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Guide to Lubusz · Zielona Góra, Muskau Park, the Międzyrzecz Fortified Front, Łagów and hidden gems

Wine, forests and a Pückler park, on the border with Germany.

Zielona Góra, the city of Polish wine with its grape-harvest festival and bronze Bacchus figurines, Muskau Park on the Neisse, half Polish and half German, the castle of the Knights of St John at Łagów, the giant Christ of Świebodzin, but also the longest German military tunnels in Europe, where bats spend the winter, and lakes among the pine forests.

places on the map
11places on the map
hidden gems, with their stories
2hidden gems, with their stories
ready-made itineraries
3ready-made itineraries
towns and villages
3towns and villages
Why go

Five reasons to choose Lubusz

  1. Wine

    Poland's oldest wine region, with many young wineries.

  2. Muskau Park

    A masterpiece of garden art and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

  3. Forests and lakes

    Poland's most wooded region, with hundreds of lakes.

  4. Military history

    The tunnels of the Fortified Front and the Great Escape museum.

  5. Close to Berlin

    An hour and a half from the German capital.

Atlas

Map of Lubusz

11 hand-picked places: 3 towns and villages, 3 nature spots, 5 places of history and art. The gold star marks the hidden gems. Tap a point to open its card.

11 places

Places few people know

Two places in Lubusz few people know

They don't top the most-visited lists, but each has a story to tell and a good reason for the detour.

★ Nature · Zielona Góra and the south

The Muskau Arch

Łęknica

Ponds of every colour, from green to red to turquoise, in old lignite mines on a horseshoe-shaped moraine.

The story

The Muskau Arch is a horseshoe-shaped glacial moraine, where the ice sheet pushed up layers of lignite, clay and sand. For two centuries coal and clay were dug here; when the mines closed, the pits filled with water and the minerals coloured each one differently, from yellow to red, from green to blue. Today it is a cross-border UNESCO Global Geopark, with a geotourism trail that starts at Łęknica and passes the ponds.

Full page, why go and what's nearby →
★ History and art · Łagów and Międzyrzecz

Paradyż Abbey

Gościkowo

A 13th-century Cistercian abbey in the countryside, with a Gothic and Baroque church, now a seminary, whose name means Paradise.

The story

The Cistercian monks arrived here in 1230 and named the monastery “Paradisus”, like other houses of the order. The church, Gothic outside, has a Baroque interior with altars, choir stalls and large altarpieces. After the Prussian dissolution of 1834 the monastery became a teacher-training college, and since 1947 it has housed the diocesan seminary. The cloister and garden have the stillness of country monasteries.

Full page, why go and what's nearby →
Itineraries

Three itineraries, one to two days

The region is long and narrow: stay in Zielona Góra for the south and in Łagów for the centre.

On foot

Active Lubusz: hiking

Trails with route maps, elevation profiles and downloadable GPX.

Hiking1 trail1 hidden gem · grades T
  • Around Lake Lubniewsko T · 13.6 km
All hikes →

Find trails and spots near a town →

History

A borderland

  1. 1314

    Wine

    The first record of vineyards at Zielona Góra.

  2. 14th century

    The Knights of St John

    The Knights of St John build the castles of Łagów and Słońsk.

  3. 1815-1845

    Muskau

    Prince Pückler creates his park.

  4. 1934-1944

    The Fortified Front

    Germany builds the Międzyrzecz fortification system.

  5. 1944

    The Great Escape

    Seventy-six Allied prisoners break out of Stalag Luft III at Żagań.

  6. 1945

    Poland

    The region becomes Polish; settlers arrive from the east, many from the Lviv area.

  7. 2004

    UNESCO

    Muskau Park is inscribed on the World Heritage List.

Tips

Before you go

The things that don't change from year to year. Opening hours, prices and bookings change often: always check them on the official websites.

When to go

May to September

May · Junrhododendrons at Muskau
Jul · Auglakes and festivals
Septemberthe grape-harvest festival
Winterthe Fortified Front and its bats (limited visits)

September is the grape-harvest month, with the great festival in Zielona Góra. The tunnels of the Fortified Front are partly closed in winter so as not to disturb the bats.

Getting around

Car

Zielona Góra-Babimost airport has few flights; the region is also easy to reach from Berlin.

Trains link Zielona Góra, Gorzów and Żagań; for Łagów, Muskau and the tunnels you need a car.

Food and drink

What to try

  • Lubusz wine fresh whites and light reds from the wineries around Zielona Góra.
  • Pierogi dumplings of every kind, brought by the settlers from the east.
  • Lake fish pike, zander and whitefish.
  • Mushrooms ceps from the pine forests, in soup or with cream.
  • Forest honey heather and buckwheat honey.

All the PDO and PGI products and wines →

Traditions

Festivals not to miss

  • Grape-harvest festival September · Zielona Góra.
  • Lubuskie Lato Filmowe July · Łagów, film festival.
  • Pol'and'Rock festival summer · held for years at Kostrzyn on the Oder.
  • Great Escape commemoration late March · Żagań, at the prisoner-of-war camps museum.

The festival calendar for all of Poland →

World Heritage

One UNESCO site

All of Italy's UNESCO sites on the map →

FAQ

Questions travellers ask

What is there to see in Lubusz?
Zielona Góra and its wineries, Muskau Park, the Międzyrzecz Fortified Front, Łagów Castle, Żagań and Warta Mouth National Park.
What are the lesser-known places in Lubusz?
The colourful ponds of the Muskau Arch and Paradyż Abbey.
Is wine made in Poland?
Yes, and the Zielona Góra area is the oldest wine region: vineyards are recorded here from the 14th century, and today there are dozens of wineries along the Lubusz Wine Route.
Can you visit the tunnels of the Fortified Front?
Yes, on guided tours of various lengths; in winter part of the tunnels is closed to protect the bats.
What to eat in Lubusz?
Lake fish, forest mushrooms, pierogi and the region's wines.
Index

All the places, area by area

Zielona Góra and the south

Łagów and Międzyrzecz

Gorzów and the Warta

Itineraries

2 days Zielona Góra and Muskau2 days Bunkers, castles and abbeys1 day The Warta

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