ATTRACTIONS NEARBY

Zatorland is a complex of three themed parks: Dinosaur Park, Insect Park, and Mythology Park. It also features an amusement park called Lunapark. In the park, visitors can see moving dinosaurs and a 5-meter Cyclops. It is a place created with the youngest in mind, who can learn through play.

Wadowice, with a population of twenty thousand, is the hometown of Karol Wojtyła – St. John Paul II. The family home of the most famous Pole is now a museum visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists and pilgrims every year. The city boasts two monuments of John Paul II, and one can also sit on a bench next to the teenage Karol Wojtyła in front of the entrance to the high school where the future pope acquired his education. While wandering around Wadowice, it is worth heading to the Sanctuary of St. Joseph “Na Górce” and exploring the barracks where the father of the future pope (also named Karol) served as a non-commissioned officer in the Austro-Hungarian army and later as a captain in the Polish Army’s administration. Adjacent to the Lesser Basilica (where Karol Wojtyła was baptized), one cannot miss the town hall, as it was here that the future pope attended primary school.

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is a town known for its carpenters and pilgrims, thanks to the efforts of Mikołaj Zebrzydowski, the Governor of Krakow and the Starosta of Lanckorona. Over time, the Kalwaria Monastery became a renowned place of worship, not only in Poland but also known as the Polish Jerusalem, largely due to the image of the Mother of God. The painting, depicting the Mother of Jesus, was presented to the monks in 1641 by Stanisław Paszkowski, the owner of the nearby Kopytówka estate. Many pilgrims go beyond visiting the monastery and embark on a five-kilometer pilgrimage along the Paths of Our Lord, which features 42 chapels and churches representing the history of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, or the Paths of the Mother of God, which consists of 24 stations and follows mostly the same paths as the Paths of Our Lord. In 1999, the Kalwaria Zebrzydowska sanctuary was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and in 2000, it was recognized as a Monument of Polish History.

,Lanckorona, Lanckorona
spread out where shelter
is found from heat and from rain,
from the hustle and bustle of fast affairs…”

In the refrain of one of the songs, Marek Grechuta praised Lanckorona, one of many artists in love with this small town located on the slope of Zamkowa Góra. Lanckorona is known as the Town of Angels because at every step, you can encounter winged figurines adorning windows of houses, displays in shops, and guarding entrances to buildings. When visiting Lanckorona, it’s worth climbing to the top of Zamkowa Góra (a 10-minute walk) that rises above the town. There, you will find the ruins of a castle built by King Casimir the Great. The fortress has left a golden mark in the history of Poland as one of the strongholds of the Bar Confederation. Lanckorona Hill is surrounded by a network of walking trails. These paths and trails, such as the red route: the Former Royal Trail, the green route: the Alley of the Enchanted, the blue route: the Road to the Moczary, the yellow route: the Alley of Whispering Silences, and the brown route: the Road to the Former Quarry, lead through the most beautiful areas of the town. After a walk, you can relax at Lanckorona’s Market Square surrounded by beautiful historic wooden houses with arcades.

The distance between Zator and Wygiełzów is just 10 kilometers. After a 15-minute drive, you will reach the parking lot next to the Nadwiślański Ethnographic Park. It’s worth passing through the gate to find yourself in a village that remembers the times of our ancestors. You can take a stroll through the narrow streets of a small town, visit a noble estate, and then climb up Zamkowa Góra with the ruins of a medieval castle. The Nadwiślański Ethnographic Park is one of the most beautiful places in Poland that presents the past in a tangible way. The exhibition includes 25 large historic wooden structures and small architecture elements, such as shrines, wells, and beehives. While wandering through the open-air museum, you can enter old cottages, kneel in a church from the early 17th century, visit a blacksmith, an oil miller, or a beekeeper. One of the most valuable monuments in the Park is a manor house from 1730 (transferred from Drogina near Myślenice), where five exhibition rooms present the living quarters of an affluent noble family.