Pałuki Landscapes
Route: Żnin – Rydlewo – Podgórzyn – Wenecja – Pniewy – Ostrówce – Szczepanowo – Barcin – Lubostroń – Oporowo – Łabiszyn – Chomętowo – Dobrylewo – Wilczkowo – Żnin
The route leads across a scenic area of differing landscapes – the Żnin tunnel valley and the Wójcińsko–Chomiąska tunnel valley, as well as the surrounding moraine upland – whose features were shaped during the last glacial period. The land is also varied in terms of use – there are both farmlands typical of the region and forests here. The trail is a chance to admire the picturesque views that are common in Pałuki.
It is a long route, therefore two days should be set aside to negotiate it at a relaxed pace and to see the sights. Half of the trail is around the village of Lubostroń.
You begin the ride in Żnin at the station of Żnin County Railway (a narrow-gauge tourist railway) at the junction of ulica Dworcowa and ulica Potockiego. Go to the market square first. On the way, you can see the Church of St. Florian, the Suffragan Bishop’s Villa (the 18th-century manor of Gniezno archbishops), the 15th-century town hall tower, and the so-called Magistrat (town hall housing the Museum of Pałuki Land).
You leave Żnin via ulica Szkolna. The landscape of Żnin tunnel valley now stretches in front of you with Lake Żnińskie Małe (or Czaple) to the right and peatbogs and meadows to the left. En route you can admire the varied landscapes of Pałuki and the natural curiosities: the floating island on Lake Pniewskie and the spring of St. Hubertus near Wiktorowo. There are other objects of interest and historical value to see: the forge from the early 20th century in Wenecja; the monument that marks the place where 22 Poles where shot by Nazis in a forester’s lodge in Balczewo; the 1912 statue of Jesus the King of Glory in Wójcin; the Church of St. James, St. Adalbert’s Hill, and old Jewish cemetery in Barcin; the palace and park in Lubostroń; the Church of St. Nicholas and the Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady in Łabiszyn; the remains of the evangelical cemetery in Wilczkowo.
The trail loops back to Żnin. It ends at the narrow-gauge railway station, just where you started. At the very end, it passes the Church of St. Martin.
