Sztabin brings together several distinct points of interest for a stay: local history, St James’s Church and the Karol Brzostowski Cycling Route, which passes through the town. Its founding under the name Osinki, a regional collection and the church’s furnishings reveal different facets of the place. Depending on your interests, you can focus on history or consider the cycling route as a separate activity.

Local history and regional collection

Sztabin was founded in 1598 by Adam Chreptowicz under the name Osinki. The date and former name provide a specific starting point for the settlement’s history. Another perspective is offered by the Izba Regionalna Ziemi Sztabińskiej, named after Roman Gębicz, its initiator and principal co-organizer.

The regional room’s collection includes simple tools used by farmers and rural women, as well as folk handicrafts. It also includes cast-iron crosses and grave slabs made about 100 to 150 years ago at the Huta Sztabińska factory. Objects related to work and craftsmanship are thus displayed alongside memorial objects. This collection shifts the focus from the town’s founding story to different material records of local life.

The primary school in Sztabin, also named after Karol Brzostowski, has a heritage room with an exhibition about its namesake. The regional room focuses on a collection of regional objects; the school heritage room is dedicated to Karol Brzostowski. The two subjects offer different perspectives on the people and memories associated with Sztabin.

St James’s Church and monument

The neo-Gothic St James’s Church was built between 1905 and 1910 with a donation from K. Brzostowski of Sztabin. Its construction dates and style bring another aspect of local history into view, distinct from the town’s founding in 1598: here, the focus is on a specific building and its furnishings.

The church’s furnishings include a baptismal font and a Gothic pulpit with six carved figures. The high altar has a large crucifix, flanked by two figures of saints. The two side altars feature different images: one of Our Lady of Częstochowa, the other of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The pulpit is distinguished by its figures, while the side altars differ in their imagery; the crucifix marks the high altar.

The restored monument to Joachim Litawor Chreptowicz stands in the church square on Augustowska Street. Karol Brzostowski personally designed and made it. Several names therefore stand side by side in the story of the town: Adam Chreptowicz as its founder, Joachim Litawor Chreptowicz as the person commemorated by the monument, and Karol Brzostowski as its designer and a patron of the church’s construction.

Cycling route and planning your stay

A route description from 2006 shows the Karol Brzostowski Cycling Route passing through Sztabin. The municipal description says that the route is marked with R cycling signs on separate posts and signs painted on trees. If cycling is part of your travel plans, the route offers a distinct focus alongside local history and church art. Check for current route information before setting out.

The 2006 route description also mentions a campsite and a beach near Sztabin. If a campsite or beach is important to your plans, check in advance whether they are currently available for use. This places the older information in context without treating it as a statement about present-day conditions.

Discover more destinations: Ateny, Cisówek, Sucha Rzeczka, Walne, Serwy, Jaminy, Plaska, Bargłów Kościelny.

For the regional travel overview: Augustowski.