Spa Park in Konstancin-Jeziorna

For half a century, from 1900 to 1952, the Wilanów narrow-gauge railway ran from Plac Unii Lubelskiej in Warsaw to the Spa Park in Konstancin. A hydrotherapy centre now stands where the station was, but the English-style park laid out around 1900 is still the heart of this spa town just outside Warsaw. A walk between the Jeziorka and Mała rivers, with a stop at the brine graduation tower, is a classic weekend escape from the city.

History: the park of the Konstancin summer resort

The park was created as part of the original plan of the Konstancin summer resort, founded by Count Witold Skórzewski; a second park was laid out where the Grapa housing estate is today. The railway station was designed by Józef Pius Dziekoński, who also designed a wooden casino of 1899 that stood behind today's amphitheatre until the 1960s. In 1937 a boulder honouring the founder was placed by the main avenue, and in 1997 a column marked the resort's centenary. In 2009 the park was named after Skórzewski, and in 2010–2012 it was revitalised: trees were managed, riverbanks cleaned, paths renewed and boardwalks built. In 2017 it was extended with paths along the Jeziorka towards Grapa.

What to see

• The Main Avenue and the Sienkiewicz Promenade – the park's axis, continuing along ul. Sienkiewicza as far as ul. Sobieskiego.
• The brine graduation tower of 1974–1979, about 40 m long and 6 m high – a timber wall of brushwood over which salt water trickles, creating a mist to breathe; inside is a fountain that sprays brine aerosol.
• The boardwalks on the marshy eastern edge of the park above the Jeziorka and Mała.
• The amphitheatre, the Skórzewski boulder of 1937 and the column of 1997.
• "Aleja Pomnik" – a hundred oaks planted along the old railway embankment to mark the spa's centenary – and the Professor Jan Haftek Boulevard.

A park for families

There are three playgrounds: on ul. Matejki, on ul. Sienkiewicza and by the Zdrojowa restaurant. The paths are paved, so a pushchair is no problem. Where al. Sienkiewicza meets ul. Sobieskiego there is a Konstancin city bike station, with children's bikes too. Opposite the graduation tower a hydrotherapy centre opened in 2016, built on the site of the former "Przy Źródle" spa.

Tripto tip

The park is public and free. The graduation tower charges admission and is open all year, in winter only at weekends – hours and prices change with the season, so check before you go. Allow 1–2 hours for a walk, or half a day with the tower and a coffee on ul. Źródlana. From Warsaw you can come by public transport: in 2024 the national environmental agency GDOŚ recommended bus 200 from Warszawa Centralna station and 710 from Kabaty metro station; check the current timetable with Warsaw Public Transport. Wilanów, where the old railway once ran, is close by.