Brzóstków Viewpoint in the Żerków "Switzerland"

For years, visitors who came to the hill above Brzóstków in summer mostly saw maize. In 2019 the Żerków municipality, together with the State Forests, built a viewing platform here, restoring the view over the Warta glacial valley and the distinctive hills of Szwajcaria Żerkowska – the "Żerków Switzerland". The viewpoint is on the road from Żerków to Śmiełów, near Łysa Góra (161 m), the highest point in Jarocin county.

Why "Switzerland" in Greater Poland

The hills of the Żerków Ridge are moraines, shaped by the ice sheet of the last glaciation about 15,000 years ago. Against the flatness of Greater Poland, this rolling mix of woods, fields and meadows seemed so unusual that the area was dubbed the Żerków Switzerland. It lies within the Żerków-Czeszewo Landscape Park, created in 1994, and the Szwajcaria Żerkowska protected landscape area. Łysa Góra itself is fully wooded and barely stands out, so the platform gives the best sense of the terrain.

What you see from the platform

Closest is the neoclassical church in Brzóstków, with the Warta valley beyond. Towards Śmiełów you can see the palace that houses the Adam Mickiewicz Museum – Poland's national poet stayed there for several weeks in summer 1831. The view works both ways: from in front of the Śmiełów palace you look across the valley meadows to the line of hills with the silhouette of Brzóstków church. In clear conditions, the municipality says, you can see as far as Pyzdry, about 20 km away. Local tradition links this landscape to the opening lines of Mickiewicz's epic "Pan Tadeusz" and its "wooded hills", though that is more a lovely story than a documented fact.

Tripto tip

The platform is a short stop: 15–20 minutes is enough for the views. It cost PLN 35,100 and was officially opened on 26 July 2019. Come on a clear day – in mist or haze the distant towns disappear. The green trail to Żerków and the red trail start in Brzóstków and take you up Łysa Góra. Combine the stop with the museum in Śmiełów and a walk around Żerków.