Magurka Wilkowicka

The stone mountain hut on Magurka Wilkowicka is the third building on this spot – the two earlier wooden ones burned down within less than ten years. This peak in the Little Beskids (909 m, the fourth highest in the range) has been a favourite weekend outing from Bielsko-Biała for more than a century. From the meadow below the summit you can see Babia Góra, Pilsko, Skrzyczne and Klimczok, and in clear air even the Tatras and the Jeseníky mountains in the Czech Republic.

History: Joseph's Mountain and the Archduchess's hut

The German-speaking residents of Bielitz and Biala called the mountain Josefsberg, after a statue of St Joseph by a spring in the Magurka Straceńska settlement. The first hut was built by the Bielitz section of the German hiking club Beskidenverein and opened on 27 September 1903. It burned down in 1905; rebuilt and reopened in 1907 as the Archduchess Maria Theresa Hut on Josefsberg, it was destroyed by another fire in 1912. The present stone building opened on 19 October 1913.

Magurka soon became a winter sports centre too. From 1908 a weather station operated next to the hut, a toboggan run led from the summit down to Straconka, and a small ski jump stood on the slope towards Rogacz. After the Second World War the hut was taken over by the Polish Tatra Society and then by PTTK, the Polish hiking association. As late as 1914 the researcher Ludomir Sawicki recorded a shepherds' hut here where three partners grazed 80 sheep; today only meadows slowly being reclaimed by forest remain of the old pastures.

What to see on the summit

• The PTTK hut from 1913, set on a high basement.
• The meadow below the summit, with views over the Silesian, Little and Żywiec Beskids.
• A small shrine with an image of the Virgin Mary, where mass is said once a year.
• The cross-country skiing centre building, whose sloping roof doubles as a viewing terrace.
• A cross-country ski trail with four loops, used for races such as "In the Footsteps of Archduchess Maria Theresa".

Trails

• From Bielsko-Biała Straconka via Hańderkula – about 1 h 15 min, the shortest hike.
• From Wilkowice-Bystra railway station – about 2 h 15 min.
• From Czernichów or Międzybrodzie Bialskie – about 2 h 15 min to 2 h 30 min.
• To Czupel, the highest peak of the Little Beskids – about 45 minutes on the blue trail.

Tripto tip

A tarmac road leads up from Wilkowice and there is a car park by the hut – rare in the Beskids, and it makes Magurka accessible to people who do not want a long hike. On foot, the most pleasant approach is from Straconka, combined with a detour to Czupel; the whole loop takes half a day. A single farmstead with a shop and snack bar stands on the meadow below the summit. In winter, check road conditions on the access road and keep off the groomed ski trails.