Around Żuławy Malborskie
Total length of the route: 56 kilometers
The route: Malbork – Kałdowo – Kościeleczki – Stogi – Tralewo – Nowy Staw – Lichnowy – Lisewo Malborskie – Kończewice – Mątowy Wielkie – Miłoradz – Kraśniewo – Grobelno – Malbork
Time: 6-9 h (including about 2-3 h for visiting places excluding the Malbork Castle Museum)
Suggested type of bicycles: trekking and road bicycles
Road surface and a difficulty level: almost the whole route runs along the asphalt roads across the area of flat hypsometric profile. The route is easy but it runs across open areas – mind the wind!
Road marking: There is no marking except from the black route of the Lower Wisła river between Kończewice and Mątowy Wielkie
Route description:
The route runs across Żuławy Malborskie. It is mainly a plain area situated in the delta of the Wisła river. It has been heavily influenced and transformed by human activities. The bank of the Wisła borders this area from the west, the edge of Iławskie Lakeland - from the south (along the Nogat river) and the High Plain of Elbląg from the east. Once there used to be swamps and floods which have been drained since the Middle Ages. The flat region of Żuławy has its own characteristic features and unique charm. Marek Opitz, a famous photographer of Żuławy, has entitled one of his albums “A Landscape for Connoisseurs.” This landscape is enriched by the characteristic rows of willow trees (willows function as natural pumps because they evaporate considerable amounts of water from the ground through their root system and leaves), the lines of the drainage canals and well-preserved medieval arrangement of roads and buildings.
Heritage monuments of Malbork and Nowy Staw (the former capital of Żuławy) deserve special attention. The Mennonite cemetery in Stogi is the biggest one in the region of Żuławy and undoubtedly it is worth visiting. The gothic churches in Miłoradz, Lichnowy, Lisewo Malborskie and Mątowy Wielkie must be visited as well. Considering these significant monuments of our cultural heritage which can be seen along this route, it seems to be one of the most fascinating bicycle routes in the Pomorskie region.
The trip (with particular legs and kilometers)
0,0 |
55,6 |
Malbork: railway station |
0,9 |
54,9 |
Malbork: a Teutonic castle (the capital of the Teutonic state) now the Malbork Castle Museum, the gothic church of St John, medieval ramparts, the town hall |
4,8 |
50,8 |
Kościeleczki |
7,3 |
48,3 |
Stogi: the biggest renovated Mennonite cemetery in the region of Żuławy, with numerous tomb stelas with characteristic decorations |
12,3 |
43,3 |
Tralewo |
13,9 |
41,7 |
Laski |
16,1 |
39,5 |
Nowy Staw - a gothic collegiate church, a neo-gothic church with a characteristic “Pencil” steeple, a large rectangular market square, historical tenement houses and some technical monuments |
18,6 |
37,0 |
Trępnowy |
23,1 |
32,5 |
Lichnowy - a gothic church from the 14th century |
29,6 |
26 |
Lisewo Malborskie: a gothic church from the 14th century with a characteristic wooden steeple, historical bridges nearby |
35,7 |
19,8 |
a crossroad with the national road no. 22 |
41,1 |
14,5 |
Mątowy Wielkie - a gothic church from the 15th century, historical wooden houses |
45,6 |
10,0 |
Miłoradz - a gothic church from the 14th century |
50,1 |
5,5 |
Kraśniewo |
53,3 |
2,3 |
Grobelno |
54,3 |
1,3 |
A bridge on the Nogatriver in Malbork |
55,6 |
0,0 |
Malbork railway station |