Sightseeing trips have recently become an increasingly popular form of spending free time. Weekend trips around Poland and visiting unknown towns are a pleasant and developing activity for people of all ages. Not all interesting places shine on the map as brightly as Krakow or Gdansk. Once we have visited the main attractions, it is time to individually look for tourist gems. Starogard Gdanski is certainly worth adding to the list of places to discover.

Starogard Gdanski - the capital of Kociewie

Starogard Gdanski is the main center of Kociewie, an ethnographic and cultural region that is part of Pomorskie. You can discover here traces of the Teutonic Knights, as well as an early medieval settlement, which is located not far from the city. When traveling around Poland in search of old traditions, culture and landscapes, it is impossible to miss such a beautiful region as Kociewie.

The region lies on the border of two voivodeships: Pomorskie Voivodeship and Kujawian-Pomorskie Voivodeship. From the east, the line marking the area of Kociewie is the Vistula. The other boundaries are not so obvious. The cultures of three ethnic groups – Kociewiaks, Kashubians and Borowiaks – intertwine. It is not easy to separate them territorially, but no Kashubian or Kociewiak can be lumped together. It is worth remembering that Kociewie is not the same as Kashuby, which has access to the sea, language, alphabet and different customs. We will leave the trip around the most famous region of Pomorskie – Kashuby for another trip.

Nowhere can we learn more about Kociewie than in the Museum of the Kociewie Region, which is located in Starogard Gdanski near the City Park, on the Wierzyca River.

Museum of the Kociewie Region Starogard Gdanski (Boczna Street 2)

In Starogard Gdanski, in the Museum of the Kociewie Region, monuments are presented at Boczna Street 2 at permanent exhibitions: archaeological, ethnographic and historical, and in the Corner and Gdansk Towers. With a bit of luck, we will come across interesting temporary exhibitions organized in the City Hall. Information about exhibitions and opening hours of the museum can be found on the website muzeumstarogard.pl.

The museum is also a vibrant center of educational and cultural activities. It conducts lessons for young people on topics related to archaeology, history and ethnography, as well as lectures and readings. You can take advantage of a guided tour of the city and demonstrations of old forms of producing regional products.

Souvenirs and books about the region

The local museum shop is well stocked with souvenirs. Here you can buy sculptures by local artists, books about the region, mugs with prints, candles, magnets, key chains and many other items. There is also “Kociewska Laka” coffee and tea place, which will be a pleasant memory of your visit to Starogard Gdanski.

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Historical attractions in the city

In the center of Starogard Gdanski there are boards marking the walking route along the “Crown and Cross” tourist trail. They lead through the most interesting monuments of the city and describe the ancient history of places. Information about monuments you can get from the tourist organization’s. This way, a walk through the history of the city and among its monuments will help you not miss any important buildings. The royal city on the Wierzyca River, Starogard Gdanski, is a top-class attraction for history lovers.

To Starogard Gdanski for a cycling weekend

Fans of two wheels will find bicycle routes in Kociewie with a map on page 12 of the PDF guide. Important information: always in August, always near Starogard Gdanski, the Kociewie-Borowiecki Bicycle Rally takes place. Detailed information is published by the organizer on the website   polskanarowerze.pl

Sample routes for bicycle trips around Kociewie:

• Motlawa Trail, distance 36 km, flat terrain
• Maternow Trail, short route of 15 km, flat terrain
• Abbot Werner Trail 43 km, elevation 520 m • Grzymisław Trail, 99 km long route with a total elevation gain of 1,230 m.

Local specialties – what and where is worth buying?

Numerous tourist attractions are not all that can be found in Starogard Gdanski. There will definitely be no time to be bored. There is no shortage of shops, restaurants and confectioneries in the city. In this case, the method will work: “the tip of the tongue as a guide”, leading to local products that cannot be found in any other place.

Kociewie Shopping Center invites you to do some shopping at Lubichowska Street 14 and Kupiec at Niepodleglosci Avenue 4, where it is worth looking for local products and gifts, famous Kociewie embroidery and lace. In the wedding fashion salon (Rynek Street 2), Kamila Froelke, an ethnographer and fashion designer, creates dresses decorated in the Kociewie style. Exclusive shows of Starogard’s collections take place in Rome and Berlin. In this way, traditional embroidery and lace from Kociewie are still a living culture in the world of fashion.

