Szachty Clay Pits Park in Poznań

Where clay was dug for almost a century to make bricks for a growing Poznań, reeds now reflect in still water and terns circle above the ponds. Szachty – or simply Glinianki, "the clay pits" – are around 40 ponds in the Junikowo Stream valley in the south of the city, linked by footpaths, with a pier and a 25-metre viewing tower. It is one of the most valuable natural areas in Poznań and a reminder of its industrial past.

History: from brickworks to park

The brickworks in Rudnicze, Kotowo and Świerczewo were set up during the great building boom at the turn of the 20th century, when the dismantling of parts of the Poznań Fortress allowed the city to expand. They were linked by narrow-gauge brickworks railways and sidings, and the last of them closed in the 1990s. The clay pits filled with water, leaving ponds from 0.2 to 12 ha in size. As early as the 1970s the area was recognised as one of the most valuable natural sites in Poznań and protected as ecological land.

From 2014 the area was adapted for walkers with paths, benches and information boards. In 2018 the viewing tower and the pier were opened. The name comes from the German word Schacht, meaning shaft or pit.

What to see

• The viewing tower – a steel structure on a triangular plan with wood-effect cladding, 25 m high. Climb about 120 steps and you can see the high-rises of the Kopernika estate, the city stadium, the Górczyn district and the office towers of the centre, as well as Luboń and the mirror-like ponds. It was funded by Poznań's participatory budget and stands on the Fabianowo-Kotowo side, off ul. Mieleszyńska, next to a playground.
• Staw Rozlany – from a semicircular pier of composite boards you can spot nesting platforms for terns, plus ducks, swans and fish.
• Staw Edy – viewpoints with benches on the Świerczewo side.
• Kindler House – an inhabited historic house from around 1910, built of bricks made on site. You see it at the start of the walk from ul. Leszczyńska.

Nature

In 1998 botanists recorded 328 plant species here, while back in the 1970s researchers described 474 species of algae in the ponds. In 1996 orchids were found – common twayblade and early marsh orchid. On the water you may see common terns, great crested grebes, tufted ducks and penduline tits, while the ponds hold eels, tench, crucian carp and catfish. Wooden boards along the paths explain the local plants and animals.

Tripto tip

• Entry to the nature trail around the ponds and to the tower is free.
• Getting there: take a city bus to the "Kowalewicka n/ż" or "Glinianki n/ż" request stops (line 180 among others), then walk a short way along ul. Modlibowska and ul. Mieleszyńska. Routes change from time to time, so check the timetable first. Drivers can park on ul. Mieleszyńska or ul. Witaszka; cyclists are safest entering from ul. Leszczyńska.
• Campfire: there is a fire pit by Staw Edy, free to use after notifying the city's green-space authority by email.
• Time: allow 1.5–2 hours for a walk including the tower. The platforms on the water are for the birds, so watch from the pier and keep out of the reed beds.