Słowiński National Park

Słowiński National Park (also know as Słowiński Park Narodowy) is a 186 km² park located in the northern part of Pomeranian Voivodeship by the Baltic Sea in Poland. It goes through the 30 km coast between the towns of Łeba and Rowy, and the lakes Łebsko and Gardno and this National Park is mainly known for its moving dunes (wydma ruchoma). In 1977 UNESCO designated the park a biosphere reserve and the National Park was established on 1995. 

How do I arrive to Słowiński National Park ?

 The area isn't easy to reach from most of Pomerania, but it can perfectly be visited on a day trip from Słupsk.

• Train: there are some trains every hour to Łeba from Lębork (aprox. 45 minutes).
• Bus: there are buses directly from Łeba is connected with places like Lębork (aprox. 35 minutes), well connected with Gdańsk. Słupsk is connected with most of the places in the National Park, like Smołdzino (aprox. 40 minutes) or Kluki (aprox. 1 hour).
• Car: Słowiński National Park can be reached in many ways by car. You can arrive to Rowy or to Smołdzino from Ustka (aprox. 25 minutes), Słupsk (aprox. 30 minutes) or Bytów (aprox. 1 hour 15 minutes); Łeba can be reached from Lębork (aprox. 30 minutes), Słupsk (aprox. 1 hour), Kartuzy (aprox. 1 hour 15 minutes) at Kashubian Landscape Park, Gdynia (aprox. 1 hour 20 minutes) or Gdańsk and Hel Peninsula (aprox. 1 hour 40 minutes).

 Once in the Park the best ways to move around the park are the car, the bicycle or simply walking.  

History

The name of the National Park is quite linked with Slovincians, an Slavic tribe living between lakes Gardno and Łebsko near Słupsk in Pomerania with close ties with Kashubian people. Following the Ostsiedlung (German easternward expansion), the Slovincians gradually became Germanized and they adopted Lutheranism (distinguishing them from the Kashubes, who remained Roman Catholic). By the 1920s, the Slovincian villages had become linguistically German, though a Slovincian consciousness remained. The area remained within the borders of Germany until becoming part of Poland after WW2 ended in 1945 becoming Polish territory (and some Slovincians were expelled along with the German population). In the 1950s, mainly in the village of Kluki (formerly Klucken), a few elderly people still remembered fragments of Slovincian. Virtually all of the remaining Slovincian families had emigrated to Germany by the 1980s. In 1977 UNESCO designated the park a biosphere reserve under its Programme on Man and the Biosphere (MaB). The Słowiński wetlands were designated National Park in 1995.

 

What can I visit in Słowiński National Park ?

These are many things to do in Słowiński National Park (7-21 from May to Sep; 8-16 from Oct to Apr; 6zł/ 3zł  adults/ reduced), explained now according to the town where they are or the nearest one:     

• Rowy (Rowë in Kashubian, Rowe in German): 310 inhabitants village located in the westhern part of the National Park. It's a popular tourist excursion and recreational destination.
  • Rowy Beach: nice white sand beach with some moving dunes.  
  • St. Piotra i Pawła Catholic Church: 19th century church located in the former Lutheran one (when it was part of Germany) with some objects that are older than the 19th century. 
  • Rowy-Dołgie Round Trip (18 km): trail that goes along the surrrounding area of Rowy, both by lake Gardno and Baltic Sea.
  • Rowy-Łeba Touristic Route (36.5 km): coastral track that goes all over ther National Park, from west to east (and viceversa).
• Smołdzino (Smôłdzëno in Kashubian, Schmolsin in German): 984 inhabitants village located in the core of the National Park.
  • Museum of Nature and educational Garden (9-17 from May to Sep; 7:30-15:30 from Oct to Apr; 4zł/ 2zł  adults/ reduced): museum with an exposition that shows all the flora and fauna of Słowiński National Park.
  • Trójcy Świętej Catholic Church: church built in 1632 on the initiative of Duchess Anna of Pomerania very important for Slovincians (there was even mass in Slovincian).
  • Rowokół Watchtower (10-19 from Jul to Aug; 10-16 from May to Jun and Sep; 4zł/ 2zł  adults/ reduced): 20 m tower located in the highest point of the National Park where getting nice views of the forests, the lakes and the Baltic Sea. 
  • Gardna Wielka-Łeba Trail (39 km): long trail that starts in that village by lake Gardno and goes through Smołdzino, Kluki, surrounds lake Łebsko and reaches Łeba. 
• By lake Łebsko it can be visited the small village of Kluki (Kláhi in Slovincian, Klucken in German, Klëczi in Kashubian) with 90 inhabitants. It was one of the last remains of Slovincian culture in Pomerania and here it's placed the Museum of Slovinic Countryside (11-15 Mon, 10-18 Tue-Sun from May to Aug; 11-15 Mon, 9-16 Tue-Sun from March to May and Sep to Oct; 11-15 Tue, 9-16 Wed-Sun from Nov to Feb; 16zł/ 10zł  adults/ reduced), a small but very interesting open-air museum that shows traditional furniture and decoration, apart from showing traces of Slovincian culture.
• Not far from Smołdzino is located the village of Czołpino (Czôłpino in Kashubian, Scholpin in German), 58 inhabitants, where it can be enjoyed Czołpino lighthouse (10-20 from Jul to Aug; 10-18 from May to Jun and Sep; 4zł/ 2zł  adults/ reduced), only lighthouse in the National Park, built in the 19th century. From the village there's a route (4.5 km) that goes by the lighthouse and reached the beach.
  
