Discover Pomerania: Landscape Parks, Dunes and Monastic History

Pomerania offers several starting points for a trip: landscape parks, hiking trails, dunes and historic monastery complexes each provide a different focus. If you are looking for a holiday apartment, first consider which of these aspects you want to shape your days away. Nature, outdoor activity, coastal scenery and history offer different ways to plan your trip.

Landscape between river and coast

There are nine landscape parks in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, covering a total area of almost 168,000 hectares. Seven of them lie entirely within the boundaries of the voivodeship. The Dolina Słupi Landscape Park was established in 1981 in the Słupia catchment area and along the river’s middle and lower reaches. Its purpose is to protect the area’s natural assets and rich cultural heritage, and to preserve their balance. Both nature and culture are therefore part of its conservation mission.

The Vistula Spit Landscape Park protects the wildlife and landscape of the Vistula Spit. Its defining features include unspoiled forests with diverse plant life, large longitudinal dunes where sea holly often grows, and broad sandy beaches. Unlike the river setting of the Dolina Słupi Landscape Park, the focus here is on dunes, forest and beach landscapes.

Hiking trails and nature experiences

Słowiński National Park has 131 kilometres of hiking trails. This gives you a concrete point of reference if hiking is to be the main focus of your trip. As the total length of the trails may change, check the park’s current information when planning. The overall length of the trails and the coastal and dune scenery of the Vistula Spit Landscape Park appeal to different interests in nature and outdoor activity.

Monastic history in Pomerania

Oliwa, Pelplin and Żarnowiec are among the three most important former Cistercian monastery complexes in Pomerania. Oliwa and Pelplin were former monasteries for men, while Żarnowiec was a former nunnery. This distinction in their past gives the cultural theme a specific historical dimension. If you want to shape your trip around history as well as landscape, these three monastery complexes offer a distinct focus for your planning.

A culinary look at Poland

In Kociewie, part of the wider travel region of Poland, Szandar is a traditional potato cake. It is served warm with onions and salad made from pickled cucumbers. Pierogi are popular throughout Poland: small dumplings with savoury fillings such as potatoes and cheese, cabbage and mushrooms, meat or vegetables, as well as sweet versions with quark or fruit. Bigos, sometimes translated as hunter’s stew, combines sauerkraut, various kinds of meat and many spices. Kopytka are elongated dumplings; they are served with meat sauces or stews, or on their own, sprinkled with sugar and drizzled with melted butter. This culinary overview ranges from a Kociewie tradition to dishes found throughout Poland.

Choose a focus for your holiday apartment

If you are travelling with family, it helps to first sort out everyone’s interests: should the trip focus mainly on hiking trails, forests and dunes with broad sandy beaches, or monastic history? Comparing these themes can help you decide what you want your holiday to centre on. Use this to guide your search for a holiday apartment, and check which location suits your planned days away.

Discover more destinations: Preußisch Stargard, Bütow, Stolp, Putzig, Neustadt, Stuhm, Karthaus, Marienwerder, Conitz, Marienburg, Berent, Danzig, Gdingen, Lauenburg, Tiegenhof, Dirschau, Schlochau, Zoppot, Starogard County.

For the overview of the wider travel region: Poland.