EV9/WTR – stage 2- the right side of the Vistula

Logistics

Only Kwidzyn, located on the route of the R9 connecting route, has a direct railway connection with EuroVelo 9/Vistula Bicycle Route. In addition, Regio trains also run to Ryjewo, from where the trail is less than 5 km away (voivodeship road 525). A longer variant is the access from Sztum, whose railway station is less than 10 km away from the route along the voivodship road 603. Currently, there is no bicycle infrastructure there, but it is planned on this section. Another proposal to consider is starting this part of EuroVelo from Grudziadz, through which, apart from Arriva trains, TLK also runs. It is several kilometres to the border of the Pomorskie Voivodeship.

Characteristics, mileage, tips

At this stage, the route runs through the rural communes of Miloradz, Sztum, Ryjewo, Kwidzyn and Sadlinki, while the connecting route reaches the railway station in Kwidzyn. This is the area of Powisle and part of the Low Lands, so it is a bit flat and a bit uphill. Powisle is a sub-region whose landscape is more hilly, so there is plenty to keep an eye on. The route largely leads along the proglacial valley of the Vistula, climbing the crest of the embankment or using the road at its foot. The culminating point of this section is definitely the White Hill with a complex of historic sluices. The view of the waters of the Nogat flowing away from the Vistula River in combination with the brick walls of the building is unforgettable. And that’s not all, because next to it there is a real water fortress in the form of the oldest sluice, dating from 1852, which forms this unique hydrotechnical junction. A little further in Benowo, on the embankment, there is another viewpoint (also as a parking place for cyclists) with a wooden seat from which you can admire the panorama of the Vistula River.

These are not the only viewpoints at this stage, more should be sought each time the trail approaches the embankment. In addition to landscape and sightseeing values, the route also serves communication functions, connecting individual villages with each other. The surfaces are varied, there are both bicycle paths made of asphalt, concrete cubes and long sections on the roadway with bicycle traffic on general terms. It is important that new investments in bicycle infrastructure are still planned so that the trail gains the highest quality. Therefore, in the coming years, some sections will receive new bicycle routes. Kwidzyn, although it is not located directly on EuroVelo 9/Wistula Bicycle Route, is a transport hub and has a connecting route to the main trail. The distance to the railway station is less than 3 km and leads along the former railway embankment. The views of the Vistula proglacial valley are unparalleled.

Mapa EV9/WTR - Etap 2 - lewy brzeg Wisły

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Dedicated parking spaces:

• Matowy Male – a planned site.
• Matowy Wielkie – by the pilgrim’s house.
• White Hill sluice – by the historic complex of locks with a view of the forks of the Nogat and Vistula rivers (benches, bicycle racks, information board), on the other side of the lock there is a sailing marina with a full sanitary facility.
• Benowo – on the Vistula embankment with a view of the Vistula (wooden seating platform, information board).
• Rudniki – next to the building of the village hall (information board, bicycle racks, sheds and benches, playground for children)).
• Janowo – (canopy and benches, benches, bicycle racks, information board, playground, gym).
• Korzeniewo – by the playground and the stage (shelters, benches, benches, bicycle racks, information board).
• Mareza – in the municipal recreation area with a view of the castle in Kwidzyn (bench table, benches, bicycle racks, information board, playground for children.)
• Nebrowo Wielkie – on the embankment with a view of the Vistula Valley (benches, bicycle racks, information board) .
• Glina – by the lake in the recreational area (shelters, benches, bicycle racks, information board).

Possible difficulties

Only fragments with bicycle traffic on general terms may be an obstacle at this stage. The roads used by the trail have low traffic, so they are quite safe. In addition to passenger cars, you should pay attention to agricultural vehicles, which are abundant here, because we pass through a typically agricultural area. Particular care should be taken on the following sections: Bystrze – Matowy Wielkie, Klosowo – Biala Gora – Rudniki – Janowo, Grabowo – Nebrowo Wielkie – Rusinowo (voivodship border). The last of the mentioned sections has a long driveway, but it is not too steep, so the nuisance is moderate.