• Continuing east it can be found the small district of Rąbka (part of Łeba), that is one of the entrances to the national park too. It used to be a rocket launcher and it can be visited with a tour Rąbka Rocket Launcher Military Exhibition (14zł/ 10zł  adults/ reduced).
• Łeba (Leba in Kashubian and German): 3,824 inhabitants small town located between the lakes Łebsko and Sarbsko. It's quite popular among Polish and German tourists who come to enjoy its beach and beautiful sea. The town has been sometimes in danger because of the movement of the dunes stopped in the 19th century, when a forest was planted.
  • Łeba Beach: long and relaxing beach.
    
  • Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny Catholic Church: 17th century church that used to be Lutherean when Łeba was part of Germany.
  • Amber Museum in Łeba (10-17; 16zł/ 14zł  adults/ reduced): small museum with a collection of different kinds and sizes of amber. Very interesting for kids. 
  • Butterfly Museum in Łeba (10-16; 14zł/ 11zł  adults/ reduced): collection of more than 4,000 insects with butterflies and other kinds of insects.
  • Ruins of St. Mikołaja Church: remains of a former 14th century church demolished in 1560. 
  • Łeba round Trip (aprox. 18 km): round trail that goes begins and finished in Łeba, crossing Rąbka and visiting the largest moving dune in the National Park, dune Łącka.

Museum of Slovinic Countryside in Kluki

Dune Łącka

Lębork Town Hall

Driving 30 km south from Łeba it can be reached Lębork (Lãbòrg in Kashubian, Lauenburg in Pommern in German), a 35,413 inhabitants town by the Łeba and Okalica rivers and capital of Lębork Country. Lębork keeps much of its traditional architecture, particulary around Ulica Staromiejska, and has some nice building like Lębork Castle (a former Brick Gothic castle from the 14th century built by the Teutonic Order that has been rebuilt several times and currently is the seat of the district court and the district prosecutor's office) or Lębork Town Hall (Neo-Gothic town hall built in 1900 with a tower with a four-sided cupola topped with an openwork lantern with a spire). In there also nice churches to visit such as St. Jakuba Apostoła Catholic Church (a Brick Gothic church built between the 14th-15th centuries that has the structure of a defensive church with a Baroque altar, a Rococo pulpit and a tabernacle made of ivory) or Najświętszej Maryi Panny Królowej Polski Catholic Church (a former Lutheran church built in Neo-Gothic style in the years 1866-1870). The town has other interesting constructions: Lębork Salt Granary (former 14th century half-timbered granary that today a Pentecostal church) or the brewery Old Magdaliński Brewery, that dates back to 1898 and is place in a Neo-Gothic building.

Where can I eat in Słowiński National Park?

This National Park doesn't have a quite important culinary offer so it's a good idea to bring food from outside the park.

 

Posted in: Europe,National Park,Poland,Pomerania