Zbylitowska Góra – History and Forest

Settlement history and church construction

Zbylitowska Góra is one of the oldest human settlements in southern Poland. Its history can be traced through two distinct dates: the settlement’s beginnings date back to the 7th century, while the listed Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was built in 1464. It was built on the site of an older wooden church and was destroyed during the First World War. The town’s history thus brings together early settlement and the story of a single church.

The church is therefore an important part of the town’s history, but its story does not end with the year it was built: its destruction during the First World War is also part of it. If you are interested in historical sites, you will find a specific point of reference here, distinct from the area’s early settlement history. The two dates mark different chapters without merging them into a single event.

Remembrance in Buczyna Forest

Buczyna Forest in Zbylitowska Góra was the site of a tragic chapter in history. During the Second World War, Germans carried out mass murders there, killing Jewish residents of the Tarnów ghetto and Polish prisoners. The place is therefore associated with remembrance of those who were murdered; the history of the forest cannot be separated from this context.

The annual Galician Jews Remembrance Days “Galicjaner Sztetl” begin in Buczyna Forest with a prayer gathering at the “Ofiar Hitlerowskiego Terroru” monument. It commemorates the people murdered there by Germans, mainly of Jewish and Polish origin. Remembrance is a different focus from the history of settlement and the church: it directs attention to the victims and to remembering the crimes. If you would like to include the annual event in your travel plans, check the date in advance.

An avenue and the route to Soślina Forest

A 400-metre-long avenue with 88 trees, mostly sycamore maples, runs along Pszenna Street. Its length and the number of trees give the route a clearly defined scale. You can follow the avenue towards Soślina Forest, also known as Sośnina. Beeches and oaks predominate there, while pines are found only occasionally.

This makes it possible to draw a clear distinction between the two landscapes: sycamore maples predominate along the avenue, while beeches and oaks are the main trees in the forest. The avenue leads towards Soślina and connects this succession of trees with the named forest. When choosing an excursion, you can distinguish between the route along the street and the forest beyond, without treating both sections as the same landscape.

Another point of interest for travel planning

The Tarnów Municipality Harvest Festival is associated with the stadium of Ludowy Klub Sportowy Dunajec in Zbylitowska Góra as its venue. If you would like to plan your trip around this event, check the date before making arrangements. You can choose to focus on the town’s other attractions—the early settlement history, remembrance and the route from the avenue to the forest—according to your interests, independently of the festival.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Zgłobice, Pleśna, Paleśnica, Ładna, Tarnów, Ołpiny, Janowice, Wał-Ruda.

For the main travel overview: Tarnów.