Środa: Piast history, nature and steam railway
Accommodation in Środa
Środa offers unusual historical contrasts: Giecz dates back to pre-state times, while the old town of Środa Wielkopolska has preserved its street network within the former fortifications. There is also a Natura 2000 site, a narrow-gauge steam railway and cultural attractions such as the manor house in Koszuty. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Środa, you can plan your stay around whether you would most like to discover early Piast history, nature or railway tradition.
In the footsteps of the Piasts and through the old town
The history of Giecz begins with a small fortified settlement built in the 860s, before the Polish state came into being. Giecz was one of the important central centres of the Piasts. Gallus Anonymus included the site, alongside Gniezno, Poznań and Włocławek, in his list of the great strongholds of Bolesław Chrobry. The Giecz Archaeological Reserve is a branch of the Museum of the First Piasts at Lednica. For historically minded travellers, it offers an introduction to an early period of regional history.
A different view of the past can be found in Środa Wielkopolska. The Late Gothic Collegiate Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built of brick in 1423–1428. The old town has retained its original street network within the former fortifications; Stary Rynek is a remnant of the medieval market square. The church, street layout and square represent different chapters in the town’s history. If you find such traces particularly fascinating, you can take them into account when choosing the focus of your holiday.
Natural areas and regional discoveries
Dolina Średzkiej Strugi, a 557.04-hectare Natura 2000 site, is one of the area’s natural highlights. It is an important breeding refuge for the fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina). It serves as an ecological corridor for beavers and otters and is also a refuge for birds of reed beds and meadows. These special functions give the area a different character from the historic sites: here, habitats and species take centre stage.
Other places also tell regional history in different ways. In Koszuty, the manor house was probably built around 1760 by Józef Zabłocki on the foundations of an earlier 17th-century manor house. The half-timbered building is surrounded by a landscape park. Its attic houses the “Ku niepodległości” exhibition, which presents the history of the Środa region from the Partitions of Poland through the Greater Poland Uprising to the restoration of Polish independence. The manor house also displays an authentic town plan of Środa Wielkopolska from 1793.
In Winna Góra, a museum dedicated to the memory of General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski is housed in a stately Neoclassical building. The grave of Wojciech Przysiuda, an artilleryman who fell at Kołaczkowo, is in the local parish cemetery. In Nietrzanowo, a monument commemorates the local residents who fell in the 1914–1918 war. On Wyspa Edwarda stands a romantic Swiss-style wooden house, built for Edward Raczyński in 1817–1819. Each of these places offers its own historical perspective rather than representing just one era.
Steam railway and cycling route
The Średzka Kolej Wąskotorowa connects Środa Wielkopolska with Zaniemyśl. The Środa narrow-gauge railway is one of the last railways in Europe to operate exclusively on steam power. Those interested in railway history can also visit the Średzka Ciuchcia Museum in the Środa Wielkopolska Miasto station building. Railway tradition thus offers a distinct focus alongside medieval and Piast history.
For cycle tourists, the Transwielkopolska Trasa Rowerowa is of interest: it passes through Środa Wielkopolska and is marked with a black bicycle symbol and a green stripe or directional arrow on a white background. Further afield in the region, its southern section runs from Poznań to Siemianice; it is 280 km long and connects numerous scenic, architectural and natural attractions. The regional festival “Zaniemyskie bitwy morskie” draws on Edward Raczyński’s tradition of naval battles and is organised by local authorities.
When looking for a holiday apartment, you can therefore consider which of these themes you would like to focus on: early history and townscape, nature, railways or cycling. The places in the area offer different reasons to explore, without requiring everyone to follow the same itinerary.
More places in the area
If you would like to extend your search to other places, you can find the corresponding location pages here: Jeziory Wielkie, Pierzchno, Solec, Środa Wielkopolska, Zaniemysl, Czarne Piątkowo, Kopaszyce, Teresa, Murzynowo Kościelne, Koszuty, Chocicza, Brodowo and Chłapowo.
For the wider travel overview: Greater Poland.
