Braniewo Loop

Voivodeship

Warmińsko-Mazurskie

Kingdom

At the Vistula Lagoon

Start:

Braniewo Old City

End:

Braniewo Old City

Download GPX file

The trip starts in Braniewo – the oldest town of Warmia, established in the 13^th century. In the Middle Ages, it belonged to the Hanseatic League and was the only seaport of the region. The Old Town in Braniewo was largely destroyed in 1945. The former buildings that have survived include the gate tower of the bishops’ castle – one of the oldest buildings in the region, the huge Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria, and a few smaller facilities, including the granary on the Pasłęka river. Pasłęka – the third longest river in Poland that directly connects with the sea – serves as a nature reserve aimed at the protection of beavers almost along its entire length. The trail leads from Braniewo to the dam on the Pasłęka and a water power plant in Pierzchały – a complex of hydrotechnical structures with an unusual technical layout. The power plant is situated over 1 km away from the dam and is connected to it by a canal running on the west side of the river, on an around 12 metres high slope. Piled up by the dam, Pierzchały Lake is the biggest man-made water reservoir in the region. On its shore, in Pierzchały, there is a beach. From there, you can return from Braniewo through Czosnowo and the bridge over the road no. S22.

Trail option (46.3 or 58.3 km):

The longer variant of the trail leads from the beach in Pierzchały to Chruściel – a village where you can see an 18^th-century historic church and a large fuel base connected by a broad-gauge railway with Russia. Then the trail runs to Frombork through an overpass on the former Berlin-Königsberg motorway (called “Berlinka”), which serves as a dual carriageway today. From Frombork, you can return to Braniewo using the road to Stepień (46.3 km) or along the Green Velo Trail through Nowa Pasłęka (58.3 km). Over Frombork, you see a medieval cathedral complex situated on the hill, which comprises the Archcathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Andrew the Apostle. Inside the temple, there is Nicolaus Copernicus’s tomb discovered a few years ago. The Cathedral Hill is surrounded with a system of fortifications and buildings of former canon houses. Within the walls, the Museum of Nicolaus Copernicus and a planetarium are situated. In the bell-tower, called also the Radziejowski Tower, there is a Foucault pendulum; at the top of the tower, a viewing terrace situated 70 meters above sea level is available. It is also worth visiting the Museum of the History of Medicine based in the building of the former Hospital of the Holy Spirit, and a historic 16^th-century water tower.

Surface and marking of the trail:

The trail runs on asphalt roads and is not marked.

Attractions on the trail: