The Trail of the Eagles' Nests ( pl, Szlak Orlich Gniazd) of south-western Poland, is a marked trail along a chain of 25 medieval castles between

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (adm ...

and

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

. The Trail of the Eagles' Nests was first marked by Kazimierz Sosnowski. Since 1980, much of the area has been designated a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

known as the Eagle Nests Landscape Park ( pl, Park Krajobrazowy Orlich Gniazd). The castles date mostly to the 14th century, and were constructed probably by the order of

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16th ...

Casimir the Great Casimir III the Great ( pl, Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars. He w ...

. The trail has been named the "Eagles' Nests", as most of the castles are located on large, tall rocks of the Polish Jura Chain featuring many limestone cliffs, monadnocks and valleys below. They were built along the 14th-century border of

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a ...

with the province of

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. S ...

, which at that time belonged to the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

. The Trail of the Eagles' Nests is considered one of the best tourist trails in Poland, marked as No. 1 on the official list of most popular trails in the country. It encompasses all 25 castles and watchtowers, and is long (the bicycle trail is long). Most of the sites can also be reached by bus.Eagle-Nest Castles - Tourist attractions.
2011, ''KrakowInformer.com''

The castles of the Eagles' Nests

The Eagles' Nests castles ( pl, Orle Gniazda), many of which survived only in the form of picturesque ruins, are perched high on the tallest rocks between

and the former Polish capital

. The castles were built to protect Kraków as well as important trading routes against the foreign invaders. Later, the castles passed on into the hands of various Polish aristocratic families. ::

Picture gallery

File:Olsztyn(js)1.jpg,

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. ...

Castle File:Zamek w Będzinie.jpg, Będzin Castle File:Ogrodzieniec_zamek_MG.jpg, Ogrodzieniec Castle File:Zamek w Mirowie 12.08.08 p4-k.jpg, Mirów Castle File:Zamek w Ojcowie a1.jpg, Ojców Castle File:Zamek w Rabsztynie3.jpg, Rabsztyn Castle File:Zamek Bobolice 2010.jpg, Bobolice Castle File:Pieskowa Skała 1.jpg, Pieskowa Skała Castle File:Siewierz - Zamek 01.jpg,

Siewierz Siewierz is a town in southern Poland, in the Będzin County in the Silesian Voivodeship, seat of Gmina Siewierz. History Siewierz was first mentioned in 1125, and was administered by the Castellan of Bytom. In 1177, Casimir II of Poland grant ...

Castle File:Teczyn2.JPG, Tenczyn Castle File:Przewodziszowice (js)1.jpg, Przewodziszowice Castle File:Lutowiec2(js).jpg, Łutowiec Castle File:Smolen castle 20070503 1506.jpg, Smoleń Castle File:Korzkiew zamek 20080426 3180.jpg, Korzkiew Castle File:Pilica (js)1.jpg, Pilica Castle File:Dankow1 (js).jpg, Danków Castle File:Ryczow castle 20070503 1248.jpg, Ryczów Castle File:Zamek Lipowiec 8 maja 2010.jpg, Lipowiec Castle, Babice :''Note: the photos above may include structures located just outside the marked Trail of the Eagles' Nests.''

References

* Eagles' Nests Trail online map
Waymarked Trails

''Poland'' by Neil Wilson, Tom Parkinson, Richard Watkins

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embark ...

List of castles

{{Coord missing, Poland Hiking trails in Poland Lesser Poland Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship

The castles of the Eagles' Nests

Picture gallery

See also

References