Parks and nature
water reserve with eight medieval ponds, oaks and the second-richest birdlife in the country
Parks and nature
the thickest and oldest tree in Racibórz, with a legend of King Sobieski in the background
Historic sites
ruin of a Cistercian hunting lodge from 1783 between the ponds of the reserve
Viewpoints
Churches and monasteries
Things to do in Babice: the Łężczok reserve with ponds and a viewing tower, Sobieski's Oak, a hunting lodge ruin and a church with a mosaic.
Babice is a settlement in the Racibórz land, on the edge of the Rybnik Plateau. Most goals gather around the Łężczok reserve near Racibórz, so this is a trip for people who like watching birds and walking among ponds. One historic church completes the picture.
Above all the Łężczok Nature Reserve, one of the largest in the Silesian Voivodeship, with eight ponds and old forests. Around it lie three places worth a separate stop: a viewing platform, an old oak and the ruin of a lodge.
The reserve covers more than four hundred and seventy hectares in the Cistercian Landscape Compositions of Rudy Wielkie Landscape Park, and it has held protected status since 1957. The ponds date back to the Middle Ages. The reserve counts over one hundred and ninety bird species, more than half of all those recorded across Poland, including grebes, ducks and herons.
From the viewing platform on Salm Duży. It is a wooden tower of 2017 above the pond, doubling as a covered birdwatching point. Salm Duży is one of the eight ponds of the reserve, along with Ligotniak, Brzeziniak, Babiczak and Salm Mały.
Entering the tower costs nothing, and binoculars make the visit more rewarding. A walk through the reserve can include Sobieski's Oak, an oak more than four hundred years old, considered the thickest and oldest tree in the city and in the reserve. Its trunk measures 690 centimetres in circumference, the tree is 33 metres tall and at 3.5 metres it divides into two main boughs. It grows within the administrative boundaries of Racibórz. More free places appear under free things to do in Babice.
The first is the hunting lodge of 1783, now a ruin. Cistercians built it between the Grabowiec and Brzeziniak ponds, right at the Racibórz border. After the dissolution of the order in 1810 it passed to the dukes of Racibórz.
In the village itself stands the Church of St Anne, built in 1937-1939 and consecrated on 30 May 1939. It is known for the mosaic of its patron saint in the chancel, made in Munich at the turn of 1939 and 1940. The war damaged it, and it was rebuilt in 1945-1946. If you travel alone, look also at solo in Babice.
Eight, among them Salm Duży and Salm Mały, Ligotniak, Brzeziniak and Babiczak.
No, the reserve can be visited free of charge, provided you follow the rules of nature protection.
In the Łężczok reserve, within the administrative boundaries of Racibórz. It is an oak more than four hundred years old.
The Church of St Anne with a mosaic of its patron saint in the chancel, and the ruin of a Cistercian hunting lodge from 1783.
