Convert PLN to CZK Polish zloty ↔ Czech koruna Free Online Secure
Type an amount in Polish zloty and read it in Czech koruna at once. The page uses the European Central Bank's reference rate, and tells you which day that rate is from.
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Common amounts — Convert PLN to CZK (Polish zloty ↔ Czech koruna)
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The last thirty days
Where these codes and rates come from
The three letters in EUR, USD or JPY are not an abbreviation someone invented for a website: they are ISO 4217, a standard in which the first two letters are the country's own code and the third is usually the initial of the currency. The figures on this page come from the European Central Bank, which publishes one set of reference rates each working day, around 16:00 Central European time, agreed between the central banks of the Eurosystem. They are a daily snapshot meant for statistics and accounting, not a live trading feed — which is exactly why they are the same number for everyone, rather than whatever one bank happened to quote at one moment.
Where you meet an exchange rate
You meet an exchange rate four or five times a year without thinking about it: booking a trip, paying an invoice issued abroad, buying from a foreign shop, reading a salary offer in another currency, or checking what a card charge really cost. In all of these the reference rate is the honest middle, and the price you actually pay sits a little to one side of it. Knowing the middle is what lets you see how wide that margin is.
Questions people ask
Is this the rate my bank will give me?
No, and no page can promise one. This is the European Central Bank's reference rate: the midpoint published once a day for statistics. A bank, a card scheme or an exchange office adds its own margin on top — usually between half a percent and three percent, sometimes more at an airport counter. Use this figure to judge the offer you are given, not to predict it.
How often does the figure change, and what happens at weekends?
The European Central Bank publishes once each working day, in the afternoon, Central European time. There is no publication on Saturdays, Sundays or TARGET holidays, so on those days the page shows the last working day's rate and says which day it belongs to. The chart alongside is one year of the same daily series.
Is the answer exact?
Where both units are defined in terms of one another by whole numbers, yes — the page says so above the figure, and the only rounding is in how many digits are shown. Where the ratio has no finite decimal, the page shows twelve significant digits and says the relation is approximate rather than pretending otherwise.
Does anything I type leave my device?
No. The arithmetic runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded and there is no server to upload it to. Load the page once and it keeps working with the network switched off.
Cieszyn and Český Těšín: one town cut in two by a river, and the bridge where zloty meets crown
On the border between Poland and the Czech Republic, in the south of Silesia, a small river called the Olza flows through the middle of an old town. On the western bank, the town is called Český Těšín and speaks Czech; on the eastern bank, it is called Cieszyn and speaks Polish. Until 1920 they were a single place, the seat of a duchy that had existed since the Middle Ages. After the First World War, when the new states of Poland and Czechoslovakia quarrelled over the territory, the Allied powers drew the border down the river, and the town was divided. Poland took the old centre with its market square and castle hill, and Czechoslovakia took the railway station and the suburbs on the far side. The story was complicated further in 1938 and 1939, when the border moved and moved back, and again in 1945. Today, two Friendship Bridges link the two halves, no border post stands on them, and thousands cross every day to shop, work, study and drink beer. On one bank prices are in zloty, on the other in Czech crowns. This page helps with the arithmetic. Use it to Convert PLN to CZK with the daily reference rates published by the European Central Bank, which quotes both currencies against the euro; the page combines them into a zloty-crown figure and prints its date beneath the result. The amount you type never leaves your browser.
Using the converter
Zloty in, crowns out
Before you cross the bridge for the first time, Convert PLN to CZK for the amount you plan to spend and keep the figure in mind.
Type an amount in zloty and read the equivalent in Czech crowns. A zloty buys a few crowns, so the number you get is larger than the one you entered and usually carries one or two decimals. The date of the rate sits beneath the result; at weekends and on public holidays the page falls back to the last working day and says so. A table of round amounts and a thirty-day line complete the page. For the opposite direction, from crowns into zloty, open Convert CZK to PLN.
The benchmark and the bank
The published rate is a mid-market figure fixed once on each working day, without any bank margin. A card, an exchange counter or a transfer app will give you slightly less, and the shortfall is the price of the service. Every time you Convert PLN to CZK, treat the result as a benchmark for the offers you receive: under one per cent is excellent, two to three per cent is normal at banks, and over four per cent is a reason to look elsewhere. In the examples below, purely for arithmetic, an invented round rate of six crowns to the zloty is used. It is not a forecast and not today's price; replace it with the real figure from the calculator.
A town with two names
How the border came to the Olza
History explains why two prices exist, and arithmetic explains why you cross, so Convert PLN to CZK for a typical basket to see for yourself.
The Duchy of Teschen, as it was called in German, was ruled by a line of local princes from the thirteenth century, then belonged to the Bohemian crown and later to the Habsburg monarchy. Its population in the nineteenth century was mixed, with Poles, Czechs and Germans, and with a significant Protestant minority alongside Catholics. When the Habsburg state fell apart in 1918, both new republics claimed the region, which had coal mines and an important railway line. After a short armed conflict in January 1919, and years of negotiations, a decision of the Conference of Ambassadors in July 1920 divided the duchy along the river Olza. Neither side was satisfied.
