Kozielec lies on the high bank of the Vistula and at the edge of the Nadwiślański Landscape Park. The river landscape, forest and several routes give the place different character. The cycling routes vary in length and surface; a section of the Nadwiślański Szlak św. Jakuba also ends here, at the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. If you choose Kozielec for a stay, you can first decide what you would like to focus on: the Vistula Valley and its landscape, cycling, or a stage of the pilgrimage trail.
Landscape on the high bank of the Vistula
The forests around Kozielec are home to impressive oaks, hornbeams, maples and elms. In addition to the high bank and the Vistula Valley, the area’s different tree species are another defining feature of the local landscape. If you are choosing a stay based on your interest in the landscape, you can take in both the river valley and the forest.
Austrian flax (Linum austriacum L.) grows wild in Kozielec on the slopes of the Vistula Valley. The species is rare and protected. This plant habitat adds a distinct botanical feature of the valley slopes to the forest’s tree species. Nature lovers can therefore explore different aspects of the landscape: the trees around the village and a rare, protected plant on the slopes of the Vistula Valley.
Cycling routes: distance, surface and views
The green cycling route reaches Kozielec and runs almost entirely along paved roads beside the Vistula Valley. Another route, 7 km long, leads from Nowe to the voivodeship border near Kozielec. It first follows a narrow asphalt road to Kozielec; after that, the route continues on a cobblestone road and then an unpaved road. So distance is not the only factor when choosing a route: the change from asphalt to cobblestones and an unpaved road is also part of the description of this 7 km route.
The section of the Vistula Cycling Route from Ĺšwiecie via Sartowice, Michale and Nowe to Kozielec is about 51 km long. Compared with the 7 km route from Nowe, it is a considerably longer section that passes through a different sequence of places. On the route near Kozielec, there are views of the Vistula and its valley every few dozen metres. The black cycling route between Nowe and Gniew also passes through the scenic surroundings of Kozielec; its first section offers panoramas of the Vistula Valley. The route descriptions therefore focus on different features: distance and places, changes in road surface, or views of the river and valley.
The pilgrimage trail ends at the church
The section of the Nadwiślański Szlak św. Jakuba from Świecie to Kozielec is 27.0 km long and ends at the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Kozielec is therefore the specific endpoint of this pilgrimage section. The 27.0 km refers to the pilgrimage trail and should be distinguished from the cycling route distances. If you are deciding between cycling and a stage of the pilgrimage trail, you can first choose which activity you have in mind, then consider the relevant route distance.
Discover more destinations: Głodowo, Laskowice, Zbrachlin, Gawroniec, Serock, Mały Dólsk, Jeżewo, Stara Rzeka
Go to the main travel overview: Ĺšwiecki.
