Sieraków Commune – the resting capital of the Wielkopolska region

 

Sieraków is a town with 6.000 inhabitants on the Warta River in the Wielkopolska province, about 70 km to the north-west of Poznań. The urban-rural commune with over 8.000 inhabitants is situated on the edge of the Notecka Forest – the second largest forest area in Poland (135.000 ha). It is a region with unique touristic-recreational values, and at the same time it is leisure base of the province capital. The clean lakes located among extensive forests each year attract thousands of tourists and holidaymakers. The picturesque surroundings of Sieraków are called The Land of a Hundred Lakes.

 

Sieraków is situated in the center of the Sieraków Landscape Park. Numerous and well-maintained hiking trails and touristic routes offer the possibility of exploring the local attractions of nature: clear lakes, lush vegetation and wild animals. On the area of commune there are located four nature reserves (“Buki nad Jeziorem Lutomskim” (“Beechwood on the Lutomskie Lake”), “Cegliniec”, “Mszar nad Jeziorem Mnich” (“Peat on the Monk Lake”), “Czaple Wyspy” (“Herons’ Isles”)), 31 natural monuments and Nature 2000 areas. In Chalin the Nature Education Centre acts. The great attraction of the park are glacial lakes (about 40), the largest are the Lutomskie Lake (173 ha) and the Kłosowskie Lake (138 ha). The Śremskie Lake is the deepest one in the park (45 m) and is the only kryptodepression in Poland – its bottom is 6 m below sea level.

 

Sieraków is a city rich in history, relating principally to the magnate families Nałęcz, Górka and Opaliński. The town charter was granted in 1358, probably by King Casimir III the Great. In 2008 the city celebrated the 650th anniversary.

 

Undoubtedly strong points of Sieraków are its architectural monuments. It is worth visiting after Bernardine called “the pearl of Sieraków”. It bewitches with a rich baroque interior – including painting “The Descent from the Cross” by the Flemish artist Artus Wolffort and the most beautiful stalls in Poland. An interesting building is castle rebuilt in the 90s of the last century, which houses the Opaliński Castle Museum. You can see there e.g. restored, unique sarcophaguses of former owners of these lands. In the oldest part of town there is the Area of Protected Buildings. It is under conservator’s protection because of the preserved old urban system. Sieraków is also famous of Stado Ogierów (The Herd of Stallions) acting  from 180 years. There are kept horses of the wielkopolski (Great Poland) breed and Polish primitive horses. One should also see the bridge over the floodplain of the Warta River – one of the first concrete structures in Poland (1908-1909).

 

The great advantage of the Sieraków region is well-developed base of sports and leisure. Touristic traffic is concentrated near the Jaroszewskie Lake, where in the summertime the guarded beaches functions. On the popular “Słoneczko” (“Sunshine”), as the locals call this area, there are objects making the stay more attractive. There is e.g. indoor swimming pool, bowling, stadium, playing fields for various games and sports hall. We can find there also water equipment and bike rentals, amusement arcades, restaurants, pizzerias and pubs. In the city there is a complex of sports fields with artificial turf for football, volleyball and basketball (Orlik 2012).

 

In the summer the concerts of music groups and festivals such Dni Ziemi Sierakowskiej (Days of The Sieraków Region) are organized. In the autumn lovers of mushroom picking and Hubertus (feast of hunters, foresters and riders) come to commune. In the winter enthusiasts of sleigh rides visit Sieraków. Attractive touristically surroundings of Sieraków create favourable conditions for hiking (about 150 km of marked trails, including a great place for Nordic Walking – 6 professional routes with total length of 51 km, professional base and briefing in Chalin OEP (OEP – natural education center)), biking (about 105 km of trails), canoeing (about 40 km of trails) and horse riding (e.g. fragment of horse trail “Wilczy Szlak” (“Wolf's Trail”) with length of 143 km).

 

Other natural attractions of the commune include the French Mountains – strip  of dunes in the Notecka Forest, oak “Joseph” – the biggest tree of the Notecka Forest in Marianowo and Integracyjny Leśny Ogród Edukacyjny (Integration Garden for Forest Education) in Bucharzewo – “playground” of almost 2 hectares with the thematic paths.

 

CYCLING ROUTES 105 km in total

• European Route: Ryżyn – Sieraków – Chalin, a black trail, 16,2 km long
• To the Stud Route: Sieraków Market Square – the Stallion Stud, a green trail, 0,6 km long
• Landscape Route: Góra – Lutomek – Tuchola, a yellow trail, 21,7 km long
• Route of Wild Nooks: “Robbers’ Hut” [Chata Zbójców] Bucharzewo Bukowce – Sieraków – European Route, a blue trail, 18 km long
• Across the Ferry Route: Chorzępowo – Zatom Stary – Ławica, a black trail, 7,1 km long
• Academic Route: Jaroszewo – Sieraków – Bucharzewo Bukowce “Robbers’ Hut” [Chata Zbójców], a red trail, 41,5 km long

WALKING ROUTES 147,6 km in total

• Kłodzisko – Pakawie – Sieraków; a yellow trail, 17,1 km
• Sieraków – Lutomskie Lake – Lutom – Sieraków; red, black and yellow trails, 17,7 km
• Bucharzewo – Pustelnia – Chojno; a red trail, 9,8 km
• Sieraków – Niedziółka Lake – Bucharzewo; a blue trail, 7,2 km
• Bucharzewo – Lichwin – Sieraków; red and green trails, 11,7 km
• Sieraków – Borowy Młyn – Francuskie Góry – Sieraków; yellow and green trails, 21,9 km
• Sieraków – Kukułka – Zatom; yellow, black and red trails, 18,4 km
• Kukułka – Błoto – Radgoszcz – Międzychód; a black trail, 19,3 km
• Sieraków – Ławica – Międzychód; a blue trail, 20,4 km
• Zatom Stary – Ławica – Prusim; a yellow trail, 13 km
• Kwilcz – Kurnatowice – Głazów Mount – Sieraków; black and red trails, 17,9 km
• Prusim – Chalin – Grobia – Sieraków; a partly marked trail, yellow and black, 16,2 km