Łąka: Wooden Church, Reservoir and EuroVelo R4

Three distinct themes come together in Łąka: St. Nicolaus Wooden Church, the Łąka Reservoir and the EuroVelo R4 cycling route. When planning your trip, you can weigh up whether you are more interested in wooden architecture, water or a cycling route. Each theme has a specific point of interest in the town.

St. Nicolaus Wooden Church and wooden architecture

St. Nicolaus Wooden Church was built in 1660 and is located on the “Silesian Wooden Architecture Trail.” Its architectural details also give the town a distinct architectural theme. The freestanding bell tower is considered one of the most valuable monuments of wooden architecture in Silesia. Its post-and-beam construction has four massive corner posts and is reinforced by a system of diagonal braces and horizontal beams.

The historical details span different periods: the church houses a Gothic bell from the 15th century, while three bells hang in the freestanding bell tower. The wooden church also has historical organs dating from 1865. Thus, alongside the construction date of 1660, there are further specific details that help put its construction and furnishings into context.

Łąka Reservoir and EuroVelo cycling route

The Łąka Reservoir was created by damming the Pszczynka River with an earth dam. The bathing area at the Ośrodek Sportów Wodnych in Łąka has a designated swimming area in the water and a pier. These are two clearly identified features of the facility that help visitors orient themselves at the water: the swimming area and the pier.

The EuroVelo R4 cycling route also runs through Łąka; one section is 36 km long. Within the town, the route passes the reservoir beach and continues along the paved Piotra-Skargi Street. If you are planning a cycling stage, the stated length provides a guide to the route; the section passing the beach and following the street also describes the local stretch. This means Łąka can be associated with both a cycling route and water, without treating the two themes as one and the same.

Pszczyna as a distinct regional context

Within the wider destination of Pszczyna, the Historic Park offers a focus of its own. It covers 156 hectares and comprises the Castle Park, Dworcowy Park and Dziką Promenada. Dziką Promenada includes a well-maintained golf course. The Pokazowa Zagroda Żubrów, a show enclosure for European bison, is also located there. The 10-hectare facility has enclosures and paths from which visitors can also observe fallow deer, red deer, roe deer and pheasants.

The museums and the history of the town of Pszczyna also provide their own points of interest. The Castle Museum is an example of a residence once inhabited by European nobility. Around 80 percent of the original furnishings from around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries have been preserved. Pszczyna’s Old Town retains a medieval urban layout; Piastowska Street is the town’s main pedestrian zone.

The Silesian Press Museum in Pszczyna presents the history of the Silesian press from its beginnings through 1939 and collects historical printing presses and printing equipment. Izba Telemanna displays historical musical instruments, including an 18th-century positive organ. Pszczyna therefore offers its own cultural context within the wider destination, while wooden architecture, the reservoir and the cycling route are the themes described in Łąka.

Discover more destinations: Pielgrzymowice, Suszec, Studzienice, Kobior, Wisła Mała, Brzeźce, Goczałkowice-Zdrój, Warszowice.

Go to the wider travel overview: Pszczyna.