Żary County between park art and a geopark
Accommodation in Żary County
Żary County lies in the southwest of the Lubusz Voivodeship, on the Żary Plateau, along the Polish-German border and the Lusatian Neisse. Its defining features include the cross-border Muskau Park, the Łuk Mużakowa Geopark, extensive forests and archaeological traces. Here, garden art, nature trails and regional history come together on different scales: from a short marked trail to a long hiking and cycling route.
Parkland and Geopark
Muskau Park is a landscape park dating from the first half of the 19th century and an outstanding example of European garden art from that period. It spans Łęknica in Poland and Bad Muskau in Germany. The Double Bridge and the English Bridge connect the two parts of the park; the cross-border site is therefore one of the park’s defining features.
Nearby, the marked “Dawna Kopalnia Babina” walking and cycling route runs through the area around Łęknica and Nowe Czaple. It is four kilometres long and part of the Łuk Mużakowa Geopark. Since 2011, the Geopark has been part of European geopark networks supported by UNESCO. The Polish section is protected by law as a landscape park. Łęknica is also home to the UNESCO Geopark’s culture and education centre, housed in a historic industrial building and serving as an information point.
Forests, water and wildlife
Forests cover more than half of Żary County, which is also home to four nature reserves. In the Nad Młyńską Strugą Nature Reserve, the river water has a red and orange hue. A total of 146 bird species have been recorded in the Łuk Mużakowa Landscape Park, including the Eurasian bittern, osprey and white-tailed eagle. The municipality of Tuplice also offers nature-related attractions: its forests, waterways and fishponds provide opportunities to spot several rare bird species, including the black stork, white-tailed eagle and osprey.
Routes of different lengths
The marked Dolina Szyszyny nature and educational trail leads through the forest to an old mill on the Szyszyna. Along the trail in Biedrzychowice is also an early medieval hillfort dating from the 8th century. The route therefore combines nature observation with an archaeological connection: moisture-loving vegetation and amphibians can be spotted along the trail, while the hillfort offers another perspective on the history of the landscape.
On a different scale, the 76.5-kilometre green hiking and cycling route between Żary and Gubin passes through the municipality of Brody. Żary County has a total of tourist hiking and cycling trails. At four kilometres, the Dawna Kopalnia Babina route is considerably shorter than the 76.5-kilometre route between Żary and Gubin.
Archaeology and historic architecture
Traces of the heritage of the Lusatian culture can be found in Żary County. Near Wicina is a significant archaeological site with a former prehistoric Lusatian culture hillfort dating from the Hallstatt period. It adds a glimpse into the region’s distant past to its nature and park attractions.
Brody is also characterised by historic architecture: its castle complex is one of the few surviving Baroque estates in the Lubusz Voivodeship. The castle park was once laid out in the English and French styles and features rare trees and shrubs beside a lake. In Tuplice, a historic railway line dating from 1858 and a railway station from 1871 recall the history of the railway.
Choose the right holiday apartment for your travel plans
When looking for a holiday apartment in Żary County, you can start by deciding what you want to focus on during your holiday: Muskau Park and the Geopark, nature trails and wildlife watching, or architecture and archaeological traces. Then compare the location of each accommodation option with the places you actually plan to visit.
Discover more places and destinations
Places in Żary County: Tuplice, Brody and Zasieki.
Discover more destinations: Nowa Sól, Wschowa County, Zielona Góra County, Krosno Odrzańskie and Żagań.
Go to the regional travel overview: Lubusz.
