4th Interregional project event in Swietokrzyskie Region, PL
What offer should be prepared to attract tourists? How to revitalize tourism in rural areas? Five best practices in this area were exchanged during an international meeting attended by 20 people representing 7 institutions from Italy, France, Hungary, Spain, Finland, and Poland during the field visit in Świętokrzyskie Voivodship (Poland), organized by the Marshal's Office of the Świętokrzyskie Region on 14-15 May 2024 in the framework of the SYSTOUR project.
The Świętokrzyskie region is one of the smallest regions located in south-eastern Poland. It is also a region with exceptionally interesting values. It is made up of three subregions: the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, Ponidzie, and the Sandomierska Upland. The Świętokrzyskie Mountains, one of the oldest in Europe and covered with rock debris, are one of the greatest attractions in Poland. For tourists, the Świętokrzyskie region also offers rich forests of the Fir Forest, scenic charms of Ponidzie, Sandomierz monuments, clean waters, unique caves and rock groups, over 1,300 km of hiking and about 1,500 km of bicycle tourist trails.
On the first day of the field visit, the guests visited several places on the Sandomierski Apple Trail, including The Historic Mill in Trzykosy, the Chamber of Horticultural Tradition in Obrazów, and the Świętokrzyski Garden of Inspiration in Andruszkowice. The trail runs through charming towns and villages, rich fruit orchards, and picturesque landscapes of loess gorges, river valleys, and fields of colorful fields. It allows tourists to learn about the wonderful cultural heritage of this region, encouraging them to visit historic buildings, museums, and regional chambers. Orchard farms, agritourism farms, wine farms, fishing farms, and apiaries that cultivate long-standing family traditions, as well as other entities such as restaurants, training, and recreation centers, processing plants, and producer groups, invite you to join the trail.
The meeting participants also had the opportunity to see the Bałtów Tourist Complex, which includes, among others: a dinosaur park, a zoo, a miniature park, a prehistoric oceanarium, and many other attractions. Finally, the guests visited the Świętokrzyska Cultural Center "Harmonia" - a unique interactive exhibition presenting a 19th-century village in the Świętokrzyskie region, equipped with multimedia that stimulates various senses - sight, touch, and even smell.
On the second day, we visited the Historic Metallurgical Plant in Maleniec - one of the best-preserved old Polish monuments of old industry. Here you can see former production halls and a complete technological line for the production of farm tools made of sheet iron. During the visit, the participants took part in educational classes on the production of iron objects and tried local dishes.
The next part of the study visit is the Kielce Village Museum in Tokarnia, where guests can admire recreated typical settlement arrangements of villages from various subregions of the Kielce region. A meeting of the project Steering Committee was also held here.
The next project meeting and study visit will be held in July in Central Ostrobothnia, Finland.