You will see on the course of EuroVelo 9/Wistula Bicycle Route and in the vicinity

• Bystrze (Miloradz commune) – a unique, gothic ossuary, once inside there were medieval polychromes, which today, due to weather conditions and neglect, are no longer visible; arcaded house from the 19th century.
• Miloradz (except EuroVelo 9/Vistula bicycle route) – a Gothic church with a valuable interior design.
• Stara Koscielnica (except EuroVelo 9/Vistula bike route, Miloradz commune) – a Gothic church.
• Matowy Wielkie (Miloradz commune) – a Gothic church (Sanctuary of Blessed Dorota from Matowy),
• Las Matawski nature reserve – one of the few and best preserved forest areas in Low Land, the old stand of trees and the zones of birds of prey of the white-tailed eagle and the kite are under protection, the Nogat pool in the vicinity.
• Pieklo (Sztum commune) – a church with a half-timbered tower from the 1920s, the building of the former Polish House housing a Polish school during the period of the Free City of Gdansk, a vantage point on the Vistula.
• Biala Gora (Sztum commune) – a complex of historic sluices from the 19th – 20th centuries, a sailing marina of the Low Land Loop.
• Sztum (except EuroVelo 9/Wistula Bicycle Route) – Teutonic castle on Sztum Lake, the Gothic church of St. Anny, a former evangelical church on the market square and now a cultural centre.
• Barcice (except EuroVelo 9/Wistula Bicycle Route, Ryjewo commune) – old Mennonite cemeteries.
• Ryjewo (except EuroVelo 9/Wistula Bicycle Route) – two neo-Gothic churches from the 19th and 20th centuries.
• Straszewo (except EuroVelo 9/Wistula Bicycle Route, Ryjewo commune) – a church from the 17th-19th century.
• Podzamcze (outside the route of EuroVelo 9/Wistula Bicycle route, Kwidzyn commune) – a fortified noble manor house from the 16th century (currently an accommodation facility).
• Korzeniewo (Kwidzyn commune) – a characteristic building of the former boatswain’s office of the river port with a water gauge, the building of the former customs office.
• Kwidzyn – a monumental cathedral and castle complex from the 14th century (a branch of the Castle Museum in Malbork functions in the castle, the cathedral houses the cell of Blessed Dorota and the graves of the great Teutonic masters discovered in 2008); numerous preserved public and military buildings from the 19th and 20th centuries (offices, schools, barracks); Fermor Palace from the 18th century; neo-gothic church of St. Trinity from the 19th century; half-timbered granary from the 18th century.
• Nebrowo Wielkie (Sadlinki commune) – a baroque church from the 18th century, a neo-baroque church from 1928, a vantage point overlooking the Vistula River.

Unobvious attractions and other mysterious places on the route and in the vicinity:

• Gnojewo (Miloradz commune) – the ruins of a Gothic church (the medieval half-timbered structure of the walls is one of the oldest of its kind in Poland).
• Wegry (Sztum commune) – relics of an early medieval settlement.
• Parpary (Sztum commune) – remains of the Hitlerjugend sports complex.
• Pieklo (Sztum commune) – ruins of a bridge from the period of the Free City of Gdansk.
• Biala Gora (Sztum commune) – a wooden building of the former Hitlerjugend school.
• Glina (Sadlinki commune) – combat shelter.
• Round Meadow (Sadlinki commune) – two combat shelters, remains of the Evangelical cemetery.

Other bike trails and excursion suggestions:

• the Powisle trail castles (red) – from Malbork through Sztum, Pietrzwald, Kalwa, Waplewo Wielkie, Dzierzgon, Przezmark (connector), Stary Dzierzgon to Prabuty.
• route R1 – from Rusinow on the border of the voivodship, it coincides with Euro Velo 9/Wistula Bicycle Route and in Biala Gora it turns to Sztum and then to Dzierzgon.