Góra Chełmska in Koszalin

This wooded moraine ridge on the eastern edge of Koszalin was a landmark for the whole area as early as the Middle Ages. On its highest point, Krzyżanka (136 m above sea level), stands a brick observation tower from 1888, and next to it a small sanctuary consecrated in 1991 by Pope John Paul II.

History: from early hearths to pilgrimages

Archaeologists found traces of early medieval hearths on the summit – older literature saw them as the remains of a pagan temple, but this is only a hypothesis. The first written mention dates from 1214, when Duke Bogislaw II granted the village of Koszalin to the Premonstratensian canons, describing it as lying "near Chełm". Around 1200 a chapel of the Virgin Mary was built on Krzyżanka, drawing pilgrims until about 1530. During the Reformation the buildings on the hill were pulled down. The stone foundations of the early 13th-century chapel, uncovered during excavations, can be seen today right next to the modern sanctuary.

From 1977 Bishop Ignacy Jeż campaigned to restore a church on the hill. Permission came only in 1990, and the chapel of Our Lady Thrice Admirable – a copy of a chapel near Warsaw – was built within a few months. On 1 June 1991 it was consecrated by the Pope during his pilgrimage to Poland.

What to see

• the observation tower on Krzyżanka – from the terrace you see the whole of Koszalin and, in clear weather, the Baltic about 8 km away,
• the foundations of the medieval chapel and the old pilgrims' cemetery,
• the sanctuary and the monument to John Paul II's visit,
• at the foot of the hill, a memorial stone to Polish soldiers of the 1830–31 November Uprising, interned by Prussia in 1831, who built the road over the hill.

Interesting facts

• In 1949 the hill was officially renamed Gołogóra, echoing the German name Gollenberg. Today the name Góra Chełmska is used.
• Several trails meet on the summit, including the Pomeranian Way of St James from Gdańsk to Szczecin.

Tripto tip

1–2 hours is enough for a walk with a climb up the tower. There are several free car parks around the hill, and on foot you reach the top in about 40 minutes from the stadium in the Przylesie district. The tower opens at limited times, usually at weekends – check before you go.