The best city hikes and walks around Opoczno

The ponds in the Browary district in Końskie are now a popular place for walks and relaxation. The renovated reservoirs, fed by clean streams, are surrounded by well-kept greenery, and the area has gained new recreational functions. You can walk here, fish, light a bonfire or take part in cultural events, such as KGW tournaments or Kupala Night. There are paved paths around them. It is worth remembering that swimming in the ponds is not allowed.

Interesting old well and monument. A few benches and a fountain. Terrible concrete.

The central Końskie Square, with one of the two monuments of Tadeusz Kościuszko and the collegiate church of St. Nicholas.

The monument is a joint work of sculptors Leonard Marconi and Antoni Popiel. It was made of bronze in 1900 on the initiative of the Tadeusz Kościuszko Society. This is an equestrian monument. In 1921 it was placed on Wawel Hill, but it did not survive the war - on February 17, 1940 it was destroyed by the Germans. In 1960 it was reconstructed by the Germans as the only monument in Poland and returned to its original location as a gift from the people of Dresden to the city of Kraków.

In 2017, the city park and other places were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park now includes a pond with a fountain, a viewing tower on a hill, an arcade, a bar, a playground, stone flower pots (including those from Repten Castle), a bandstand with a football pitch, tennis courts, a toboggan hill, a wooden sales pavilion, as well as an old mining shaft and the embankment of the former narrow-gauge railway.

When the Friedrichsgrube ceased operations completely in 1910, the obelisk (Redenstein) that stood on the Rudolphin memorial in the mine park was handed over to the city administration of Tarnowskie Góry, which then erected it in the city park. After Tarnowskie Góry became part of Poland, the obelisk was destroyed in 1930. On April 10, 2011, a memorial stone was erected for the Smolensk plane crash. In October 2013, the park paths were named and nameplates were put up. The paths were given the following names: Aleja Kaganków, Aleja Skarbka, Aleja Pod Wieżę, Aleja Dobrego Urobku, Aleja Karbidek, Aleja Sztygarów, Skrót Gwarków, Promenada.[4] In 2016, the park was registered as a cultural monument.

In addition, a Bismarck-Hindenburg tower was to be built, but this was not realized because the city was ceded to Poland. In addition, a hero's grove was created in the park, where a Hindenburg oak, a Mackensen oak, a Ludendorf oak and a Woyr oak were planted, which were surrounded by 1,650 hero oaks. After 1910, a sports facility was built. In 1918, a cemetery of honor was created for the fallen of the First World War.[3] During the Second World War, the fallen of the war were also buried in the cemetery of honor. In 1928, an ice skating rink was built and in 1977 a ski and sledding hill.

The city park was created on the initiative of the Catholic priest of Tarnowitz Franz Kokott († 1908) and the mayor of Tarnowitz Richard Otte and was laid out in 1903. The acquired area was heavily influenced by mining and quarrying from the 19th century and was criss-crossed by slag heaps.[1] It was designed according to the plans of the gardener P. Bernert.[2] The entrance to the park is surrounded by a group of boulders. The largest boulder is a natural monument. One of the boulders has a plaque. Originally it was inscribed with a German verse by Hildebrandt from Tarnowitz, but in 1925 this was replaced by a verse by Jan Nowak. The German verse read: "For every foot is every walk, for every weary person every bench, for every eye the flowers are a bloom, the birds' song for every ear, the free air of God for all and for the thirsty the seltzer hall, but leave everything in its place, keep your hands away from trees and bushes".