Chrobacza Łąka

Hrobacza Łąka (roughly "hro-BAH-chah WON-kah"; officially spelled Chrobacza Łąka) is an 828 m (2,717 ft) summit in the Little Beskids (Beskid Mały) of southern Poland. It is one of the easiest rewarding hikes near Bielsko-Biała. A 35-meter steel cross crowns the top, a rebuilt mountain hut sits in the clearing just below it, and on a clear day you can see the Tatra Mountains on the horizon. It makes a great half-day outing if you are exploring the Beskids or Silesia.

Where it is and how to get there

The peak rises above the small town of Kozy, about 7 km east of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko-Biała is roughly 60 km (about an hour by car) south of Katowice Airport and around 90 km (about 1.5 hours) southwest of Kraków. Kozy has a train station on the line between Bielsko-Biała and Kraków.

You cannot drive to the hut. Most hikers park for free on Beskidzka Street in Kozy, about 20 minutes' drive from central Bielsko-Biała. Starting from the train station adds about 1.5 hours of walking for the round trip. The other main approach starts at Żarnówka, next to the Porąbka dam on Lake Międzybrodzkie.

The cross, the hut and the name

The steel cross replaced an old wooden triangulation tower. It was consecrated on September 21, 2002, to mark the 10th anniversary of the Catholic Diocese of Bielsko-Żywiec. It is 35 m tall with a 10.5 m span and is floodlit at night. You can climb onto a small viewing platform at its base.

The hut stands about 100 m from the cross. It was built privately in the 1930s and has belonged to a Catholic foundation since 1991, which runs it as a tourist and retreat house with a chapel. A fire on January 7, 2017, closed the building, and it has since been rebuilt in stages.

About the name: official gazetteers use "Chrobacza," while trail signs and the hut use "Hrobacza." Both spellings refer to the same place.

Trails and hiking time

Three marked trails meet at the summit:

• Yellow: Kozy – Panienka Pass (Przełęcz u Panienki) – summit – Żarnówka (Porąbka dam)
• Red (Little Beskids Trail): Bielsko-Biała – Gaiki – Panienka Pass – summit – Porąbka dam
• Papal trail: Kozy – Straconka

The classic loop from Kozy follows the yellow trail up. It takes about 45 minutes to the pass and another 30 minutes to the hut. You then come back down on the steeper papal trail past an old quarry. Expect about 2 hours 40 minutes of walking, plus a break at the top. Paths are forested and rocky and get slippery after rain. In winter, poles and microspikes help.

What you'll see

The widest view is from the clearing by the hut. To the south, you can pick out Mount Żar with its pumped-storage reservoir, the Czupel massif, and the Silesian Beskids (Skrzyczne, Klimczok). In good visibility, Babia Góra, Pilsko and the Western Tatras appear. From the platform under the cross, you look north over Bielsko-Biała and the Silesian lowlands.

Practical tips (as of October 2026)

• Admission: free; the summit is open year-round.
• Hut: serves simple food and drinks. No official schedule is published, and hikers report it is mainly open on weekends. Bring your own snacks on weekdays, plus some Polish złoty (PLN) in cash.
• Families: the Kozy loop suits children who are used to walking. It is not stroller-friendly.
• Dogs: the area is part of the Little Beskids Landscape Park, so keep dogs on a leash.
• Is it worth visiting? Yes. If you want a short, rewarding mountain walk with big views near Bielsko-Biała, this is one of the best options.

Nearby

Follow the red trail west to Czupel (930 m), the highest point of the Little Beskids. Or head east down to Lake Międzybrodzkie and Mount Żar, which has a funicular.