The route links the historic towns that have a rich cultural heritage, situated in the area of Starogard Gdanski. It leads mainly in the vicinity of the valley of Wierzyca and its tributary Wietcisa, first via a black trail of “Order of St. John” to Skarszewy, then through a blue trail called “Tczewski”, then again black “Abbot Werner,” and finally the blue one “Starogardzki”.
This is a proposal for people interested in history and monuments, however nature lovers will also be delighted by picturesque and various landscapes of Kociewie region.
Distance: 76 km
Track difficulty: Challenging
Main surface: Mixed
Estimated time of the route: 9-11 hours
Recommended type of bike: trekking / mountain
Route: Starogard Gd. – Skarszewy – Starogard Gd.
Route details:
0 km – Starogard (train station). Market square with historic buildings (townhouses, neo-Renaissance town hall), neo-Gothic church. Saint Catherine church, the parish of St. Matthew: a wonderful example of Gothic ecclesiastical architecture with the magnificent tops of the facade of the main nave and side naves, a rich and valuable interior, Museum of the Kociewie Land housed in medieval towers : Prince and Gdansk; the remains of the medieval walls, the mill and the palace of the Wiechert family, a complex of neo-Gothic buildings of the Stallion Herd, Kazimierz Deyna city stadium with a monument of this outstanding Starogard Gdansk-born football player. Leaving the city from the railway station side via Kolejowa St., then Sikorskiego St., Jagielly St., Zblewska St.,
4.2 km – Nowa Wies Rzeczna. Wierzyca river lagoon and recently built hydroelectric power.
18.8 km – Pogodki. Post-Cistercian baroque church of 18th century. Inside the church rich, lavish furnishings from the Baroque and Rococo; building from the Pomorskie Cistercian Route.
31.9 km – Szczodrowo. Late medieval wooden church, the only such monument in Kociewie.
38.8 km – Skarszewy. Preserved medieval town of urban layout. A charming market square with historical buildings from 18th and 19th centuries. Archangel Michael Gothic church with beautiful Baroque and Rococo furnishings (such as altars, pulpit, paintings). The remains of the medieval walls with fragments of defense towers. The remains of the castle of St. John.
58.6 km – Starogard Gdanski, railway station (entrance from Żabno through streets: Kalinowskiego, Skarszewska).