Złoty Potok Trout Farm

In 1881 in Złoty Potok, rainbow trout eggs brought from California were ceremonially fertilised in front of invited guests, as if opening an important institution. That was the start of Count Edward Raczyński's trout farm, at the time the first and largest trout farm in Europe. The ponds at the bottom of the Wiercica valley, in the municipality of Janów, still operate today, and the fish fry restaurant beside them is a classic stop in the Kraków-Częstochowa Jura.

History: a poet's daughter's dowry

From 1851 the Złoty Potok estate belonged to the Krasiński family; after General Wincenty Krasiński's death it passed to Maria Beatrix, daughter of the poet Zygmunt Krasiński and wife of Count Edward Aleksander Raczyński. In 1881 Raczyński decided to use the clean water of the Zygmunt and Elżbieta Springs to breed salmonid fish. The design and supervision were entrusted to engineer Michał Girdwoyń. The result was 22 ponds with a total area of 13.2 ha and a depth of up to 4 m, plus a hatchery building. The farm bred brook, lake and American trout and Californian salmon, with eels, carp, tench and barbel in separate ponds. By 1908 the number of ponds had grown to 46, and trout eggs were exported to many European countries.

Why here?

The Wiercica rises at the Zygmunt and Elżbieta Springs only about 300 m west of the ponds. The water is very clean (class A1), cold and well oxygenated, and the small ponds with gravity-fed flow keep temperatures low – ideal conditions for trout. The farm lies north of regional road 793, about 500 m from the junction with the road to Siedlec.

What to see

• The chain of breeding ponds along the Wiercica, with aerators and farm buildings.
• The fry restaurant serving fish from the farm's own ponds; grilled Złoty Potok trout has been on the ministry's list of traditional products of the Silesian region since 2006.
• The "Golden Land of the Trout" educational path leading to the farm.

Tripto tip

There is a car park by the farm, so it makes an easy break on a Jura road trip. Allow about an hour for a meal and a stroll along the ponds, then walk on: to the Zygmunt and Elżbieta Springs, to the historic Kołaczew watermill beyond the Green Pond, and to the manor house where Zygmunt Krasiński stayed in 1857 – now a museum.