Pałuki Cycle Trail

Route: Żnin – Żnin-Wieś – Bekanówka – Sulinowo – Słabomierz – Podobowice – Słębowo – Cerekwica – Uścikowo – Świątkowo – Parcele Świątkowskie – Tonowo – Żerniki – Zrazim – Janowiec Wielkopolski – Posługowo – Kołdrąb – Recz – Rzym – Rogowo – Grochowiska Szlacheckie – Złotniki – Marcinkowo Górne – Gąsawa – Biskupin – Wenecja – Skarbienice – Żnin

This looped route is called the Trail of Four Communes. When negotiating it, you have the chance to observe the beauty of the Pałuki landscapes, visit museums, and see interesting historical monuments, including churches, manors, and palaces. Allowing time for sightseeing, two days should be devoted to following the route at an unhurried pace, so accommodation should be arranged beforehand. Where you stay depends on how much time you wish to put into sightseeing and how fit you are. Half of the trail is situated near the village of Rogowo.

The trail begins at the first station of Żnin County Railway (a narrow-gauge tourist railway) at the junction of ulica Dworcowa and ulica Potockiego. Before you start, you can see the heritage of Żnin: the 15th-century Church of St. Florian, the Suffragan Bishop’s Villa (the 18th-century manor of Gniezno archbishops), the 15th-century town hall tower (now the Museum of Pałuki Land), and the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary the Queen of Poland from the early 20th century.

Once you leave the city, a lot of interesting objects await you en route: the 19th-century manor and park in Słębowo; the 19th-century Church of St. Nicholas and the palace in Cerekwica; the 18th-century wooden Church of Holy Trinity in Świątkowo; the 19th-century manor in Tonowo (now a residential care home); the Gothic Church of the Nativity of Our Lady in Żerniki; the late-classical Church of St. Nicholas and the eclectic 19th-century palace in Janowiec Wielkopolski; the Church of John the Baptist and the 1870 palace (now a children’s home) in Kołdrąb; an 18th-century manor, a Dutch tower mill from 1937, and Chrobry Oak in Recz; sacred architecture (the 19th-century Church of St. Dorothy, the belfry, mausoleum, and churchyard) and the late-18th-century manor in Grochowiska Szlacheckie; the monument of Leszek the White and the baroque manor and park in Marcinkowo Górne; the wooden 17th-century Church of St. Nicholas with baroque wall paintings in Gąsawa; the Archaeological Museum in Biskupin; the Narrow-Gauge Railway Museum, the ruins of Wenecja Devil’s castle, the 19th-century Church of the Nativity of Our Lady, and the tomb of Walenty Szwajcer in the churchyard in Wenecja.

The trail ends by the narrow-gauge railway station where you started your trip.