Sucha Beskidzka Travel Guide

Sucha Beskidzka

Sucha Beskidzka Travel Guide - a place in south eastern Poland in the province of Malopolska. Sucha Beskidzka is a town in the Beskid Żywiecki mountain range and the valley of the Beskids where the rivers Skawa and Stryszawka meet.

It is the administrative seat of Sucha County in the province of Malopolska and has been in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1 January 1999, previously it was in Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship (1975-1998).

The most famous building is the Renaissance castle and is known as the Little Wawel due to its cloisters. It was built for the Komorowski family in 1614 to replace a manor house and was rebuilt in 1708 in the Baroque style.

It is now the City Community Centre and also houses Zamek Art Gallery and the Local Information Centre. The castle is surrounded by a 19th century landscape park, an English-style garden, in which a 19th century neo-Gothic orangery and a “Gardener's House” are to be found. The “Gardener's House” is also a small regional museum.

Due to privileges handed out by the kings of Poland and then the Austrian emperor in 1772, Sucha became an important trading area, with markets taking place on the Main Market Square.

Accommodation in Sucha Beskidzka

You will find the full range of accommodation in this town from the most luxurious five star hotels with up to date and modern amenities to pensions (a type of guest house or boarding house) and rooms or apartments at very reasonable prices. Some of the larger towns and cities will also have hostels.

If you prefer to stay in a more rural location there are a number of “Agro” style of accommodation places on farms and in the countryside plus there may be camp sites nearby.

If you see something you like or wish to know more about please contact the accommodation directly as I do not take commission and I take the attitude that their own website will have more up to date details on what they offer than if I were to include it here.

If you wish to advertise your accommodation on Sucha Beskidzka Travel Guide please contact me.

Activities in Sucha Beskidzka

Poland is a country with a large variety of landscapes, a place where you can experience all four seasons. This provides the visitor with many opportunities for adventure and different activities, whether you enjoy the mountains, lakes, rivers or the beaches you will find something that suits you.

If you see something you like or wish to know more about please contact the activity provider directly as I do not take commission and I take the attitude that their own website will have more up to date details on what they offer than if I were to include it here.

What ever activity you run, if you wish to advertise your activity on Sucha Beskidzka Travel Guide please let me know.

Attractions in Sucha Beskidzka

Castle at Sucha Beskidzka

Sucha BeskiZdzka lies in the valley of the Skawa River and is surrounded by the Beskid Makowski, Beskid Mały and Beskid Źywiecki mountain ranges in the region of Malopolska, southern Poland.

Since the beginning of the 20th century Sucha Beskidzka has been a tourist centre for the Beskidy Mountains which are part of the range of mountains known as the Carpathians. There are a number of tourist trails in the area which lead into the mountains. The first trail was marked out in 1906. In Sucha Beskidzka there are fine examples of old architecture: a Renaissance castle (16th century), named Little Wawel after the royal palace in Kraków; a church with a cloister (17th century); and an old wooden inn, called Rzym (Rome) from the 18th century.

During the Middle Ages it belonged to two families, the Strzała and Słupski. In the mid 16th century the village was acquired by Gaspar Castiglione vel Kasper Suski who was a goldsmith from Kraków. In 1554 he had a defensive manor, castle, constructed from both wood and stone located at the foot of Mount Jasień.

His sons decided to sell the estate to a Piotr Komorowski in 1608 and the new owner changed the Manor into a stately home based on the Renaissance style during the period 1608 to 1630. Sometime around 1708, the castle was extended and modernised by Anna Wielopolska, nee Lubomirska.

It changed ownership in 1843 when it was purchased by the Branicki family and again in the 1920's it was bought by the Tarnowski family.

After World War II the castle became a school and was purchased by the local authorities in 1996. It now houses the Museum of Sucha, a Municipal Culture Centre, a college, a restaurant and the Kasper Suski Hotel.

Constructed of stone and brick the castle has three wings, embellished with four towers. The courtyard open to the east is surrounded by two storey arcades on the south and west wings, incorporating corner loggias and a single storey north facing wing.

One of the most impressive parts of the castle is the Knights' Hall, featuring wooden beams that support the ceiling and a late Renaissance sandstone fireplace. The castle also has a chapel located in the clock tower and there are collections of the past to view in the Museum from the town.

Poland is a country with a large variety of attractions for the tourist to visit, a place where you can experience all sorts of places to see. This provides the visitor with many opportunities for learning about Polska, whether you enjoy the many monuments, historic churches or buildings, history of places, or more modern attractions, you will find something that suits you.

If you see something you like or wish to know more about please contact the attraction provider directly as I do not take commission and I take the attitude that their own website will have more up to date details on what they offer than if I were to include it here.

