Wilkasy combines a local history dating back to 1505 with two green hiking trails that pass through the village. Both trails give the destination a clear connection to hiking, while differing in their overall routes and in how they relate to the village. Local history and the trails offer two clear starting points when choosing a place to stay.
Founding and historical connections
Wilkasy was founded in 1505 as a free settlement under Magdeburg law. Three years later, the Grand Commander Szymon von Drahe confirmed that Friedrich, Duke of Saxony and then Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, had sold 15 hides of land between Sobole and Niedźwiedzkie to Jan, Jerzy and Paweł; Wilkasy grew out of this sale. The two dates represent different steps: 1505 marks the founding, while the confirmation three years later links the sale with the establishment of the village. This makes it possible to understand the sequence without treating the founding and the sale as the same event.
Nearby is the Sobole (Wilkasy) military cemetery from the First World War. It is in the forest north of the Olecko–Raczki road and one kilometre west of the village. This specific place of remembrance adds to the information about local history: the cemetery points to a different period in history and is located outside the village.
Two green hiking trails through Wilkasy
Green hiking trail No. 6 runs from Ogródek via Stare Juchy, Krzywe, Gąski, Wilkasy, Szeszki, Kucze and Czarna Wieś to the dam near Rajgród. Wilkasy is therefore one of a series of stops between Gąski and Szeszki, not the end of the trail. The route description places the village along a longer trail that passes through several other places before reaching its endpoint near Rajgród.
The green “Szlak Mazur Garbatych” (Hunchbacked Masuria Trail) runs from Jasieniec via Czerwony Dwór, Jabłonowo, Szeszki, Dorsze, Wilkasy, Kamionki, Suczki and Gołdap to Stańczyki. Here, too, Wilkasy is one section of a route with clearly named places. The section passing through Wilkasy is part of the E11 international long-distance hiking trail. The route is managed by PTTK Suwałki and registered under number SU 2012z.
The trails differ clearly in their total length: No. 6 is 118 km long, while the “Szlak Mazur Garbatych” is 90.4 km long. Their respective lengths within the EGO area also differ: 109 km for No. 6 and 78.9 km for the Szlak. No. 6 is therefore longer both overall and within the stated area. Other features show how each trail runs through the village: No. 6 leaves Wilkasy towards a forest and later passes through extensive forest areas; the Szlak runs north of the small Lake Wilkasy. This makes it possible to compare the overall scale of the trails and their different local points of reference.
Discover more destinations: Wronki, Kowale Oleckie, Olecko, Stacze, Masuria, Dobki, Szarejki, Zajdy.
Return to the main travel overview: Olecki.
