The Kazmierz Sosnowski Main Beskid Trail (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

''Główny Szlak Beskidzki imienia Kazmierza Sosnowskiego'', ''"GSB"'') is a

long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...

marked in red that leads from

Ustroń Ustroń is a health resort town in Cieszyn Silesia, southern Poland. Since 1999, it has been part of the Silesian Voivodeship, having previously been in Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. It lies on the Silesian Beskids mountain ra ...

in the

Silesian Beskids Silesian Beskids (, , ) is one of the Beskids mountain ranges in the Outer Western Carpathians in southern Silesian Voivodeship, Poland and the eastern Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. Most of the range lies in Poland. It is separa ...

to Wołosate in the

Bieszczady Mountains Bieszczady Mountains (; ; ; ) is a mountain range that runs from the extreme south-east of Poland and north-east of Slovakia through to western Ukraine. It forms the western part of the Eastern Beskids of the Outer Eastern Carpathians, Eastern B ...

. At about , it is the longest trail in the Polish mountains. It crosses the Silesian Beskid, the Żywiec Beskid (''Beskid Żywiecki''), the

Gorce Mountains The Gorce Mountains (, ) are part of the Western Beskids mountain range spreading across southernmost Poland. They are situated in Małopolska Province, at the western tip of the long Carpathian range extending east beyond the Dunajec River for ...

Beskid Sądecki Beskid Sądecki is a mountain range in the eastern section of the Western Beskids, within the Outer Western Carpathians. It is located in the border region between Poland and Slovakia. On the Poland, Polish side, it stretches along an area ...

, the

Low Beskids The Low Beskids () or Central Beskids (; ; ) are a mountain range in southeastern Poland and northeastern Slovakia. They constitute a middle (central) section of the Beskids, within the Outer Eastern Carpathians. Since there are several tradit ...

(''Beskid Niski'') and the

. Covering the highest parts of the Polish

Beskids The Beskids or Beskid Mountains (, , , (), ()) are a series of mountain ranges in the Carpathians, stretching from the Czech Republic in the west along the border of Poland with Slovakia up to Ukraine in the east. The highest mountain in the Be ...

, it crosses peaks such as Stożek Wielki (''Velký Stožek'' in

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

Barania Góra Barania Góra (Polish for "Ram Mountain") (; ) is a mountain in southern Poland. At a height of , it is the second highest mountain in the Silesian Beskids. The sources of the Vistula, the longest Polish river, are located on the western slope ...

, Babia Góra, Polica, Turbacz, Lubań, Przehyba, Radziejowa, Jaworzyna Krynicka, Rotunda, Cergowa, Chryszczata, Smerek and

Halicz Halych (, ; ; ; ; , ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; ) is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the Principality of Halych, the historic province of Galicia (Halychyna), and the Kingdom of Galicia–V ...

as well as towns such as

Węgierska Górka Węgierska Górka (Literally Polish for "Hungarian Hill") is a village in Żywiec County, Silesian Voivodeship, in the historic province of Lesser Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Węgierska Górka. It lie ...

Jordanów Jordanów, is a town in southern Poland, on the Skawa river. As of 2018, the town had a population of 5,360. History Jordanów was founded in 1564 by Spytek Wawrzyniec Jordan on the salt road from Kraków and Wieliczka to Orava and Hungary. In ...

Rabka-Zdrój Rabka-Zdrój (, Goral: ''Robka'', colloquially: ''Rabka'') is a spa town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland. It is located between Kraków and Zakopane in a valley on the northern slopes of the Gorce Mountains, where the rivers Poniczanka and ...

Krościenko nad Dunajcem Krościenko nad Dunajcem is a village in southern Poland situated in the Nowy Targ County in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999 (previously in Nowy Sącz Voivodeship, from 1975 to 1998). Located near Poland's border with Slovakia, it is appro ...

, Rytro,

Krynica-Zdrój Krynica-Zdrój (until 31 December 2001 Krynica, Rusyn language, Rusyn: Криниця ) is a town in Nowy Sącz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It is inhabited by over eleven thousand people. It is the biggest spa town in Pola ...

Iwonicz-Zdrój Iwonicz-Zdrój () is a spa town in south-eastern Poland, in Subcarpathian Voivodship, in Krosno County. It has 1,831 inhabitants (02.06.2009). It is located in the heartland of the Doły Jasielsko Sanockie, Doły (Pits), and its average altitude is ...

, Rymanów-Zdrój,

Komańcza Komańcza is a village in the Sanok County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (province) of south-eastern Poland. It is situated in the Bukowsko Upland mountains, located near the towns of Medzilaborce and Palota (in northeastern Slovakia). Ety ...

, Cisna and Ustrzyki Górne. The trail was created during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

. The route of the western part (Ustroń-Krynica) was designed by Kazimierz Sosnowski and it was finished in 1929. The eastern was designed by Mieczysław Orłowicz. It was completed 1935 and it led to

Chornohora Chornohora () is the highest mountain range in Ukraine, Western Ukraine. It is within the Polonynian Beskids, a subgroup of the mountain group of Eastern Beskids of the Outer Eastern Carpathians, Eastern Beskids, which in turn is part of the Oute ...

which, at the time, was located within the borders of Poland. Between 1935 and 1939, the

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

was named after

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

.PTTK Dąbrowa Górnicza

Records

Many Polish ultrarunners have attempted to set new records on the trail. The current fastest known time on the trail belongs to Kamil Leśniak, who covered the trail in 93 hours, 42 minutes, and 22 seconds, beating the prior record by just under two minutes. This was a supported run, which means that the athlete could work with an external support team.

References

External links

The exact route of the trail

Report from the GSB (April 2011)

A site about the GSB

Everything about the Main Beskid Trail

The extensive photo gallery from the trail
{{Authority control Hiking trails in Poland

Records

See also

References

External links