Geographical Location and Communication

Geographical location and communicational accessibility of Kostrzyn is undoubtedly one of the greatest strengths of the city. Our border town is only 80 km from the capital of Germany - Berlin. Here, on the Oder and the Warta, in this small town, there is a critical transportation hub of the whole Central Europe, rail and road, between the east and west of the continent. The south is connected with north by the Oder, previously unappreciated, which together with the Warta and system of canals create navigable waterway route to Szczecin and Hamburg, to the industrial cities in the depths of Germany and Poland. From Kostrzyn radiate the roads to Berlin, Frankfurt, Szczecin, Poznań, Gorzów Wielkopolski and further to Gdańsk, Wrocław and Zielona Góra. Railway routes connect directly Kostrzyn i.a. with Berlin, Szczecin, Wrocław, Katowice, Toruń, Bydgoszcz and Warsaw, and even with Chełm and Zamość at the other end of the Poland! The existing border crossings, road and rail links, shorten the journey of business people and freight. On the road border crossing between Poland and the EU member states open in 1992 there is gone through the customs an average of six million vehicles and 10 million people annually. This border crossing is one of the most modern in the country.

Sightseeing Values of Kostrzyn and Its Surroundings

Kostrzyn is surrounded by forests. There flow the Oder and the Warta creating unique in Europe pools. Water location between Berlin and Gorzów Wielkopolski makes the possibility of organizing trips of the passenger fleet with stays in Kostrzyn. For this purpose there has been built the harbor for passenger ships. The border on the river makes opportunities to cross-border use in terms of water tourism.

Kostrzyn is an extremely attractive place for anglers and mushroom pickers. The forests are almost a half of the city area and the surroundings of the city are rich in mushrooms and berries. Anglers can fish in the Oder, the Warta and the Postomia River and countless channels between them. There are almost all Polish species of fish. The precincts favour the excursion to the countryside for a barbecue, picnic or to lidos. The forests are rich in game, that encourages the practice of hunting.

A large extensiveness of the Warta Estuary area and its character is good for cycling tourism. Through the Warta Estuary there leads an international bicycle route R1. It runs from Lubniewice, through Sulęcin and Czarnów to Kostrzyn, and further to Germany. The area of the National Park "The Warta Estuary" is a paradise for lovers of nature, particularly ornithology.

The most interesting monuments of today's Kostrzyn are "the Kostrzyn Pompeii" - ruins of the Kostrzyn fortress and Old Town cleared of rubble with survived network of streets.

Not so long ago the place after the former Old Town could raise only a longing for that which no longer exists. Today, the proposed reconstruction is taking shape. From under the heaps of soil there emerged the ruins of old houses and streets. It is a favorite place and the greatest attraction for tourists and groups of young people coming to Kostrzyn, for former inhabitants of Kostrzyn from Germany, who walking along the cleared from rubble streets recall their childhood and youth. April 23, 1994 mayors of the twin cities-fortresses Kostrzyn, Peitz and Spandau symbolic thrust of spade launched work in the Old Town, clearing the Old Town of rubble and the renovation remains of the Kostrzyn fortifications.

September 17, 2000 representatives of 17 cities-fortresses from Poland, Germany and Russia signed a cooperation agreement. In 2000, in connection with the celebration of 700 anniversary of granting Kostrzyn city charter for the first time were organized in the Old Town the Days of the Kostrzyn Fortress. Scenery of casemates and the place where "the stones talk", creates a climate, which traces cannot be found in the community centers or amphitheatres.

Other interesting objects are:

• Stalag III C in Drzewice estate - forced labor camp and the cemetery of the killed prisoners,

• Nineteenth-century two-storey railway station with interesting solutions of both architectural and technical,

• The church of Blessed Virgin Mary - the Mother of Church built in the seventies of the last century,

• The monument of the killed in World War I - the so-called "Lion Monument" from the interwar period,

• The water tower already closed from 1903 located in the city center,

• intermediate pumping station on Warniki.

 fot. Tomasz Kulik