Attractions and Places To See around Sarnaki - Top 20

Holy Mount Grabarka is the most important Orthodox center in Poland, located in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, near Siemiatycze. It is a pilgrimage site known as the "Hill of Crosses" because for centuries the faithful have brought votive crosses here, symbolizing prayers and thanksgiving. The complex includes the Saints Martha and Mary Monastery and three Orthodox churches.

A beautiful and magical place. It's impossible to describe, it must be seen.

Most of the "Molotov Line" bunkers along the Bug River are in very poor condition.

The Bug Valley tempts with picturesque views, but this is not the only attraction of this area. History enthusiasts flock here to discover the remains of one of the most famous fortifications of World War II. Around 1,900 structures of various purposes, over 150,000 soldiers and civilians working on their construction in 1940, over 1,000 km long – the scale of this undertaking is still admirable today. And all this in order to separate themselves from the German ally, with whom Minister Molotov had signed a friendship treaty just a few months earlier. However, Stalin knew that an alliance with Germany was as fleeting as the smoke from his favorite pipe. Hence the construction of large-scale fortifications, which were to stop the aggressor, enable mobilization in the event of war and support offensive operations. The Molotov Line, like its French “cousin” – the Maginot Line, did not live up to the hopes placed in it. The German attack surprised the Russians, some of the bunkers were not even occupied, others did not resist for long. Abandoned almost without a fight, some turned into a pile of rubble, after the war they became a treasure trove of engines and generators for the local population.

Large reinforced concrete shells of combat bunkers hide from the view of outsiders in the forest shade or grow from the tops of the Bug River hills. Overgrown with grass and bushes, covered with thick moss, they are beginning to resemble more and more the creations of nature, not human hands. The memory of them is slowly fading away along with their outlines. And yet eighty years ago, Soviet staff officers proudly referred to them as... Stalin's fangs. They were supposed to bite all those who dared to raise their hands against the Soviet Union. The belt of famous Soviet fortifications stretches across a significant part of the southern and western edges of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. The Molotov Line, because that is the name under which they are currently best known, is a real treat for lovers of military equipment and military architecture.

At the foot of the Mountain there is a miraculous spring. It was those who washed themselves here and drank the water that were saved from the cholera epidemic in 1710. To this day, people come here and wash their sick and sore places, drink water from the well and take it home. In 1910, on the bicentennial of the miracle, a round roof was built over the spring. Currently, the well is surrounded by a new chapel from 2001. According to Orthodox tradition, water is blessed several times a year. The Great Consecration takes place on the eve and on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord itself. The Little Consecration traditionally takes place on parish feast days (here: the Transfiguration of the Lord, the 10th Friday after Easter, the feast of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow"), as well as on other days designated by the liturgical calendar (e.g. the feast of the icon of the Mother of God "Life-giving Source", half of the period of Pentecost).

As late as 1820, the streets of Janów were completely devoid of cobblestones (Historical and topographical-statistical description of the town of Janów from 1820 "). In 1837, a new road was built connecting the stud farm in Wygoda with the town, in 1850 Brzeska and Siedlecka streets were paved, in which on its section from the Market Square to the current Sienkiewicza Street not only the course of the street was corrected, but also the terrain was leveled in order to eliminate the ravine separating the town buildings from the seminary garden. The general development plan of Janów from the years 1807-1866 confirms the information about minor changes in the development and spatial structure of the town.

An important element of the historic spatial layout of the stud farm is the composed greenery: park, alleys, rows, naturalistic tufted greenery accompanying the paddocks and the old flood embankments (including mature oaks - natural monuments). The attribute of the monument is also the preserved original view relations with the panorama of Janów Podlaski and the excellent exposure of the stud farm silhouette in the Bug riverine landscape. https://zabytek.pl/pl/obiekty/janow-podlaski-janow-podlaski-stadnina-koni