Why this ride
A 155 km round trip from Kalwaria Zebrzydowska - roughly 3 h in the saddle. The stops in between: Historic Centre of Kraków, Salt Mine in Bochnia and back through Historic Centre of Kraków. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: the Mannerist Archi and Salt Mine in Bochnia
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 155 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 47
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Polish Eagles Nests Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 36 km this is Polish Eagles Nests Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 36 km
- Named road
- Polish Eagles Nests Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: the Mannerist Archi
In 1600, Mikołaj Zebrzydowski, a Polish nobleman, began to build a chapel on a hill south-west of Kraków, modelled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Over the following decades, he and his descendants added dozens of chapels and churches spread over the hills, laid out to recreate the Passion of Christ and the life of the Virgin, with the landscape itself standing in for Jerusalem. The result, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Poland and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1999.
Read the complete Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: the Mannerist Archi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: the Mannerist Archi is where the day begins. Next is Historic Centre of Kraków.
2. Historic Centre of Kraków
Every hour, a trumpeter plays a short melody from the taller tower of St Mary's Basilica on Kraków's market square, and every time the tune breaks off abruptly mid-phrase. Legend says it commemorates a watchman shot by a Tatar arrow in the throat as he sounded the alarm in the thirteenth century, and the hejnał has been played that way ever since, broadcast daily on Polish radio at noon. It is a fitting introduction to a city that wears its history so openly. The Rynek Główny, the main square, is one of the largest medieval squares in Europe, with the Renaissance Cloth Hall in the middle, and the historic centre, including Wawel Hill and the Jewish quarter of Kazimierz, was among the first sites ever placed on the UNESCO list in 1978.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Kraków write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Historic Centre of Kraków comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Salt Mine in Bochnia.
3. Salt Mine in Bochnia
People were mining salt at Bochnia by the middle of the thirteenth century, which makes it the oldest salt mine in Poland and one of the oldest in Europe still open to visitors. For centuries the salt from here and from Wieliczka, about twenty-five kilometres to the west, filled the coffers of the Polish kings; at times it accounted for a remarkable share of the royal income. Together the two mines and the royal castle at Wieliczka form a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Read the complete Salt Mine in Bochnia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 77 km into the recorded legs you reach Salt Mine in Bochnia. Next is back through Historic Centre of Kraków.
4. back through Historic Centre of Kraków
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Kraków write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Historic Centre of Kraków, late in the day. Next is Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: the Mannerist Archi.
5. Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: the Mannerist Archi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: the Mannerist Archi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: the Mannerist Archi. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: the Mannerist Archi to Historic Centre of Kraków
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: the Mannerist Archi → Historic Centre of Kraków is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historic Centre of Kraków to Salt Mine in Bochnia
Historic Centre of Kraków → Salt Mine in Bochnia is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Salt Mine in Bochnia to back through Historic Centre of Kraków
Salt Mine in Bochnia → back through Historic Centre of Kraków is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Historic Centre of Kraków to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: the Mannerist Archi
back through Historic Centre of Kraków → Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: the Mannerist Archi is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.