Viewpoints

Lovers' Bench on Kikula (Trojak) near Zwardoń

On the summit of Kikula, called Trojak in Slovak (845 m above sea level), stands a structure that makes everyone look like a child: the Lovers' Bench, measuring 5.3 by 3 metres. Officially it bears the name Lavička lásky a rodiny — the Bench of Love and Family. The summit rises above the Polish Zwardoń and the Slovak Skalité, on the border of the Silesian and Żywiec Beskids.

A tripoint of borders

The name Trojak comes from the fact that this was once the tripoint of the historic borders of Poland, Bohemia and Hungary. The original border stone of 1914 stands a few dozen metres past the shelter, next to an information board — worth finding after trying out the bench.

Trails to the summit

The shortest route follows the red trail from Zwardoń Myto: 1.3 kilometres and about 30 minutes of walking, with panoramas of the Beskids keeping company along the way. Alternatives are the green trail from the centre of Zwardoń (about 2 kilometres and an hour) and a loop via Sołowy Wierch — around 8 kilometres and close to 3 hours.

In practice

Leave the car at the car park in Zwardoń Myto, by the former border crossing. The bench lies on the Slovak side, but within the Schengen area the trail crosses the border without formalities. The place is at its best on a cloudless day, when the panorama takes in the ridges of both Beskid ranges.