Barns of Mstów

On the Warta river, at the northern edge of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, Mstów reminds visitors that between 1279 and 1870 it held town status. Just south of the centre, on the Ściegna hill (281 m a.s.l.), stand the ruins of historic barns raised at the end of the 19th century. This cluster of whitewashed stone-and-timber buildings with thatched roofs is today called the barn district and resembles the townscape of an abandoned little town.

A stone district

The barns were built of local limestone combined with timber, and the roofs were covered with straw. Farmers grouped them together, away from their dwellings, which gave rise to this unusual agglomeration on the hill. The site is fully accessible: every corner can be inspected and the walls examined up close, making it a rewarding destination for lovers of old architecture and landscape photographers.

Views and surroundings

From the hill spreads a panorama of the whole of Mstów with the cemetery chapel of Saint Adalbert and the former monastery on Wancerzów. Nearby rises Góra Stróżnica with the remains of an old lime kiln and the Za Kaflarnią Cave, also a convenient viewpoint. Mstów lies within the Eagles' Nests Landscape Park, and the gorge of the Warta together with the Rock of Love complete the trip plan. Partyzantów Street leads to the barns.