Święty Krzyż - Tarłów Rynek

The blue hiking trail has outstanding natural and cultural values. Along the route, the tourist will visit the Holy Cross, the oldest sanctuary in Poland, the first dinosaur park in Poland in Bałtów and the Krzemionkowski Region of Prehistoric Striped Flint Mining, which was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2019.

The trail is named after Stanisław Jeżewski - a social activist and sightseeing expert associated with the Świętokrzyskie Branch of PTTK in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. Stanisław Jeżewski participated in the Polish-Bolshevik war and the September Campaign. During World War II, he was active underground in the Home Army and conducted secret teaching.

In terms of characteristics, the trail can be divided into two sections. The route from Święta Krzyża to Kunów leads mainly on asphalt roads. The terrain is very undulating and has numerous approaches, typical of the highest ranges of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. There are beautiful views from the surrounding hills, including: to Święta Krzyż and the Jeleniowskie Range.

The trail begins on a hill called Łysa Góra, on the top of which the Benedictines founded a monastery housing the Relics of the Tree of the Holy Cross. It is worth spending some time to learn about the extraordinary history of this place, which combines pagan and Christian traditions. Particularly noteworthy is the minor basilica. The Holy Trinity, Gothic cloisters, the Oleśnicki Chapel, the Mission Museum and the crypt of Jeremi Wiśniowiecki. From the top of the monastery tower (open to visitors) there is an unforgettable view of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. The monastery is located in the heart of the Świętokrzyskie National Park, which hides the legendary rock fields.

From the Holy Cross to Nowa Słupia leads the so-called King's Road. On the route, attention is drawn to the unique nature of the Świętokrzyski National Park. After leaving the forest, the first buildings of Nowa Słupia appear. Particularly noteworthy is the modern façade of the Museum of Ancient Metallurgy, which popularizes centuries-old traditions of iron smelting using the so-called smelting furnaces. Next to the museum, there is a Cultural and Archaeological Center on the premises, where during organized events you can admire iron smelting using ancient methods, the so-called smelting furnaces. A little lower on the slope there is an impressive building of the former hospital rectory, the so-called "Opatówka", which has been carefully restored in recent years.

From Nowa Słupia, the trail leads towards Chełmowa Góra, visible in the distance, which was already a nature reserve in 1920, where a unique species of European Larch is protected.

Then the trail climbs sharply along an asphalt road and passes through Stara Słupia, from where there are beautiful views of the Holy Cross and the Jeleniowskie Range. In Grzegorzowice, on a hill there is the parish church of St. Saint John the Baptist. Most researchers claim that the temple in Grzegorzowice was built at the end of the 13th century or the beginning of the 14th century and is one of the latest Romanesque structures in Poland. On the section between Grzegorzewice and Kałków, the trail repeatedly leads to hills from which there are extensive views of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains and the reservoir in Wióry.

Another very interesting religious building on this section of the trail is the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sorrows in Kałków with the Świętokrzyska Golgotha, a 33-meter-high symbolic building, from the top of which you can admire the panorama of the Łysogórski Range.

Lovers of technical monuments will also find their place on the trail. In Nietulisko Duży there are the remains of a rolling mill for small profiles and sheets, built in 1834-46. In Doły Biskupie there is a closed paper and cardboard factory, named after Witold Gombrowicz and called Witulin, and a wooden footbridge with a water culvert on the Świślina River.

The section from Kunów to Tarłowo is typically lowland. It runs along asphalt and gravel forest roads, traversing the charming forest complexes of the Iłża Forest (pine, oak, spruce, larch). On the route we will encounter numerous avenues and trees of monumental dimensions. On the way, the chapel of St. Catherine from the 15th century and the Krzemionki Museum and Archaeological Reserve, where an underground tourist route is open to visitors in the place of former mines from the Neolithic period.

A huge Bałtów Tourist Complex was built in Bałtów, which includes many attractions, such as a dinosaur park, a rollercoaster, a horse riding center, a zoo and a multimedia oceanarium. In its initial course, the trail leads along avenues along the main attractions of the park. For lovers of good cuisine, there is a regional restaurant called Bałtowski Zapiecek.

Behind the ski slope, the asphalt road turns into a dirt road, and then a forest path leading along hills covered with mixed forest, which are occasionally crossed by picturesque loess gorges. A network of bicycle tourist paths has been marked out in this area. Along the way, you can admire the picturesque valley of the Kamienna River, cutting deep into the surrounding hills. The river provides excellent opportunities for recreation, including kayaking.

After the village of Skarbka, the trail turns right and leads to Tarłów along local asphalt and forest roads with little car traffic. The trail ends in the center of Tarłów at the bus stop. It is worth going to the nearby church of St. Holy Trinity. The temple is one of the most valuable Baroque monuments in Lesser Poland.

Mileage according to most important towns and points on the trail

Holy Cross, Łysa Góra – Bus stop in Nowa Słupia 3.1 km – Stara Słupia 6 km – Church of St. Saint John the Baptist in Grzegorzowice 10 km – Bus stop in Pawłowo 20 km – Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sorrows in Kałków 26 km – Zalew in Wióry 27.8 km – Former paper factory in Witulin 30.6 km – Nietulisko Duże 33.4 km – Railway station Kunów 38.2 km – Chapel of St. Catherine in Kunów 46.4 km - Dębowa Wola 54 km - Archaeological Museum and Reserve "Krzemionki" (UNESCO) 62.2 km - Ruins of the Drucki Lubecki Palace in Bałtów 70.1 km - Bałtowski Tourist Complex 72 km - Wólka Pętkowska 77.7 km – Potoczek 84.5 km – Bus stop in Tarłowo 86.7 km

Trail manager

Oddział Świętokrzyski PTTK

im. St. Jeżewskiego w Ostrowcu Świętokrzyskim    

tel. 41 265 25 24

www.jezewski.ostrowiec.pttk.pl

poczta@jezewski.ostrowiec.pttk.pl

Labeling status

Good/Poor*.

The signs on the Nowa Słupia - Witulin section are bad. The signage is old and mostly faded. Lack of markings at most intersections. The trail without a map and good orientation is probably impossible to complete.

Behind Nowa Słupia, the trail reaches a water intake and then crosses a footbridge over the Słupianka River. This place may be difficult to orientate, especially before the haymaking season, because the trail here runs through a meadow.

In Grzegorzowice, the section of the trail towards the church leads through an overgrown ravine and is almost impassable. It is proposed to redesign the trail and route it together with the black trail. At the junction of the trails, the blue trail goes towards the church hill and after a while turns left. The route through bushes and private fields leads to a footbridge over the Dobruchna River and then climbs steeply to the top of the hill. There are no roads in this place, and the trail leads through private fields sown with grass and cereals. The section is difficult to navigate and difficult to complete. At this point, it is recommended to redesign the route.

The quality of signage on the Witulin - Tarłów section is usually good. The signs are clear and easy to see. However, the trail requires a significant increase in the number of guide signs and marking of intersections on both forest and public roads. Without a map, crossing the section may pose some orientation problems.

Between Wólka Pętkowska and Tarłowo, the trail runs differently than on publicly available tourist maps.

Legend:

•  very good signage (marking complete, in good technical condition, enabling the entire route to be traversed without a map),
• good signage (marking is mostly complete, in good technical condition, minor marking deficiencies, use of the map only in unmarked and questionable places),
• sufficient markings (lack of markings on longer sections, many unmarked intersections, the use of a map is required to follow the trail),
• poor marking (marking very sporadic, at large distances, in poor condition),
• bad markings (single markings on the trail, practically no markings).

*As of: January 1, 2022