Pilec: Lake District, Cultural Heritage and Hotels

In Pilec, lakes and landscapes sit alongside historic buildings and regional routes. To help you plan your trip, the topics can be distinguished clearly: bodies of water by location and area, and routes by activity and stated length.

Landscape and Bodies of Water

Pilec lies at the southern end of Lake Dejnowa. The Pilecki Pond, also called Pühlzer Muhlenteich, is located in the village; it covers 4 hectares. Lake Kociołek lies southwest of Pilec and covers 1.50 hectares. The pond in the village is therefore more than twice the size of Lake Kociołek. According to a local legend, a church lies submerged at the bottom of Lake Kociołek.

Pilec also lies within the Guber Valley Protected Landscape Area and the Mrągowo Lake District. Shaped by the Ice Age, the moraine landscape is rolling, with elevations of around 180 to 200 metres above sea level. The lakes, pond area and terrain reflect different scales of the landscape—from the body of water in the village to the wider region.

Kayak and Cycling Routes

The 36-kilometre Dajna Kayak Trail runs through Piecki, Mrągowo, Kiersztanowo, Pilec and Święta Lipka. The 24.7-kilometre cycling section of the Grodzisk Pruskich Trail runs through Mrągowo, Polska Wieś, Kiersztanowo, Pilec and Święta Lipka. Both route descriptions include Pilec and Święta Lipka, but refer to different activities. The lengths also refer to different things: 36 kilometres is the length of the kayak trail, while 24.7 kilometres is the length of a cycling section.

One specific point on the kayak trail is in Pilec, beside the old hydroelectric plant and mill: there is a portage point there, and the bank is steep. This local route description thus supplements the overall trail length with a feature of this particular section.

Local History and Cultural Heritage

Pilec was founded in 1326. Historically, the village had a church and a castle; the castle was still standing in the 15th century. Cultural heritage also includes an unchanged rural settlement layout and historic mill and residential buildings. The settlement pattern and individual buildings reflect different aspects of the historic village.

A chapel is located in a building that was once a blacksmith’s forge and is cared for by Jesuit priests from the parish in Święta Lipka. A dam stands at the site of the former mill, where water from the Dajna flows into a lake. A description from 2021 mentions educational tours by Robert Połubiński, a resident of Pilec, whose topics include the life of the Prussians.

Hotels in Pilec

A 2013 municipal description mentions a guesthouse or hotel in the former mill building. If you are looking for a hotel for a stay in Pilec, select the village as your search destination and take your travel dates into account when searching.

Discover more destinations: Muławki, Jankowice, Barciany, Karolewo, Aptynty, Kętrzyn, Nakomiady, Reszel.

For the wider travel overview: Kętrzyński.