A heritage on both banks
The old centre on the Polish side has a rectangular market square lined with colourful houses, a town hall, a well with a fountain and a castle hill with a round Romanesque chapel, the Rotunda of St Nicholas, from the eleventh or twelfth century. The Czech side has a theatre, a museum, a sports hall and lively streets, with shops that sell Czech food and drink. Because the border is invisible, a walk of ten minutes takes you from one country to the other.
Cinema on the Border
Tickets on each bank are priced differently, so Convert PLN to CZK to compare and choose the cheaper screening.
Every summer, the twin town hosts a film festival called Cinema on the Border, which screens Polish and Czech films on both banks. Audiences cross the bridge several times a day to catch screenings, and organisers share costs. Tickets are priced in zloty on one side and in crowns on the other, and they are cheap by European standards: 15 to 30 zloty or 100 to 180 crowns. When you Convert PLN to CZK for the ticket, you will see that the two prices are almost the same.
Shopping across the bridge
What Poles buy in the Czech Republic
Price labels in the supermarket are in crowns, so Convert PLN to CZK for the beer, the sausage and the sweets before you reach the till.
Poles cross into the Czech Republic for beer, sausages, hams, cheeses and sweets, and for services such as hairdressers and garages. Czech beer is cheaper at the shop than in Poland in many places, and Czech chocolate and wafers are popular as gifts. A half-litre bottle of beer in a Czech supermarket costs 15 to 30 crowns. A traditional smoked sausage costs about 100 to 200 crowns per kilogram in a butcher's shop. Quantities carried across the border are limited for alcohol and tobacco within the European Union, though there are no checks on the bridges.
What Czechs buy in Poland
Czechs head the other way for fuel, cigarettes, clothes, building materials and, above all, for a restaurant lunch, which can cost less in Cieszyn than in Český Těšín. A bowl of żurek with sausage is 15 to 25 zloty, a pork cutlet with potatoes and salad 30 to 45. The Czech visitor pays in zloty, for which a quick Convert PLN to CZK helps decide whether lunch on the Polish side beats lunch at home.
Wages, rents and commuting
A commuter's budget starts with a monthly Convert PLN to CZK on pay day, followed by a note of the rate in a household diary.
Thousands of residents live on one side of the border and work on the other. Czech factories in the region employ Poles, and Polish firms employ Czechs. They earn in one currency and spend in another, so that a regular conversion becomes part of the household budget. Rents in Cieszyn are lower than across the river in some periods, which draws young Czech families. Whenever the exchange rate shifts, a commuter's real income changes without any change in the pay slip.
A day in Cieszyn, hour by hour
Morning on the castle hill
Start on the Castle Hill on the Polish bank, where the Piast Tower, a Gothic watchtower of the fourteenth century, rises above the roofs. The tower is open to climbers for a few zloty, and the view takes in the market square, the river, the Czech bank and, on a clear day, the Beskid ridge. Beside it stands the Rotunda of St Nicholas, a small round chapel from the twelfth century, one of the oldest stone buildings in the region. The grounds, with their terraces and old trees, are free to walk. Ten minutes later you can be at a café on the market square, where coffee costs 10 to 14 zloty. Convert PLN to CZK for that coffee, and you will see how the price compares with the same cup across the bridge.
Churches of two faiths
Cieszyn is one of the places in Poland where Lutherans have long been numerous. The Jesus Church, a large timber-framed Protestant church built in the early eighteenth century after the Habsburg emperor allowed it, can seat thousands, and its interior is a rare example of Baroque wooden architecture. Catholic churches, including the Church of the Holy Cross, stand close by. A guided visit to the Jesus Church costs a few zloty, and a short concert of organ music is sometimes offered in summer. Dress modestly and keep silent during services.
The border as a work of art
Along the river, a promenade is dotted with monuments and information boards about the division of 1920. A brass line in the pavement, in some places, marks where the old border ran. Children like to jump over it and say that they are in two countries within one second. The Olza is shallow in summer and sometimes swollen in spring, when floods have affected the lower parts of both towns.
Lunch, Silesian-style
For lunch, try the regional specialities: roulade of beef with red cabbage and Silesian dumplings, a pork chop in breadcrumbs, soup with homemade noodles, and a cake with plums or poppy seeds. A main course costs 35 to 55 zloty. Many restaurants offer a daily menu at 25 to 35. Czech visitors choose the Polish side for its generous portions, and Polish visitors cross for Czech goulash with bread dumplings. Convert PLN to CZK for each menu and compare them side by side.
Afternoon at the brewery
The Cieszyn Castle Brewery, founded in the nineteenth century, produces beer on the Polish side, and a small museum tells its story. Tours are offered in groups, with a tasting at the end, for 20 to 40 zloty. Across the river, Czech pubs serve their own regional beers on tap, with a thick head of foam. Both nations consider beer a matter of pride, and conversation between visitors is often about which is better.