Galeria Neptun Starogard Gdanski at Pomorska Street 7 offers handicrafts. On the ground floor, next to the grocery market, there is an island with specialties from a regional butcher’s shop. This is the only opportunity to stock up on “Kindziuk Kociewski”, traditionally prepared smoked meats, hams and Kociewski pâté for the weekend. Just ask about products from Kociewie with the Polish Product mark. Next to the stand, on the corner, there is the “Kropek” Bakery/Confectionery with regional pastries. There are sales points for bread, cookies and ice cream made according to traditional recipes in many places in the region. It is worth remembering the name of the ice cream parlor.

Even more regional delicacies from Kociewie

Kociewie is famous for its cheese-making tradition and it must be admitted that these are products that attract more and more gourmets to this area. For the famous Radostkowo Rarities, you don’t have to go to Radostkowo, where the cheese factory is located. The company store is located in Starogard Gdanski at Wojska Polskiego Avenue 1A and recommends cheese boards, farmer’s cheese with fenugreek, “glomza” form Kociewie (full-fat cottage cheese), “gomolki” from Kociewie with parsley, sweet cream butter and milk straight from the Kociewie cow.

The cheese factory and farm in Radostkowo (about 20 km from Starogard) cordially invites you to learn how to craft butter and cheese. A short farmer’s lecture is combined with the opportunity to see the factory through the shop window. Quite a tourist attraction is learning how to obtain raw materials and staying in a barn, seeing cows, bulls and calves, as well as tasting the products. Additionally, there are registrations for a butter-making course and a cheese-making demonstration on the farm.

Starogard Gdanski is the hometown of sports stars

Starogard Gdanski is the hometown of athletes who have won the highest trophies in their disciplines. Kazimierz Deyna was born in Starogard and is a living football legend. The golden times of the Polish national team are associated with this name. The player’s greatest success was gold for Poland at the Olympics in Munich in 1972. He also won a silver medal at the World Championships and silver at the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976. A commemorative plaque dedicated to the footballer is located at the Municipal Stadium named after Kazimierz Deyna at Olimpijczykow Starogardzkich Street 1. There is also a gate for fans from the side of Kanalowa Street here is also a gate to the Stadium. In sector B there is a sculpture of Kazimierz Deyna, designed by local artist Slawomir Kusnierz. The figure is one of the five stages of the Legend of Deyna city trail, implemented by the Promotion Department of the Starogard Gdanski City Hall. The entire trail is available in the traseo application.

The famous sportsman from Kociewie is Bogdan Wenta – handball player and coach of the national handball team, and Andrzej Grubba, the most outstanding player in the history of Polish table tennis. He took Polish tennis out of the common room and into world-class tournaments! Andrzej Grubba was born in the Kociewie village of Brzezno Wielkie, a place with a rich history.

Brzezno – an early medieval settlement and traces of the Teutonic Knights

Interestingly, archaeological finds show that Brzezno is one of the oldest settlements in this land. Its origins date back to 200 BC. There is a stronghold on the Wierzyca River, which is a relic of an early medieval Slavic defensive building, dating back to the VIIth – XIth centuries. In 1248, the Teutonic Knights destroyed the village, and its further fate was associated with the Cistercian Monastery in Oliwa and the Castle in Gniew.

• The distance from Starogard Gdanski to Brzezno Wielkie via Rywald is approximately 10 km.
• Starogard Gdanski is 32 km from the Teutonic Castle in Gniew.
• Starogard Gdanski – Cistercian Monastery in Oliwa approximately 65 – 70 km, depending on the route poznanie-trasy.pl.

 Starogard Gdanski – Gdansk via the A1 motorway, the distance is 56 km.

Starogard Gdanski has excellent railway connections. The PKP Starogard Gdanski – Gdansk Głowny train covers the route in 45 – 50 minutes according to the schedule.

There are many attractions and one weekend will certainly not be enough to see such an interesting place as Starogard Gdanski. Go to Kociewie