WITCHES' TRAIL
The trail, created as part of the "Witch Trail on the Polish-Czech Border" project, commemorates the sites of 17th-century torture of women accused of witchcraft. The Witch Trail on the Polish side is marked in black. It leads through: Paczków - Pomianów Dolny - Lubiatów - Ligota Wielka - Sarnowice - Otmuchów - Ulanowice - Grądy - Rysiowice - Karłowice Wielkie - Słupice - Nowaki - Radzikowice - Sękowice - Nysa - Konradowa - Wyszków Śląski - Niwnica - Domaszkowice - Wierzbięcice - Kępnica - Stary Las - Nowy Las - Charbielin - Jarnołtówek - Skowronków - Konradów - Głuchołazy - Zlaté Hory - Rejvíz - Česká Ves - Jeseník - Vernířovice - Sobotín - Velké Losiny - Rapotín - Šumperk - Mírov – Mohelnice. The trail
is 233 km long. Information boards with a map of the trail and descriptions of historical events are placed along the trail. A Regional Cycling Tourist Badge - "Witch Trail" - has been prepared for the cyclists. The rules for earning the badge are available on the websites of the Nysa County Office - www.powiat.nysa.pl and the Ktukol Cycling Tourism Club from Głuchołazy - www.ktukol.pl.
The most famous sites along the route include the Nysa County Museum, with an exhibition devoted to witch trials. The first section is the Herbalist's Chamber, with information on herbalists, healers, herbal medicine, midwives and the vessels they used. In the Courtroom, there is a table at which the inquisitor sat, containing the book "The Hammer of Witches." There is also a portrait of auxiliary bishop Jan Baltazar Liesch von Hornau, who decided to build a furnace for burning witches in Nysa. The next section of the exhibition is the Prison and Torture Chamber. Here, you'll find shackles, a "heretic fork" worn around the neck and a "catcher," a collar with spikes on the inside. In the castle courtyard, there are boards illustrating the journey of the condemned, a map of locations in Silesia where witch trials took place.
Other sites associated with witch hunts along the trail include the Executioner's House in Paczków, a witch's grave in Jarnołtówek and Gallows Hill in Głuchołazy. The trail also features numerous monuments unrelated to witches. While in Paczków, it's worth seeing the well-preserved defensive walls. In Nysa, you'll find charming tenement houses, the Weigh House, the Fortress and other unique structures. Around Głuchołazy, we'll discover sites where gold was mined. The route includes numerous historical churches, penitential crosses and castles.
In addition, the trail passes through some of the most beautiful landscapes, encompassing mountains, lakes and forests.
The Witches' Trail along the Czech-Polish border was chosen the Best Tourist Product and received the OROT Certificate in 2010 in the category
„Trail”.
