A hiking trail, cycling route and horse-riding trail pass through Zawada, each revealing the village from a different perspective. Zawada lies in the Dolinki Krakowskie Landscape Park and in the southern part of the Wyżyna Olkuska. If you’re looking for a holiday apartment in Zawada, you can consider whether trails, scenery or local history should be the focus of your trip.
Trails through Zawada: on foot, by bike or on horseback
The green hiking trail through the Racławka Valley passes through Zawada on the section from Racławice to Zimnodół. The red Eagles’ Nests cycling route also runs through the village. For riders, the PTTK Transjurajski Horse Trail is another option: it leads from Zawada via Zederman and Przeginia towards the ruins of the 14th-century Rabsztyn Castle.
The trail descriptions differ both in mode of travel and direction. The hiking trail follows a section of a valley, the cycling route is marked in red, and the horse-riding route describes a course through two other settlements to the castle ruins. These differences can help you decide which aspect matters for your trip planning, without combining the trails into a single circular route.
Scenery and notable places nearby
The landscape around Zawada also includes evidence of mining. Between Gorenice and Zawada are mining remains, including a sinkhole that formed before the First World War. Nearby, about 200 metres from the intersection towards Gorenice, is a group of five trees designated as natural monuments: lime trees, a beech and a horse chestnut.
Another striking feature of the landscape lies between Zawada and the eastern settlement of Podlesie. A hill rises there, topped by a limestone rock outcrop that offers a wide view of the Ojców Plateau. Together with Zawada’s location in the Dolinki Krakowskie Landscape Park and on the Wyżyna Olkuska, this creates a landscape distinct from the village’s cultural landmarks.
A chapel, memorial sites and local tradition
Zawada is home to the imposing Chapel of Matki Boskiej Różańcowej. The village’s architectural heritage also includes an old wooden house at number 40. A different aspect of local history is represented by a memorial plaque donated by residents in honour of the Polish non-commissioned officer Winkler, who fell in combat during the September Campaign of 1939.
A local legend links the Karczmiskiem part of the village to a former inn. Travellers on the historic route from Silesia through Sławków and Olkusz to Kraków are said to have stayed or stopped there. The legend recounts Zawada’s role on a historic travel route and should be distinguished from the village’s architectural and natural landmarks.
More cultural attractions in the wider Olkusz destination
The wider destination of Olkusz adds urban cultural and historical attractions. The Silver Juggler Trail runs through the Old Town and features 18 miner figures. The route also includes more than 130 reproductions of Olkusz trojaks set into the pavement—coins bearing the image of King Sigismund III Vasa.
The “Podziemny Olkusz” exhibition includes displays in the cellars of the former 14th-century town hall and the former Royal Quarter, once home to the Olkusz mining authorities. Visitors can set models and reproductions of historical mining equipment in motion themselves. For another perspective on regional history, visit the collection of minerals from the Olkusz region and fossils from the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland. It comprises several thousand exhibits, including ores and minerals as well as 150-million-year-old limestones.
Discover more destinations: Golczowice, Wolbrom, Jeżówka, Osiek, Bukowno, Zabagnie, Olkusz, Klucze.
Back to the main travel overview: Olkusz.
