Owińska combines the history of a Cistercian monastery and St. Nicholas Church with a landscape park designed by Peter Joseph Lenné. It also offers special leisure activities: at the Park Orientacji Przestrzennej, tourists and organised groups can visit at designated times or by prior reservation; the outdoor swimming pool is open seasonally. When planning, it helps to first choose your main interest: architectural and garden history, or activities involving movement and water.
Monastery History and St. Nicholas Church
After a partial fire on Good Friday in 1720, Pompeo Ferrari completed the reconstruction of the Cistercian monastery in Owińska. Another architectural reference is the renovation based on designs by Jan Catenazzi. Walls from the 13th century may have been used in the process.
St. Nicholas Church is also one of the town’s key historic buildings. It is the oldest historic building in Owińska and is also among the oldest and most valuable religious buildings in Poznań County. This brings together two different scales: the church’s special place in the town and its significance in comparison with religious buildings across the county. Those interested in history and architecture will find a range of local points of interest.
A more recent historical landmark is the Aromatorium – Library of Scents. It opened on 24 February 2023 at the Special Education Centre for Blind Children in Owińska. This date adds a more recent event to the older architectural and landscape themes.
The von Treskow Palace and its Landscape Park
The attribution of the design of the von Treskow Palace is not clear-cut: it was probably designed by Berlin architects Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Franciszek Catel; according to more recent research, the design may have been by David Gilly. The differing attributions are part of the building’s history and should not be reduced to a single, certain attribution.
The palace is surrounded by a landscape park with a pond and mature trees. The park also contains deciduous trees protected as natural monuments. The grounds were laid out in the early 19th century to a design by Peter Joseph Lenné, who was director of the gardens in Berlin for many years. Here, historic garden design meets trees that are protected today. If choosing a focus for your visit, consider exploring the park in its own right rather than seeing it only as an addition to the palace’s history.
Leisure Activities with Different Conditions
The Park Orientacji Przestrzennej offers daily educational activities for pupils at the Special Education Centre for Blind Children. Tourists and organised groups can visit at designated times or by prior reservation. The educational activities for pupils and the scheduled visiting arrangements for guests are two separate aspects of the park.
If you want to focus on water skiing or wakeboarding, Owińska has a 160-metre-long lift that enables speeds of over 40 km/h. Check the current opening hours with the operator before travelling. Another option is the AKWEN Tropicana outdoor swimming pool: it has two swimming areas, for swimmers and non-swimmers; the water in the non-swimmers’ area is up to 120 centimetres deep. As it operates seasonally, it is also advisable to check its current operating status before your visit.
The activities differ not only in type but also in their visiting conditions: the orientation park requires attention to visiting times or reservations, the swimming pool is seasonal, and the current opening hours matter for the water ski lift. You can take these points into account when planning without treating the different activities as one combined programme.
Crossing the Warta and Choosing a Focus for Your Stay
A footbridge and cycle bridge in Owińska crosses the Warta. Together with the historic buildings, the park and the leisure activities, it offers a range of themes to choose from during your stay.
Discover more destinations: Głęboczek, Szczytniki, Kobylnica, Skórzewo, Zakrzewo, Trzebaw, Promienko, Plewiska.
For the broader travel overview: Poznań.
