Attractions

The varied topography, the richness of wild nature and the interesting history of the local areas mean that everyone will find something interesting here. The main attractions of our area are: sailing and all other water sports, bicycle tours, hiking in the field, horse riding, fishing, mushroom picking, watching wild animals and birds, as well as visiting historical sites. We provide guests with 2 mountain bikes and 2 sets of Nordic Walking poles.

You can take a bath in the nearest lake Stręgiel, covered by the silence zone – about 2.5 km. Through the forest you can get to the Fishing Colony and take a bath in Święcajty Lake – approx. 3 km. Another is the charming Stręgielek lake, 7 km away, and the largest lake in the Mamry area – 8 km.

The port in Węgorzewo (approx. 5 km) allows you to take advantage of all water sports options: sailboats, motor boats, kayaks and others, and through the Węgorzewski Canal it connects with the Trail of the Great Masurian Lakes, i.e. with Lake Mamry and then Święcajty.

For canoeing enthusiasts, we recommend a trip down the charming Sapina River. The sailing route on Sapina from Lake Święcajty to Lake Gołdopiwo is 29 km long, and the canoe trail extends further to Lake Kruklin and is 34 km long.

On the river, the Przerwanki lock was built in 1910 to dam up the water on Lake Gołdopiwo, so that a water reservoir was created for the needs of the Masurian Canal. Sapina is a very attractive canoe trail because of the picturesque nature of the areas through which you pass, it also has a specific charm and “wild” character.

Many bike routes allow you to visit numerous local attractions historical and natural, e.g .:

• trail to the Seven Islands Reserve, and on the way: the Guja lock on the Masurian Channel,
• the Bismarck tower in Sroków, the manor house in Łęgwarów,
• the trail around Lake Mamry with the former headquarters of the German Land Forces in Mamerki, the Masurian Canal, the palace in Sztynort,
• the Mazury Canal trail – a shortened version of the previous trail,
• trail Sapiny – Węgorzewo – Kalskie Nowiny – Stręgiel – Stręgielek – Ogonki – Zielona Góra – Węgorzewo,
• trail Puszcza Borecka – It starts in Kruklanki and reaches the bison refuge in Wolisko.

there are also two studs in the area that offer horse riding lessons and field trips.

The headquarters of the Supreme Command of the German Land Forces “Mauerwald” in Mamerki, 8 km from Węgorzewo (approx. 16 km) – the headquarters was built 18 km east of Hitler’s headquarters in Gierłoż, in the forest, in the village of Mamerki on the Masurian Canal. It is one of the best-preserved complexes of undamaged German bunkers from World War II in Poland. In 1940-1944, about 250 facilities were built for the needs of 40 top generals and field marshals, 1500 officers and soldiers of the Wehrmacht, including 30 reinforced concrete bunkers, which have survived undamaged to our times.

“Hochwald” (approx. 11 km) – Heinrich Himmler – Pozezdrze (German: Possesern) field quarters on the Węgorzewo – Giżycko route. The main construction and installation works were completed in the spring of 1941 under the direction of the Todt Organization. The quarters hidden in the forest. It consisted of 9 objects: 5 bunkers with a two-meter structure of the ceiling and walls, a small underground garage, two brick guardhouses and a special bunker for Himmler.

“Wolfschanze” (approx. 32 km) – Wolf’s Lair – Hitler’s Headquarters in Gierłoż, built since 1940 in connection with the planned attack on the Soviet Union. 80 buildings, including 50 bunkers, were built on an area of ​​2.5 km2. It was also there that Colonel Claus Stauffenberg carried out a failed attempt on Hitler.

The Masurian Canal with the Gaja Lock (approx. 15 km) – a water connection between Masuria and the Baltic Sea, one of the unique structures with original technical solutions, perfectly integrated into the natural environment. It runs from the village of Mamerki by the lake Mamry to the Łyna River in the Kaliningrad District. A total of 51 km, of which 22 km in Poland. There are 10 locks and 2 roller-motor weirs on the canal, with the only fully completed lock on the Masurian Canal in the town of Guja.

Boyen Fortress in Giżycko (approx. 25 km) – built in 1844-1856, a perfectly preserved example of a Prussian fortification school. Located west of Giżycko on a narrow isthmus between the large lakes Niegocin and Kisajno.

The water tower in Giżycko (approx. 25 km) built of red brick in 1900 in the neo-Gothic style. The Bismarck Tower (approx. 18 km) was built in 1901 on Diabla Góra by the community of Sroków (German: Drengfurt) to commemorate the chancellor. From the earliest times, the hills were used to establish burial mounds. On Diabla Góra, in the second half of the 19th century, archaeological research confirmed the existence of such a site. 64 cremation graves were found, including 62 with ashtrays, equipped with iron and bronze items and ornaments.

The Lehndorff family palace in Sztynort (approx. 24 km) – a 17th-century baroque palace of the Lehndorff family, erected in the second half of the 17th century on Lake Sztynorkie, expanded in the 19th century. It is a large palace and park complex with numerous buildings economic, including stables, a neoclassical teahouse and a neo-gothic chapel and a cemetery. From the north, the palace was surrounded by a large park. At that time, it was one of the largest parks (18 ha) with oak alleys marked out regularly, rich flower ground floors near the palace, interesting species of trees and shrubs, decorated with park sculptures. Recently, the property went into private hands, however, the owners of the building are not able to bear the costs of bringing this beautiful place back to life. 

