Zielonka Hill viewpoint in Lubin

Zielonka Hill on the eastern edge of Lubin is a viewpoint of Wolin National Park overlooking the backward delta of the Świna. From a wooden shelter you look out over a maze of marshy islands, channels and shallows, the Szczecin Lagoon and Lake Wicko Wielkie. The panorama was named "Landscape of the Year 1993/94" by the international Friends of Nature association.

What you can see

It is said to be the only accessible spot from which you can see the Szczecin Lagoon, the Świna backward delta, Wicko Wielkie and the Baltic at once, and on a clear day also Świnoujście, Golm hill and Ahlbeck in Germany. The park gives the height of the viewpoint as 52 m above sea level (the figure of 81 m found in some descriptions is not supported by park data). An information board explains how the islands formed.

A land of islands and birds

The Świna delta consists of dozens of marshy islets separated by channels. Its shape changes every year as new shallows and islets appear. The area is listed as a bird sanctuary of European importance, because the main bird migration route along the Baltic crosses Wolin. In 1996 the waters of the lagoon and the archipelago of coastal islands were added to the park, making Wolin National Park Poland's first marine national park.

Did you know?

• The name Zielonka was introduced officially in 1949; before that the hill was known by the German name Blätter Berg. It is also sometimes called Eagle Hill.
• Lubin is one of the oldest documented settlements in Western Pomerania – it appears in the 12th-century lives of Bishop Otto of Bamberg.

Tripto tips

The blue trail of Wolin National Park leads to the top and continues via Piaskowa Góra towards Wapnica and Lake Turkusowe. The viewpoint is free to visit; allow about an hour for the walk and a stop on the hill. Bring binoculars – in spring and autumn flocks of migrating birds rest on the wetlands. The Lubin hillfort, with viewing terraces and the remains of one of Pomerania's oldest churches, is in the same village, so both viewpoints combine easily into one outing.