Green Velo

If you want to experience contact with nature and, at the same time, broaden your knowledge about the heritage of this historical region, this offer is meant for you. This cycling route gives you an opportunity to visit Tykocin - a town where you can still feel the presence of its former Jewish inhabitants, Pentowo – the 7th European Stork Village, Kiermusy with its European bison farmstead and Jantarowy Kasztel. The spirit of old time merges with unspoiled nature...

The excursion begins in Jeżewo Stare, at a petrol station where you can leave your car. From there, you should head for Tykocin. After finding orange marks of the Green Velo trail, you enter Tykocin. When leaving Tykocin, you have to ride towards Pentowo – a Stork Village. One short section of the route is a gravel road, but the effort does pay off. The manor house of the Toczyłowski family and the clattering storks are important elements of the Podlasie Stork Trail – the longest marked cycling trail in the Podlasie region.

From Pentowo, you arrive in Kiermusy. It is good to stop here for some time. After leaving Kiermusy, you should ride west and turn left in Nieciecie at the 16th kilometre of the route. At the 20th kilometre of the route in Łopuchowo, you can ride straight on cobblestone in order to make a shortcut or turn right and follow the asphalt road. This section leads to the 22nd kilometre of the route, where you have to turn left and take road no. 64 with intense car traffic. At the 27th kilometre, you have to turn right off the road no. 64 to the parallel asphalt road, in compliance with the sign informing about an approach road to a separate cycling path 800 metres from there. When you reach this path, turn left. After a few kilometres, the adventure is over.

Route:

• Jeżewo Stare (0 km)
• Tykocin (9.1 km)
• Pentowo (10.6 km)
• Kiermusy (13.8 km)
• Nieciecie (16.5 km)
• Łopuchowo (20.6 km)
• Zawady (22.4 km)
• Jeżewo Stare (29.5 km)

Surface:

• Mainly good-quality asphalt: approx. 90%
• To the Pentowo Manor: mostly old manor surface
• Kiermusy: gravel for around 1 km
• Łopuchowo: a short cobblestone section

Partly marked route:

• Marking according to PTTK’s standard of marking tourist cycling trails
• Jeżewo – Tykocin: blue marks, poor marking
• Remaining part of the route: outside marked cycling trails
• Jeżewo – Tykocin – Hermany section: marked on the basis of the Green Velo trail
• Part of the route: running along the Ring-Road of the Narew National Park
   

Tourist attractions on the route:

Tykocin – this town will make you feel as if you have travelled back in time. Narrow stone streets and characteristic white buildings with red roofs create a different world that does not exist any more. In Tykocin, you can come across many traces of the presence of its former Jewish inhabitants. There is also a monument to Stefan Czarniecki – the former owner of the city.

• The Great Synagogue – at first, the tourists are welcomed by the second largest synagogue in Poland. Built in 1642, it is the most important trace of the presence of Jews in the town. Before World War II, they accounted for more than half of Tykocin’s residents; interestingly enough, they were famous for the production of tallits - prayer shawls.
• The Talmud house – an 18th-century building
• The former military hospital – the first house for veteran soldiers in Poland; today it houses a pension and a restaurant with a magnificent view of Narew.
• The Church of the Holy Trinity – this Baroque temple was founded by Jan Klemens Branicki.

Pentowo – this place holds the title of a European Stork Village, which has been awarded by the German Foundation for the European Heritage of Nature “Euronatur” for years. You can find here the manor house of the Toczyłowski family and dozens of clattering storks.
Kiermusy – this colony is said to be a refuge for European bison and the old noble tradition. The entire complex consists of the manor house, the Jantarowy Kasztel, the Karczma Rzym tavern and living quarters. It is good to stop here for some time.