Gardens

Park Górny in Szczawnica

Park Górny, officially bearing the name of Adam Count Stadnicki, is the oldest spa park of Szczawnica and the heart of the health resort at the same time. Its arrangement was begun in 1824 by Jan Kutscher, and successive owners of the Szczawnica estates kept adding further elements. The name comes from its position: the park lies on an elevation and rises above the remaining parts of the town.

On the eastern side of Zdrojowa street, next to Józef Dietl square, stands a restored square with the buildings of the sanatorium complex and the bust of Józef Szalay — the man who popularized Szczawnica and contributed enormously to the shape of the park. Among the greenery the stately Dworek Gościnny manor house stands out, and the alleys climb up the hill along paths worn by spa guests for decades.

What to see

The park contains the music pavilion, also called the concert shell, and walking alleys with benches where one rests best after the first glass of Szczawnica mineral water. The park joins the spa square, historic buildings and greenery into a single whole, walked by both tourists heading for the trails and locals on their daily stroll.

Close to the trails

Szczawnica lies on the Grajcarek stream, on the border of the Pieniny and the Beskid Sądecki. The trails are near: Sokolica lies about 3.6 km away, Trzy Korony about 5.5 km, and the wooden raft crossing on the Dunajec in the Pieniny departs a few kilometres from here — so the park often serves as a natural starting point for mountain trips.