Spring of Love in Ojców

The heart at the bottom of the basin is not a work of nature – it was carved into the stone, and the romantic name was given to the spring by local guides. The Spring of Love (Źródło Miłości) in the Prądnik Valley is a karst spring that delivers about 0.7–1 litre of water per second, straight from the underground world of the Ojców caves. According to local tales the water has magical powers: couples come here to seal their bond, and so do those still looking for love.

A spring that was moved

The water used to emerge beside one of the rocks of the Kraków Gate (Brama Krakowska) – a natural limestone gateway closing the mouth of a gorge into the Prądnik Valley – and drained the valley behind it. Between the wars the spring was tapped for a sparkling-water bottling plant that operated here until around 1960. The outlet was encased and moved below the road, so today's concrete outflow is artificial, and the park's information board calls it a "secondary" spring. The water flows into a small pool whose bottom is carved in the shape of a heart.

What is nearby

• The Kraków Gate – two columns of hard limestone about 15 m high, the left one taller. The name recalls the old trade route from Kraków to Silesia along the valley floor. A small picture of Our Lady of Częstochowa is fixed to the left column, and two planted yews grow nearby.
• The gorge behind the Kraków Gate, leading to Ciemna Cave, and a large rock shelter called Krowia Cave about 100 m from the gate towards Ojców.
• A tiny endemic snail – in 1989 a new species of minute snail, Falniowskia neglectissima, was discovered near the gate; it is probably found nowhere else and is listed in the Polish Red Data Book.

Ojców National Park

The spring lies in Poland's smallest national park (2,145.62 ha), about 16 km north of Kraków. The park protects almost 700 caves, around 1,000 species of vascular plants and 21 of the 28 bat species found in Poland – which is why a bat appears on its emblem. Next to the spring run the red Eagles' Nests Trail, the blue Jurassic Strongholds Trail (through the Ciasne Skałki gorge to the Będkowska Valley) and the yellow trail from Wierzchowie to Pieskowa Skała.

Tripto tip

The spring is by the road along the floor of the Prądnik Valley, a short walk from the centre of Ojców. Entry to the park is free; only some sites, such as the caves, charge admission. Leave your car at a car park in Ojców or in the valley and continue on foot – the road is flat and fine for pushchairs. There are benches by the spring. The spring and the gate take 15–20 minutes, but it is worth adding Ciemna Cave and a walk to Ojców Castle. Do not drink the water without boiling it – the park board does not say it is safe to drink.