2 Zlotys Kazimierz Dolny

Kazimierz Dolny, the small town on the Vistula this coin commemorates, survived centuries of prosperity built almost entirely on grain transit — by the 17th century it was one of the wealthiest trading posts in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Swedish wars and subsequent plagues essentially ended that commercial life within a generation, leaving the town frozen in its Renaissance architecture. That accidental preservation is why it became a magnet for Polish painters in the late 19th century and eventually a protected historic monument.

Part of NBP's long-running Nordic gold "Cities and Towns" series, which by 2008 had issued dozens of municipal commemoratives with consistent specifications throughout.