Conitz: City History and Nature in Chojnice County

Old Town, Museum and Churches

Chojnice’s historic Old Town includes townhouses, the market square, the neo-Gothic town hall and a fountain. One striking historic landmark is the Człuchów Gate: the six-storey building has a square floor plan and is designed in the Pomeranian Gothic style. Today, it houses exhibition rooms belonging to the Historical and Ethnographic Museum. The museum is also housed in six historic buildings along a preserved section of the medieval defensive walls. On five floors of the Człuchów Gate, it presents permanent and changing themed exhibitions.

The churches also offer different points of interest on a walking tour of the town. The Church of the Beheading of St John the Baptist was elevated to the status of a minor basilica on 11 March 1993. The Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built by Jesuits, who also founded a school in Chojnice. Its interior is decorated in the late Baroque style and features polychrome paintings by Franciszek Ksawery Haefflich; its architecture includes three naves and a façade with two towers.

For a playful way to discover history and nature, the Eksperymentarium offers another option: visitors can learn about the history, nature and distinctive features of the region through hands-on experiences and playful activities. Dni Chojnic is an annual town festival held in Tysiąclecia Park and at Fosa Miejska. It adds a recurring town celebration to visits to historic places, without implying a specific event date.

Landscape and active excursions

Zaborski Landscape Park lies in the northern part of Chojnice County and extends across the municipalities of Brusy, Chojnice and Konarzyny. It includes 48 lakes, among them protected, exceptionally clear lobelia lakes and charophyte lakes. A dense network of hiking trails, cycling routes and nature trails provides access to the landscape.

Cyclists can follow the Kaszubska Marszruta, a network of cycling routes in Chojnice County with around 200 kilometres of completed trails. Another 166-kilometre cycling route runs from Bydgoszcz via Rytel, Mylof, Drzewicz, Swornegacie and Bachorze to Chojnice. For hiking, the 55-kilometre Julian Rydzkowski Kashubian Trail is a specific option: it runs from Chojnice via Chojniczki, Bachorze, Stara Piła, Męcikał and Giełdon to Wiele. The stated distances refer to each entire route and help distinguish between different excursion plans.

In Zaborski Landscape Park, the Brda and its tributaries, the Chocina, Zbrzyca, Młosina and Kłonecznica, form a network of varied kayaking routes. In the wider region, the 45.4-kilometre Zbrzyca River route also runs from Wiele via Lamk, Leśno, Rolbik, Laska and Śluza to the PTTK station on Lake Witoczno. This means that, alongside cycling and hiking routes, waterways are another option for an excursion.

Places in Chojnice County

Route 22 is important for getting around Chojnice County: it connects Chojnice and Czersk and is the main road transport route in the county. The regional roads radiate out from Chojnice. Other places to look for in the region include Charzykowy, Chojnice, Czersk, Olszyny, Brusy, Pawłowo, Krzyż, Konarzyny, Parszczenica and Leśno. When looking for accommodation, compare whether you would like to focus your trip more on the town’s history, the landscape, or the cycling, hiking and kayaking routes described above.

For the wider travel overview: Pomerania.