Kaszuby — lakes, hills and Wieżyca in Kashubian Switzerland.
The Kashubian Lake District — the land of Kashubian Switzerland with Wieżyca (329 m) as the highest point of the Polish Lowland, dozens of ribbon lakes, Poland's oldest open-air museum at Wdzydze (1906) and a Baroque roof shaped like a coffin lid on the collegiate church at Kartuzy.
What to know before you go
Kashubia is the Kashubian Lake District at the heart of the Pomeranian Province — a land of dozens of ribbon lakes, wooded hills and a distinctive Kashubian culture. The best-known part of the region is Kashubian Switzerland around Kartuzy, Chmielno and Stężyca.
The emblem of the region is Wieżyca (329 m a.s.l.) — the highest point of the Kashubian Lake District and at the same time of the whole Polish Lowland. On the summit stands a 35-metre viewing tower named after John Paul II, from which a panorama of the lake district opens out.
Kashubia also has the oldest open-air museum in Poland — the Kashubian Ethnographic Park at Wdzydze Kiszewskie, founded in 1906 by Teodora and Izydor Gulgowski on Lake Gołuń — and the former Carthusian collegiate church at Kartuzy with its Baroque roof shaped like a coffin lid (memento mori).
The region is also an important centre of Marian devotion — the Wejherowo Calvary with its 26 Baroque and Rococo chapels is called "the Kashubian Jerusalem", and the sanctuary at Sianowo honours Our Lady of Sianowo as Queen of Kashubia. Easy access from the Tricity makes Kashubia a natural extension of a seaside holiday into a rest by the lakes and in the woods.
Places you should not miss
The most important sights of the region, each with its own guide — how to get there, when to go, practical info.
Wieżyca and the John Paul II viewing tower
The highest point of the Kashubian Lake District and of the whole Polish Lowland (329 m). On the summit a 35-metre viewing tower named after John Paul II (182 steps).
Read the guide →
CEPR Szymbark — the upside-down house and the longest plank
The Centre for Education and Promotion of the Region at Szymbark — a house built upside down, the longest plank in the world (46.53 m, Guinness 2012) and Kashubian cottages.
Read the guide →
The Kashubian Ethnographic Park at Wdzydze
The oldest open-air museum in Poland, founded in 1906 by Teodora and Izydor Gulgowski. 22 hectares of Kashubian and Kociewie buildings on Lake Gołuń.
Read the guide →
Lake Wdzydze — the "Kashubian Sea"
The Wdzydze Cross of Lakes, called the "Kashubian Sea" — five linked lakes (Wdzydze, Gołuń, Radolne, Jelenie, Słupinko) covering 1,570 hectares in all.
Read the guide →
The former Carthusian collegiate church at Kartuzy
The Gothic Carthusian collegiate church (14th century) with a unique Baroque roof shaped like a coffin lid (1731–1733) — the memento mori of the order's founders.
Read the guide →
The Necel Centre of Kashubian Ceramics at Chmielno
A family ceramics workshop at Chmielno, run by the Necel family since the 19th century — the distinctive Kashubian patterns on jugs, mugs and vases.
Read the guide →
The sanctuary of Our Lady of Sianowo — Queen of Kashubia
A Marian sanctuary at Sianowo with a Gothic figure of Our Lady, crowned in 1966 as Queen of Kashubia — the spiritual centre of the region.
Read the guide →
The Wejherowo Calvary — the Kashubian Jerusalem
The Calvary at Wejherowo with 26 Baroque and Rococo chapels of 1649 — founded by Jakub Wejher, the fourth oldest Calvary in Poland.
Read the guide →Do you run a property in Kaszuby?
List your property. A standard listing with photos costs 250 zł a year, Premium — shown on the home page — 600 zł a year or 1200 zł for 3 years. Guests write to you directly, no commission.
List or submit a property →Kaszuby in every season
The lakes waking up, waterbirds and less traffic. A good time for walks around the lakes and visits to the open-air museums.
The height of the season — swimming in the lakes, kayaks, cycling and the beaches at Ostrzyce and Wdzydze. The most Kashubian events.
Golden woods, the finest views from the tower on Wieżyca and lake fish in the guesthouses. Quiet and cheap.
Silence over the frozen lakes, snow on the hills, Kashubian interiors and warm kitchens. Low season, but full of atmosphere.
How to get there and what to know
- Getting there
- From the Tricity — national road DK20 to Kartuzy (about 40 km from Gdańsk), DK6 to Wejherowo
- By train
- Line 229 (the Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway) to Kartuzy and Kościerzyna via Wieżyca
- Base
- Kartuzy, Chmielno, Szymbark, Wdzydze Kiszewskie, Wejherowo
- Season
- All year — the lakes in summer, the views in autumn, interiors in winter
- Attractions
- Wieżyca, the open-air museum at Wdzydze, the collegiate church at Kartuzy, the Wejherowo Calvary
- For families
- The open-air museum at Wdzydze, the CEPR at Szymbark (the upside-down house, the longest plank in the world)
How far to the sights
Approximate straight-line distances from the centre of Kaszuby — calculated from real coordinates. By road it is often further.
- The Necel Centre of Kashubian Ceramics at Chmielno
- ~4,1 km from the centre Kaszuby (as the crow flies)
- The sanctuary of Our Lady of Sianowo — Queen of Kashubia
- ~6,9 km from the centre Kaszuby (as the crow flies)
- The former Carthusian collegiate church at Kartuzy
- ~7,4 km from the centre Kaszuby (as the crow flies)
- Wieżyca and the John Paul II viewing tower
- ~8,6 km from the centre Kaszuby (as the crow flies)
- CEPR Szymbark — the upside-down house and the longest plank
- ~8,8 km from the centre Kaszuby (as the crow flies)
- The Wejherowo Calvary — the Kashubian Jerusalem
- ~35 km from the centre Kaszuby (as the crow flies)
- Lake Wdzydze — the "Kashubian Sea"
- ~35 km from the centre Kaszuby (as the crow flies)
- The Kashubian Ethnographic Park at Wdzydze
- ~39 km from the centre Kaszuby (as the crow flies)
Where Kaszuby is
Frequently asked questions — Kaszuby
What is worth seeing in Kaszuby?
Where can you find a place to stay in Kaszuby?
How much does a place to stay in Kaszuby cost?
Do you run a property in Kaszuby?
Add it to the guide and reach people looking for exactly this region — direct contact with the guest, a standard listing with photos costs 250 zł a year, Premium 600 zł a year.