Manor house in Łęgwarów (approx. 25 km) – north of Węgorzewo there is a manor house from 1886. Originally it belonged to the Doering family. The large house was designed on the basis of a rectangle. It is covered with tiles. Decorating element and at the same time functional is the large avant-corps in the central part of the manor, on both sides of the building. The bathhouse is an interesting fact. The structure is based on a Greek cross plan with a wooden octagonal tower in the center. Currently, it is a decaying henhouse, on the floors of which the original stone fragments of the floor have been preserved. In addition, a park with an area of 11 ha and red brick farm buildings – a cowshed and a stable. The Folk Culture Museum in Węgorzewo (approx. 6 km) with an ethnographic park, in which there are already three objects of traditional folk architecture from the end of the 19th century: a wooden fire station from Ołownik, a half-timbered forge from Zabrost Wielki and an arcaded cottage from Krzyżewo. The museum also has a shop selling folk and artistic handicrafts, regional publications and postcards.

Pyramid in Rapa (approx. 27 km) – the tomb of the Fahrenheit family in Rapa near Banie Masuria (9 km), right next to the border with Russia (Kaliningrad District). It is a place like no other in the area with great power of positive concentration
radiation of the energy of the Earth and the Cosmos. The tomb contains mummies of Fahrenheit’s 3-year-old daughter and several members of the family of the pyramid builder – Friedrich Heinrich.

Viaducts in Stańczyki (approx. 64 km) located in the Romincka Forest on the Błędzianka River. They are the highest viaducts in Poland, 36.5 m high and 250 m long, built for strategic purposes. The architecture of the remnants of the former railway line resembles ancient aqueducts.

Reszel – the castle of Warmia bishops (approx. 60 km). Built in the Gothic style for 100 years from the mid-fourteenth century by the Teutonic Knights and devoted to the bishops of Warmia. The city has retained its historic character and is characterized by narrow streets with original tenement houses, often in baroque forms. The unique architecture and atmosphere of the city made Reszel the only city in the province. Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship included in the world register of monuments.

The Borecka Primeval Forest with the European Bison Refuge in Wolisko (approx. 25 km) – The Borki Primeval Forest covers approx. 230 km2, and its most valuable parts are under reserve protection:

• Borki forest reserve with multi-story stands of spruce, hornbeam, oak, ash, lime 100-150 years old,
• Masuria water and forest reserve – a refuge for waterfowl,
• Lipowy Jar forest reserve in the vicinity of Lake Pilwąg,
• Lipowa Island reserve – floristic, on the Szkwałk Wielki lake, a nesting place for many birds (mainly ducks).

The varied terrain creates excellent opportunities for the development of game animals: foxes, raccoon dogs, badgers, forest martens, ferrets and muskrats, as well as lynxes and wolves. Among the rare specimens of birds, the white-tailed eagle, osprey and black stork deserve attention. Undoubtedly, the greatest attraction of the animal world is the bison living in the wild. In Wolisko, in the former European Bison Breeding Center, there is an area with a viewing platform from which tourists can usually observe several of the 60 European bison living in the forest.

The Sapina River is 36.5 km long, 20 m wide and 1 m deep. It starts near the village of Spytkowo and connects the following lakes: Kruklin, Gołdopiwo, Wilkus, Pozezdrze, Stręgiel and flows into Lake Święcajty. Due to the exceptional purity of the water, it is possible to find rare specimens of flora and fauna in the river and on its banks. The river often flows like a tunnel formed by trees and their branches. A dense mixed forest grows on both banks of the strongly meandering river. Around, the noise of bird sounds and the buzzing of insects and the intense smell of the forest. Boughs and branches of trees bend over the water; many of them stick out from under the water. All this results in an unforgettable encounter with Nature. Bird reserve at Lake Seven Islands – Lake Oświn (approx. 30 km) – created to protect the natural nesting environment of numerous species of water-marsh birds and vegetation. The birds here include: Great Crested Grebe, Hook, Bittern, Greylag Goose, Krakwa, Teal, Shoveler, Black Kite, Marsh Harrier, Lesser Spotted Eagle, White-tailed Eagle, Corncrake and Mustache, White-fronted Goose, Bean Goose, Black Kite, Crane . In addition, there are resting places for flying birds, mainly geese (approx. 4 thousand).

A refuge of the Polish horse in the village of Zielony Ostrów (German: Bergenthal), north of Lake Oświn (approx. 34 km). The former PGR areas, left without human interference, would be overgrown with forest, therefore, in order to maintain grassy areas, the first Polish horses were brought to the area of the former village of Zielony Ostrów in 1990. Currently, several dozen horses live here in the wild in two herds.

Nearest towns and distances from “Gościniec Bocianowo”:

• Węgorzewo – 3.5 km
• Giżycko – 23 km
• Kętrzyn – 38 km
• Reszel – 58 km
• Mikołajki – 64 km
• Mragowo – 65 km