Nature

Trail of the Wieluń Jura

The red-marked trail, about 113 km long, runs from Częstochowa to Wieluń through the northern, least-visited part of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland. It starts at the Old Market Square in Częstochowa, passes Mstów and Kruszyna, and then leads for long stretches through pine forests towards Działoszyn and the Warta valley.

The first landscape park of central Poland

The heart of the route is the Załęczański Landscape Park, established on 5 January 1978 as the first landscape park in central Poland. It protects 14,750 hectares of the jurassic landscape of the Wieluń Upland; its chief ornament is the bend of the Warta known as the Załęcze Bend and the Działoszyn and Krzeczowski gorges. By the Warta in Załęcze lie the Garnet Springs — karst springs of an unusual colour.

Villages, lime kilns and wooden churches

The trail passes small villages: old lime kilns stand in Raciszyn, a wooden church in Łaszew Rządowy and a Gothic temple in Ruda. Along the way you can detour to Przeprośna Górka in Mirow and to the monastery in Wancerzów near Mstów. The finale in Wieluń brings town walls, the town hall and the Reformed church.

In practice

This is a quiet route — plan a hike or a bike ride for summer. The section through the landscape park needs 2–3 days; accommodation along the trail is scarce, so camping is a good option. Keep in mind that trail markings in the forest can be faint in places.