Wielka Rycerzowa

Wielka Rycerzowa (1,226 m) is a border peak in a remote corner of the Żywiec Beskids, where water running off one slope ends up in the Baltic and off the other in the Black Sea. The summit itself is partly wooded, but right next to it lies the broad Hala Rycerzowa meadow with one of the most atmospheric mountain huts in Poland. It makes a quiet day out away from the crowds.

A peak on the border and the watershed

Rycerzowa belongs to the Wielka Racza group of the Żywiec–Kysuce Beskids, and both the Polish–Slovak border and the main European watershed run across its summit. Slovaks call it Rycierova hora, and older guidebooks, including Kazimierz Sosnowski's, described it as Bukowina. The present name most likely comes from the villages of Rycerka, which may once have been owned by knights (rycerz in Polish). From the summit a winding ridge runs north-east over Mała Rycerzowa (1,207 m) and Muńcuł down to the Soła valley at Ujsoły.

What to see

From the summit, marked by a survey point, the views are only partial: towards Wielka Racza and, in good weather, Veľký Rozsutec in the Malá Fatra range. The best panorama opens up from Hala Rycerzowa on the saddle between Wielka and Mała Rycerzowa. From here you can see the Silesian Beskids, the Lipowska range, Pilsko and Babia Góra, and on clear days the Tatras too.

On the meadow stands the PTTK Bacówka on Rycerzowa, opened on 14 September 1975 to a design by Stanisław Karpiel. It was the first of a series of small huts called bacówki (after the word for a shepherd's hut), built by the Polish Tourist Society on the initiative of Edward Moskała. To this day the hut is not connected to the grid and runs on a generator and batteries.

Did you know?

The original plan was to assemble the hut down in Soblówka and fly it up to the meadow by helicopter. This proved technically impossible, so it was built on site. On the Slovak slope of the mountain lies the Vychylovské skálie natural monument with an old landslide.

Tripto tip

The shortest ascent starts in Soblówka: there is parking by the church, and the black or yellow trail takes you to the hut in about 1.5–2 hours. Longer options start from Ujsoły via Muńcuł (about 3 hrs) or from Rycerka via Młada Hora (about 4 hrs). From the hut it is a short ridge walk to the summit. In winter the easiest route is the black trail from Soblówka, often packed down by a quad or snowmobile. Allow 4–5 hours for the round trip and check snow conditions before a winter hike.