrated massacres of Poles, German-operated [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] camps, etc.

The voivodeship is abundant in castles, including [[Mirów Castle in Książ Wielki|Mirów]], [[Niedzica Castle|Niedzica]], [[Niepołomice Castle|Niepołomice]], [[Nowy Wiśnicz Castle|Nowy Wiśnicz]], [[Pieskowa Skała]] and [[Wawel Castle|Wawel]].