Discover Łęknica: Geopark and cycling route

Łęknica can be viewed through three specific themes for a stay: the Muskau Arch, the UNESCO World Geopark Cultural and Education Centre, and the Łęknica–Przewóz cycling route. If you’re looking for hotels in Łęknica, these different highlights can help you choose a destination based on landscape, culture, or cycling.

Geopark and Landscape Park

On the Polish side, the Muskau Arch Geopark extends through Tuplice, Trzebiel, and Łęknica, and on the German side through Weißwasser and Döbern. By contrast, the Muskau Arch Landscape Park covers areas within the five municipalities of Tuplice, Trzebiel, Łęknica, Przewóz, and Brody in the Lubusz Voivodeship. It protects the Polish part of the terminal moraine formed by the continental ice sheet.

The two designations differ in scale: the Geopark extends across places on both sides of the border, while the Landscape Park protects the Polish part of the terminal moraine. This allows you to consider the cross-border setting and the protected landform separately.

Exhibitions, workshops, and visitor information

The UNESCO Muskau Arch World Geopark Cultural and Education Centre in Łęknica hosts permanent and temporary exhibitions on nature, geology, hydrology, and dendrology, as well as the area’s industrial and cultural history. Dendrology is the study of trees and woody plants. Geology and hydrology focus on the structure of the landscape and water; the industrial and cultural history complements the nature themes with the history of human activity.

The centre also offers workshops in ceramics and glassworking. These craft themes provide a different focus from the exhibitions. The tourist information office at the same centre offers travel advice, guidebooks, maps, and promotional souvenirs from the UNESCO Muskau Arch World Geopark. If you’re planning to visit a particular exhibition or workshop, check the current programme in advance; programme details may change.

Cycling route and Dawna Kopalnia Babina Geopath

The Łęknica–Przewóz cycling route starts at OKSiR on ul. Wojska Polskiego in Łęknica. On the return journey, it passes along the “Dawna Kopalnia Babina” Geopath. This links the cycling experience to a specific starting point and a named section of the return route.

South of Łęknica, the “Dawna Kopalnia Babina” geotourism trail passes through former lignite and ceramic clay extraction areas. Their history is explained at eleven themed stops along a 5.3-kilometre route. The trail adds its own geotourism perspective to the cycling experience: the stops provide context on past resource extraction, while the cycling route follows the Geopath on the return journey. For planning purposes, different details are relevant: the cycling route has a named starting point and return leg, while the geotourism trail has a stated length and number of stops.

The double bridge over the Lusatian Neisse

The double bridge is one of two bridges over the Lusatian Neisse connecting the Polish and German parts of Muskau Park. While the Landscape Park is described in terms of municipalities and the protected terminal moraine, the bridge highlights a different connection: it links the two parts of the park across the river.

Discover more destinations: Chlebice, Czaple, Dluzek, Sieniawa Żarska, Dobrzyń, Lipinki Łużyckie, Brzostowa, Lubsko

For the broader travel overview: Żary.