What ever attraction you run, if you wish to advertise your attraction on Sucha Beskidzka Travel Guide advise us.

Wooden Karczma

A wooden karczma, an inn, stands on the towns square in Sucha Beskidzka.

This is a unique piece of Polish wooden architecture, erected in the latter half of the 18th century with its high shingled roof being supported by shady arcades which is covering a dark interior decorated and furnished in a style of ages past.

Now as a traditional restaurant, the doors of Rome Inn “Karczma Rzym” are open to guests.

Geography of Sucha Beskidzka

Sucha BeskiZdzka lies in the valley of the Skawa River and is surrounded by the Beskid Makowski, Beskid Mały and Beskid Źywiecki mountain ranges in the region of Malopolska, southern Poland.

The town covers an area of about 27 square kilometres and is an important railway junction.

Geographic coordinates of Sucha Beskidzka, Poland
Latitude: 49°44′30″ N
Longitude: 19°35′39″ E
Elevation above sea level: 320 m = 1049 ft

History of Sucha Beskidzka

Sucha was first mentioned in 1405 as a village when it was located on the banks of the Sucha River, (according to Magdeburg law) which is now called the Stryszawka River. It became a town in 1889.

Sucha Beskidzka (meaning Dry Beskid) is a district town situated in the mountainous region of the Beskid valley at the mouth of the River Stryszawka to Skawa. In 2005 Sucha Beskidzka celebrated its 600th anniversary.

In the late Middle Ages, the area of Sucha Beskidzka was owned by the Duchy of Oświęcim (John II, Duke of Auschwitz). In the early years of the 15th century, the Duke of Oświęcim initiated a program of settlement of the then sparsely populated forested areas in the Beskids. In 1405, a man named Strzałowie was allowed to found a settlement, which later took on the name Sucha. Most likely, the Strzałowie family remained owners of the settlement until the late 15th century, when Sucha was transferred into the hands of the słupskich family. In 1554, Stanisław słupskich sold the village to an Italian-born goldsmith from Kraków, Gaspare Castiglione, who after noble ennoblement of his estate took a Polish name - Kasper Suski. Castiglione initiated the construction of the castle at Sucha which was to become for the next several hundred years, the main administrative, economic and cultural facility for the surrounding areas.

By the early 17th century Sucha belonged to the Komorowski family and the village remained in private hands until 1939, as the so-called “Sucha State” (panstwo suskie). Among its owners were the Wielopolski family, the Branicki family, and the Tarnowski family. During the Seventeenth century there was a period of rapid growth for the village. Between 1613 - 1614, Piotr Komorowski funded and built a parish church and extended the castle (a fortified manor built by Kasper Suski) turning it into a residence.

Sucha became a centre for early industry, including a glass works, a watermill, a brewery and iron works. Due to several royal privileges Sucha emerged as a local centre for trade and commerce with the village prospering much, under the ownership of Anna Konstancja Wielopolska, who owned it from 1693 to 1726. The area of Sucha was one of centres of the Bar Confederation, (Barska Konfederacja 1768–72) and in 1772 under the Partition of Poland, the village, with about a population of 3,000 became part of the Austrian province of Galicia.

In the 1840s Sucha was purchased by the Branicki family and they opened a library together with a local museum in the Sucha Castle. The village already had an ironworks, which operated until the 1880s but during the same period Sucha obtained a rail station on the Galician Transversal Railway with a northwards connection to Kraków being added in 1884, after which Sucha became an important rail junction.

In 1896 the Austrian authorities finally granted the village a town charter and between 1895 – 1907 a new church was built. In 1910 a Bank was built for Spoldzielczy. During the Second Polish Republic, Sucha was part
of the Krakow Voivodeship, being part of Żywiec County and later it was transferred to Wadowice County.

In the period 1922 to 1939 the castle belonged to the Tarnowski family when the population of the town was about 6,200.

On September 3, 1939, Sucha was captured by the German Wehrmacht and towards the end of that year the town was annexed by the Third Reich. In the Holocaust, Sucha’s Jewish community of 500 were murdered by the occupying Germans.

After the Second World War the government of the People's Republic of Poland again attached Sucha to the Kraków Voivodeship. New districts were formed within the town with blocks of flats being constructed and new factories (furniture factory) were opened including a Sports stadium. In 1956 for the first time in the history of Sucha it became the seat of a district. In 1964 there was added the second term - “Beskid” to the name of the town, clearly identifying the place with its location and in 1975 the town became part of Bielsko-Biala Voivodeship.

