Stara Słupia: Manor House, Crosses and Ridge

Stara Słupia brings together historic buildings and religious memorials with a landscape of ridges and a deeply incised valley. When planning your trip, it helps to distinguish between these highlights: the manor house and its park are subject to a clear access requirement, while route descriptions focus on the landscape and trails through the area. If you are looking for a hotel for a stay in Stara Słupia, you can first consider whether you are more interested in the history of the buildings and memorials or in the trails through the landscape. The following places and trail features provide concrete points of reference.

Manor House, Park and Granary

The manor house in Stara Słupia is privately owned. Access to the park grounds requires the owner's permission; please arrange this before your visit. A park of around 1.5 hectares adjoins the manor house to the west. Rows of lime trees mark its boundary, and there is a mound offering a viewpoint in the park. A historic granary also stands beside the manor house. This gives you several distinct points of interest in this part of the area: the private manor house, the adjoining park to the west with its rows of lime trees, and the granary as a separate building. The access requirement for the park is important when planning your visit; it is as much a part of this area's character as its architectural and landscape features.

Crosses, Chapel and Remembrance

The large brick cross in Stara Słupia commemorates the Church of the Martyrs Vincent and Anastasius, which burned down in 1797. According to the inscription, Walenty and Marianna Karbowniczkowie had the cross erected on 3 May 1841. The two dates refer to different events: 1797 marks the church fire, while 1841 is the year the memorial was erected. Beside the cross, a figure of the Immaculate Virgin Mary stands on a sandstone column. Right next to it grows a chestnut tree with a trunk circumference of more than four metres. Here, an inscription, a religious symbol and a distinctive tree come together.

Another stone cross stands by the roadside and dates from 1923. It should be distinguished from the large brick cross: the date 1923 belongs to the roadside cross, while 1841 marks the erection of the brick memorial. A wooden chapel with a tin-covered roof is a separate feature of the area. Inside are images and a figure of the Virgin Mary. Their materials, locations and dates help distinguish the different religious memorials in Stara Słupia.

Ridges, Valley and Trails

A trail leads through the hamlet of Winnica in Stara Słupia and climbs onto a ridge. From there, wide views open up over the eastern part of the Łysogóry range, including Łysa Góra and Chełmiec, and the western part of the Jeleniowskie range, including Góra Jeleniowska and Szczytniak. The Słupianka Valley offers a different landscape: a route crosses the picturesque valley, where the river has cut deeply into the loess soil. Ongoing bank erosion is clearly visible there. The ridge and valley thus offer different perspectives: from above, the view takes in the named ranges and peaks; in the valley, it focuses on the shape of the riverbank. If you would rather focus your trip on wide-open views or the visible changes to a river landscape, this distinction can help you choose a suitable trail destination.

There are two routes to distinguish when planning your journey. The 19-kilometre circular route Trasa 2 runs from Nowa Słupia through Stara Słupia and other places, returning to Nowa Słupia. The blue Tarłów–Święty Krzyż long-distance trail also passes through Stara Słupia. The circular route has a stated total length and returns to its starting point; the long-distance trail places Stara Słupia on a longer route. Your choice therefore depends on whether you want to plan a circular route with a set total length or follow the long-distance trail as it passes through the area.

Discover more destinations: Tokarnia, Nowa Słupia, Bodzentyn, Suchedniów, Górno, Masłów, Mniów, Lechów

For the wider travel overview: Kielce.