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NOWA HUTA - DLUBNIA GREENWAY


Krakow's Nowa Huta, Poland

Greenway presentation

The trail is a thematic loop, located in an urban portion of the Amber Trail Greenway, in the eastern part of Krakow called Nowa Huta. The trail consists of three thematic bicycle routes with a total length of 32 km (marked out in green, red and black), linking heritage sites associated with the history of Nowa Huta, nature conservation, green areas, parks, recreation areas and local environmental and cultural heritage initiatives undertaken by Nowa Huta residents and enthusiasts.

The trail provides visitors with an opportunity to discover the history of this part of Krakow from prehistoric times, (sites such as the Wanda Mound), to modern times associated with the creation of a great industrial city with its socialist realism art and architecture. Along the trail, visitors will encounter trade routes from Middle Ages and learn about the beginnings of development of the region associated with the Cistercian Monastery in Mogila.

Industrial heritage describing development of the metallurgical industry can be encountered in the Mogila area, where the first copper smelter dates back to the 15th century. Wandering along the Nowa-Huta Dlubnia trails, visitors will encounter remains of old aristocratic country houses, wooden churches, roadside shrines and 19th century Austrian forts, which made up the 'Fortress Krakow'.

'Dłubnia' Loop, marked out in green, is associated with the area close to the Dlubnia River, a tributory of the Vistula, which flows through Nowa Huta. The trail leads mainly through green areas, the Mogilski Forest and the forested areas along the river. The loop includes the oldest heritage sites in Nowa Huta - Wanda Mound, Cistercian Monastery and the country manor of Poland's greatest painter, Jan Matejko.

'Old Nowa Huta' Loop, marked out in red, runs through the urbanized part of Nowa Huta, which is the oldest part of the district and represents a unique example of socialist realism architecture. The trail includes also memorials to the fight for democracy in Poland.

'Fortress' Loop, marked out in black, is in large part the Nowa Huta portion of the walking and cycling trail running along the old Austrian fortifications of Krakow.

Over 20 information panels are located along the trail and in key sites. Rest areas are located in the secondary school (16th Liceum), where young people initiated the development of the trail, and at the Central Square in Nowa Huta.

The Greenway is a partnership initiative of the Forum for Nowa Huta and is being implemented through an informal coalition of partners from different sectors, who are all committed to sustainable development. The project leader is the Association for the Development of Nowa Huta. The main partners are the City of Krakow, Krakow Power Plant, 16th Liceum, Polish Environmental Partnership Foundation, Industrial Design Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, Landscape and Tourist Society (PTTK) in Krakow.

Main tourist attractions on the trail

Krakow-Nowa Huta Heritage:

  • Socialist realism architecture in the centre of Nowa Huta and the administration buildings of the Mittal Steel Works in Krakow
  • Wanda Mound
  • Cistercian Monastery dating from the 13th century
  • Wooden churches of St. Bartholomew in Mogila and the church in Krzeslawice
  • Jan Matejko‘s Country House
  • Arka Pana Church
  • Forts in Krzeslawice and in Grebalow and monuments to commemorate the victims of war.

Overall trail characteristics

- Length - 32 km
- Surface - various, mostly paved roads, with some unpaved paths
30 % bicycle trails
10 % field and forest paths
60% roads with low intensity traffic

- Main users - cyclists. It is also possible to travel by boat along the Vistula River to the centre of Krakow (Wawel) from the Nowa Huta Yacht Club and to horse-ride along the Dlubna River (Pegaz Stables).

- Possibility of accessing the trail by public transport from the centre of Krakow. Rail access only to the Krakow Train Station 12 km away.

Maps and guides available

Maciej Miezian (2002) Krakow's Nowa Huta, Krakow: Bezdroża (English and Polish version)

Information leaflets and maps showing the trail (in Polish and English).

Contact to Greenway Coordinator

Forum for Nowa Huta Local Partnership
Society for the Development of Nowa Huta,

'Nowa Huta' Local Office
Centrum B9, 31-928 Krakow,

tel. +48-12-685-5900
e-mail: forum_nh@interia.pl
www.forumnh.w.pl



Network of GWs in Belarus







Photos, text: Dominika Zareba, Valeria Klitsounova, Elena Vetrova, Tsimur Kroll | Drawings: Iwona Siwek-Front
Project "Greenways for Belarus", implemented by the Polish Environmental Partnership Foundation and the "Agro and Ecotourism" Association, is financed thanks to the support from the Program of Polish Aid of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland in 2006.