Later in 1983 a new district hospital was constructed with a new housing estate around it. On the closure of the old mill in the centre, a shopping arcade, indoor swimming pool and sports halls were built.

From 1 January 1999 Sucha Beskidzka is the county town again, according to the historical and cultural traditions of the province of Malopolska.

Museums in Sucha Beskidzka

There is a small museum located within the castle.

Polska is full of history and the Polish are great lovers of knowledge of the past so you will find many museums in the country.

Poland has a long history and has been an important trading route that has been invaded by many different groups over the past 1,000 years. Museums are a great way to explore the nations history about the inhabitants of the land in the past, their lives and customs.

Some of the museums shown below may have an article about them here on David's Travel Guides. Follow the link for the article. For the rest, if you see something you like or wish to know more about please contact the museum directly as I take the attitude that their own website will have more up to date details on what they offer than if I were to include it here.

What ever museum you run, you can advertise it on Sucha Beskidzka Travel Guide at no cost.

Places to Eat in Sucha Beskidzka

On my visit to Sucha Beskidzka on the 18th March 2014 I located only two restaurants, the one at the castle and a wooden karczma, an inn, stands on the towns square in Sucha Beskidzka.

This is a unique piece of Polish wooden architecture, erected in the latter half of the 18th century with its high shingled roof being supported by shady arcades which is covering a dark interior decorated and furnished in a style of ages past.

Now as a traditional restaurant with its traditional Polish-Style cuisine, the doors of Rome Inn “Karczma Rzym” are open to guests.

There are a number of pastry shops and one or two ice cream places where you can get a cup of coffee. I saw one pub but was not attracted to it.

What Wikipeda says about Polish Cuisine

Polish cuisine (Polish: kuchnia polska) is a style of cooking and food preparation originating from Poland. It has evolved over the centuries due to historical circumstances. Polish national cuisine shares some similarities with other Central European and Eastern European traditions as well as French and Italian similarities. It is rich in meat, especially pork, chicken and beef (depending on the region) and winter vegetables (cabbage in the dish bigos), and spices.

It is also characteristic in its use of various kinds of noodles the most notable of which are kluski as well as cereals such as kasha (from the Polish word kasza). Generally speaking, Polish cuisine is hearty and uses a lot of cream and eggs. The traditional dishes are often demanding in preparation. Many Poles allow themselves a generous amount of time to serve and enjoy their festive meals, especially Christmas eve dinner (Wigilia) or Easter breakfast which could take a number of days to prepare in their entirety.

The Polish national dishes are bigos; pierogi; kielbasa; kotlet schabowy (type of breaded cutlet); gołąbki (type of cabbage roll); zrazy (type of roulade); roast (Polish: pieczeń); sour cucumber soup (Polish: zupa ogórkowa); mushroom soup, (Polish: zupa grzybowa) (quite different from the North American cream of mushroom); tomato soup (Polish: zupa pomidorowa); rosół (variety of meat broth); żurek (sour rye soup); flaki (variety of tripe soup); and barszcz among others.

If you see something you like or wish to know more about please contact the place to eat directly as I do not take commission and I take the attitude that their own website will have more up to date details on what they offer than if I were to include it here.

If you wish to advertise your place to eat on Sucha Beskidzka Travel Guide let us know.

Tourist Information in Sucha Beskidzka

David's Travel Guides - This web site will eventually have tourist information on most of the places in Polska. Being a web site you will be able to access the information on most digital platforms, including your laptop, personal computer or a mobile phone.

Tourist organisations are welcome to contact me for details on how to display their information on Sucha Beskidzka Travel Guide.

PTTK - Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society is a non-profit organisation that you will find in many places in Poland.

It is one of the oldest tourist societies in Europe and was was created by the merger of two societies: Polish Tatry Society (1873) and Polish Country Lovers Society (1906).

Official Tourist Information Centres in Poland are divided into 1*, 2*, 3* and 4* Certified and Non-Certified. All Certified Tourist Centres provide information in one or more foreign languages and have an expanded range of services as compared to the Non-Certified.

Transport in Sucha Beskidzka

Sucha Beskidzka is located along the road route 28. It is about 57km from Krakow and takes about one and half hours by bus. There are several operators including PKP, Beskidus, Jord Bus and Merc Bus providing about four connections each hour.

The town is a rail junction, located along two lines - the 97th from Skawina to Żywiec, and the 98th from Sucha Beskidzka to Chabowka. The rail station PKP Sucha Beskidzka was built in the 1880s.

Here are some useful websites to help you find your way to this place.

Websites of Sucha Beskidzka

If you have a website that is an official one linked to this town, or you administer a local community or an important trade site please contact me here at Sucha Beskidzka Travel Guide as I may be interested in including it.