Ojców National Park

The smallest national park in Poland located in a short distance from Cracow city borders. It used to be called “Polish Switzerland”. Although small in size – it's over twenty times smaller than Biebrza National Park – it charms with its landscape – especially the iconic Maczuga Herkulesa (Cudgel of Hercules) by the castle in Pieskowa Skała.

Ojców National Park is located around Prądnik Valley which traverses limestone rocks of Cracow-Częstochowa Upland. Geological structure and later karst processes led to development of numerous caves which had been inhabited by people from time immemorial. The oldest traces discovered in Jaskinia Ciemna (dark cave) are dated to 120 thousand years BC. Many objects were found in Ojców caves such as: stone bifaces, knives, blades made of mammoth tusks, decorated animal bones, stone tips and flint spears.
Many legends are connected with the caves in this area, and the most famous is a legend on Władysław the Elbow-high. Apparently, when escaping from Cracow from the Czech king army he sheltered in one of the caves. A huge spider spun a web in the entry to the cave, thus stopping the pursuit. The "spider trace" of the legend is even more interesting considering the fact that Jaskinia Łokietka (Elbow-high Cave) is populated by meta menardi – the most venomous spider living in Poland. Except that this spider doesn't spin webs... Jaskinia Łokietka, similarly to several other caves in this area is open to the visitors.
When travelling a winding road from Cracow, it's impossible to miss Maczuga Herkulesa (Cudgel of Hercules) and the castle in Pieskowa Skała located behind it. The pictures of the cudgel with the castle in the background can be found in every shop selling postcards and gifts. In nearby Ojców, there are ruins of another castle which gradually fell into ruin since the “Swedish Deluge” (Swedish Invasion).
An interesting attraction is a chapel on water. Its construction is related to the order of the Russian Tsar Nicholas II. The Tsar prohibited construction of religious buildings on Ojców land. The constructors of the chapel circumvented the Tsar's prohibition and built the chapel on water.
In the park area, there are five hiking trails, three bicycle routes and educational trails.

Nearby attractions:
• Cracow