Jasna Góra Parks in Częstochowa

The sundial beside the former observatory in Staszic Park was carved from a block of black granite that once formed the base of a monument to Tsar Alexander II, which stood in front of the Jasna Góra monastery from 1889 to 1917. It is one of many traces of history in the Jasna Góra Parks (parki podjasnogórskie) – two historic gardens at the foot of Jasna Góra that, together with the monastery, were declared a Monument of History (Poland's highest heritage status) in 1994. Stanisław Staszic Park (about 5.4 ha) and Third of May Park (about 6.4 ha) are divided by Aleja Sienkiewicza, which leads straight up to the shrine.

History: from a rocky slope to the Great Exhibition

The parks' boundaries were set in 1819–1826, when the Avenue of the Blessed Virgin Mary was laid out. In 1843 the town decided to create a garden, and the work lasted until 1847: a layer of garden soil several metres deep was spread over the rocky ground. The turning point came in 1909, when, ahead of the Industry and Agriculture Exhibition, the Warsaw gardener Franciszek Szanior redesigned the parks completely, and the exhibition pavilions were designed by architects including Stanisław Witkiewicz and Czesław Przybylski. The 2006–2008 restoration brought back the path layout of that period, granite and gravel surfaces, and the original mix of plants.

What to see in Staszic Park

• The Ethnographic Pavilion (Museum of Folk Industry), whose stone façade was uncovered in 2007 – part of the Częstochowa Museum.
• The Museum of Iron Ore Mining in underground corridors built in 1974–1976 to recreate the workings of local mines.
• The Peasant Farmstead of 1909 – a model farmstead from the Great Exhibition, now home to the Częstochowa Tourist Organisation.
• The former astronomical observatory – an observatory with a telescope opened here in 1929; it now houses the Zodiak education centre, with the sundial made from the tsar's monument next to it.
• A 1,600 m² pond with two fountains that run in summer, and a bandstand used for summer concerts.

Third of May Park

The northern park has about 1,600 trees, many more than 130 years old, from 36 broadleaved and 7 coniferous species. Nine of the finest are protected natural monuments. In the centre stands the monument to Stanisław Moniuszko from 1958 – a concrete figure placed on the granite base of a pre-war monument to Kazimierz Pułaski. Off ul. 3 Maja are the five courts of the Victoria tennis club, built in 1922–1926.

Tripto tip

The parks are open to all and only a few minutes' walk from the Avenue of the Blessed Virgin Mary – a natural stop on the way to or from Jasna Góra. An hour is enough for a walk through both parks; with the Iron Ore Mining Museum and the pavilions, allow two to three hours. There are more than a dozen granite chess tables in the parks, and the Peasant Farmstead houses the Częstochowa Tourist Organisation. Check the opening hours of the Częstochowa Museum pavilions on the museum's website before you visit.