Evening on the Czech bank
After sunset, walk across the Friendship Bridge to the Czech side for a late dinner, a concert or a show at the theatre. Tickets cost 150 to 350 crowns. A glass of wine in a wine bar is 60 to 90 crowns, and a full dinner for two 600 to 1,000. The last tram or bus back leaves not too late, but a taxi or a walk of twenty minutes always works. Because there is no border check, you do not need to change your plans for passport control.
Practical details for a visit
Getting there
Cieszyn lies about 70 kilometres south-west of Katowice and 100 kilometres from Kraków, and about 90 kilometres from Ostrava. Trains from Katowice take around two hours, and buses are frequent. Parking in the old town is paid, with tariffs of 3 to 6 zloty per hour. The two sides have separate timetables for local buses, so check both. For a day trip, many visitors leave the car on one side and walk over the bridge.
Where to stay
A room for two looks cheap on the Czech side only after you Convert PLN to CZK and include the tourist tax.
Hotels on the Polish side cost 250 to 450 zloty a night, and guesthouses 150 to 300, usually with breakfast. On the Czech side, rooms are 1,200 to 2,400 crowns. In the summer festival week, rooms fill early, so reserve. Camp sites in the surrounding hills charge 40 to 80 zloty for a pitch.
Tips for the twin town
Learn the names of the twin towns on both sides, since signs and maps use one or the other. Carry an identity document, since patrols can check anywhere in the Schengen area. Use cards where possible, and keep small coins for toilets, which charge a few zloty or crowns. Be ready for a bilingual street: shop assistants usually understand both languages, since Polish and Czech are similar enough that people converse, each in their own tongue.
The Czech crown in brief
A currency of its own
The Czech Republic is a member of the European Union but has not adopted the euro, and the crown, koruna in Czech, is the national currency. One crown is divided into 100 haléř, though the small coins have been withdrawn and prices are rounded. Banknotes come in denominations from 100 to 5,000, and coins from 1 to 50. The Czech National Bank sets interest rates and, since 2013 for several years, used the exchange rate as an instrument, which is a reminder that central banks may do unusual things.
Prices for a visitor
Menus change prices every few months, so Convert PLN to CZK for each item and update your own list when the menu changes.
In smaller towns, a beer in a pub costs 35 to 55 crowns, a lunch with soup 130 to 200, a coffee 50 to 70 and a night in a mid-range hotel 1,500 to 2,500. Prague is more expensive by a third. Convert PLN to CZK for these prices, and the Polish visitor will see that Czech hospitality is of a similar cost to Polish, with better beer.
Cards and cash
Cards are accepted widely, and contactless payment is common. Smaller pubs, markets and mountain huts may prefer cash. Avoid street money changers and offices with tempting rates in the window but a different one at the counter. Decline the offer to be charged in zloty at a terminal, because the rate is worse than your bank's.
Beyond Cieszyn
The mountains of two countries
Near Cieszyn rise the Beskids, with hiking trails that cross the border. The Polish side has Wisła and Ustroń, spa and skiing towns; the Czech side has Frýdek-Místek and the high ridge of Lysá hora, the highest peak of the Moravian-Silesian Beskids, at 1,323 metres. Convert m to ft turns the height into feet. Trails are marked in both countries, and mountain huts serve soup, dumplings and beer. Weather turns quickly at altitude, so carry a jacket.
Ostrava and Prague
Hotels in Prague cost more than in Ostrava, so Convert PLN to CZK for both before deciding where to spend the extra night.
An hour from the border, Ostrava is a former coal and steel city that has reinvented itself with museums, concerts and the Dolní Vítkovice complex of old blast furnaces turned into a cultural venue. Prague is about four hours by road. Distances are posted in kilometres, and Convert km to mi turns them into miles. Both Poland and the Czech Republic use Central European Time, so there is no jet lag. If your trip continues east, Convert CET to EET shows the gap with Eastern European Time.
Temperatures and weather
Winters are cold, with snow in the hills, and summers are warm. Temperatures are given in Celsius, and Convert °C to °F gives Fahrenheit for visitors who think in that scale.
Other zloty conversions
If your trip continues
Travellers who go on to Hungary can open Convert PLN to HUF, those who visit the euro area Convert PLN to EUR, and those who go to Sweden Convert PLN to SEK. For London there is Convert PLN to GBP.
A habit worth keeping
Write down the rate and date at each exchange and compare them later with the card statement. It takes seconds.
Mistakes to avoid
Mixing up the two banks
Make sure you know which side you are on when you read a price. A sign in crowns on the Polish side or one in zloty on the Czech side is not unusual.
Carrying a lot of cash
Large sums of cash are a risk and bring no better rate. Use cards and carry a small reserve.
Using an old rate
A rate from last month can be wrong by several per cent. The date shown beside the result protects you each time you Convert PLN to CZK.
In short
The only thing fetched from the network is the table of daily rates, while your amount stays in the browser and no account is needed. From the Friendship Bridge to the bar in the market square, the routine is the same: Convert PLN to CZK, read the date and compare every offer with the number on this page.