Green Velo

This 50 km loop follows the signs for a red bike trail around the Kołomańskie Hills. Most of the route is on asphalt roads, with only a small part on gravel roads. There are plenty of interesting places to see along the way, including sites connected with the history of the Old-Polish Industrial Region, as well as the Henryk Sienkiewicz Palace, the Bartek Oak and a Neolithic stone in Mniów. You will also have the chance to relax on the banks of Umer Reservoir.

Oblęgorek (0.0 km) → Oblęgór (2.0 km) → Malmurzyn (5.3 km) → Mniów (9.8 km) → Serbinów (14.5 km) → Rogowice → Długojów (20.9 km) → Zagnańsk (29.0 km) → Samsonów (34.9 km) → Umer (38.4 km) → Ćmińsk → Bobrza (43.5 km) → Porzecze (46.0 km) → Oblęgorek (50.0 km)

• Lenght: 50.0 km
• Time: 5 hours (7 hours with sightseeing)
• Type: Touring, cross
• Elevation: 598 m
• 85% asphalt roads, 15% gravel roads
• Moderately difficult
• Marking good; red bike trail

Getting there and starting out

The trip starts in Oblęgorek, on ul. Henryka Sienkiewicza. You can leave your car in the nearby car park, where there is also an MOR (Miejsce Obsługi Rowerzystów – Cyclist Service Point) on the Green Velo route.

Technical description

Take al. Lipowa towards the palace and go around the surrounding park. Leave Oblęgorek heading to the west. In Oblęgór, turn right and then you will come to a substantial uphill section with impressive views near the top. Once you reach the summit, go downhill to Malmurzyn, passing another MOR with a shelter on the Green Velo route at the intersection. The next stage of the trip is the stretch to Mniów. Before you get to the national road, take a small detour to the right: by the building of the Commune Office is a glass cabinet with a valuable archaeological find. After that, go through Mniów and then, just before you enter the forest, your attention will be drawn to a forest gallery of unusual sculptures. There are two forest car parks just a little further away, where you can take a break. The trail continues in a slightly mountainous area, through the villages of Serbinów, Rogowice and Długojów. Before the last of these, the road surface changes briefly to gravel, and there are two more stretches like this before Zagnańsk. As you pass through the forest in the vicinity of Jasiów, take a moment to stop at the monument to the January Uprising. Next comes the descent to Zagnańsk and then a short ride on a busy voivodeship road. Turn right after the Bartek Oak, and follow the red trail signs through Bartków to Samsonów to see the huge walls of the former Józef Ironworks. The next stop on the route is Umer Reservoir. Five kilometres further along, you will arrive at the ruins of another ironworks, this time in Bobrza, which are just as impressive as the previous ones. After a short break, head south. Turn right in Porzecze and take the narrow asphalt roads over the hills of Barania Góra to get back to Oblęgorek, thus completing the loop.

Attractions along the way:

Henryk Sienkiewicz Palace in Oblęgorek

Given to Henryk Sienkiewicz in 1900 to mark the 25^th anniversary of his work as a writer, the palace was used as the author’s summer residence between 1902 and 1914. After the Second World War, the Noble Prize winner’s children subsequently passed the building over to the state, with a museum being opened in 1958 that contains mostly original pieces, supplemented with reproductions. The palace is surrounded by a park with an ancient tree stand.

Aleja Lipowa 24, tel. +48 41 303 04 26, +48 664 384 069, www.mnki.pl/sienkiewicz

Oblęgorek also has an educational nature trail beginning between al. Lipowa and the school.

Neolithic stone in Mniów

Discovered in Kontrewers, near Mniów, in 1988, this stone is considered to be one of the most valuable archaeological objects in Poland. It is said to represent two figures – a woman and a man – which, according to the latest theory, are symbols associated with a Neolithic agricultural cult. Since 2005, the stone has been the property of the Polish Geological Institute and it is currently on display in a pyramid-shaped glass cabinet outside the Commune Office in Mniów.

ul. Centralna 9

Monument in the forest near Jasiów

The monument commemorates the January Uprising insurgents killed in 1863. Close to the obelisk is a wooden shrine with an engraved cross.

Bartek Oak in Zagnańsk

The Bartek Oak is one of the oldest trees in Poland and its size is truly impressive – with a circumference of 985 cm, a height of 30 m and a crown span of 40 m. Legend has it that it may even be 1,200 years old, although scientists have estimated it to be closer to 645-670 years old. A number of Polish kings are said to have rested beneath its branches, including Jan III Sobieski, Kazimierz the Great and even Bolesław Krzywousty. Protected as a natural monument, the tree has twice been partially destroyed by fire – first in 1906 and then again in 1991. Due to this, telescopic supports have been added along with a resin-based filling in an attempt to reinforce the partly decayed trunk.

 Ruins of the Józef Ironworks in Samsonów

Built between 1818 and 1822 on the initiative of Stanisław Staszic, this industrial plant was used for smelting iron from local ore extracted in the region. After a fire in 1866, the factory fell into ruin, although the remains of the blast furnace, among other things, have survived to this day. The area in which the ruins of the former ironworks are located has been secured and is open to the public.

 Ruins of the blast furnace complex in Bobrza

Bobrza is home to the remains of an unfinished investment: a blast furnace complex that was intended to be the largest one within the Old-Polish Industrial Region. Construction of the ironworks began in 1828 on the initiative of Stanisław Staszic but, unfortunately, flooding and the outbreak of the November Uprising in 1830 ultimately brought the work to a halt for good. With just the impressive 15 m tall retaining wall remaining today, the facility has been partially revitalised for visitors.