Pleśna: Cycling Routes, Views and History

Cycling routes with different courses

The “BATYLOWA” cycling route is 1.5 km long. It runs from Pleśna Market through Pleśna-Batylowa and back to the market. The 4 km “GONDÓWKA” route runs from Pleśna Cemetery through Pleśna-Gondówka to Pleśna-Równie. The two routes therefore differ not only in length but also in their course: BATYLOWA returns you to the starting point at the market, while GONDÓWKA passes through named localities on its way to its destination in Pleśna-Równie.

On the GONDÓWKA route, hilly terrain alternates with mostly paved roads. At the route’s highest point there is a viewpoint overlooking Pleśna. These features give the route its own character in addition to its length: it combines a varied course with a specifically named viewpoint. When planning a holiday together, you can compare a short loop and a longer, hilly route based on their described features.

Landscapes and remembrance in Pleśna municipality

Other landscape and history themes are connected with individual places in Pleśna municipality, including Lichwin, Łowczówek, Janowice, Lubinka and Dąbrówka Szczepanowska. When choosing where to stay, it is worth distinguishing these destinations from the cycling routes in Pleśna itself: they offer their own points of interest, and they are not all in one place.

In Lichwin, Austrian Military Cemetery No. 185 lies on Gródek Hill at an elevation of 436 m. Well-preserved artillery craters and unfilled trenches remain there. They are intended to help visitors picture the battlefield and the intensity of the fighting around the hill. From Gródek, you can see, among other things, the landscape of the Ciężkowice Foothills and peaks of the Low Beskids and Sącz Beskids. Here, visible traces of the battlefield meet expansive landscape views.

Another historic site is Military Cemetery No. 171 in Łowczówek, one of the largest cemeteries of the Polish Legions. Patriotic commemorations are held there every year on the first Sunday before 11 November. They mark anniversaries of the restoration of Polish independence and the Battle of Łowczówek, fought from 22 to 25 December 1914. The date and programme of the commemorations may vary. In Lichwin, the Centrum Pamięci Narodowej also commemorates the victims of the First and Second World Wars.

Buildings, ridges and geological finds

The municipality also has a rich architectural history: the palace in Janowice was built in the 19th century in the English Neo-Gothic style. In Lubinka is Austrian Military Cemetery No. 192 from the First World War, designed by Gustav Rossmann. The wooden observation tower in Dąbrówka Szczepanowska is 16 m high and has five levels with viewing terraces.

Those interested in the ridges will find a notable topographical landmark in Wał: it is one of the peaks of the Rożnów Foothills and, at 523 m, the highest elevation in Pleśna municipality. The quarry in Lichwin tells a different geological story. Fossils dated to around 66 million years ago were discovered there during the extraction of raw materials; these include fossilised tree trunks, whose origin has not been conclusively established.

More ways to enjoy active days

At the RELAKS Sports and Recreation Centre in Łowczówek, you can play ball games, exercise and go for walks, for example. A local hiking trail marked with blue and yellow dots leads to Diabli Kamień; it starts at the “Chata pod Wałem” agritourism farm. Alongside the cycling routes in Pleśna, this offers a range of themes for planning your holiday: cycling, a hiking destination, activities at the recreation centre, and landscape and history sites across the municipality.

Discover more destinations

Zgłobice, Ryglice, Wola Rzędzińska, Wojnicz, Ładna, Świebodzin, Janowice, Milówka

For the main travel overview: Tarnów.