A landscape park of almost 494 km2 with the former Cistercian complex in Rudy, ponds, forests and the Łężczok reserve.
The Cistercian Landscape Compositions of Rudy Wielkie Landscape Park covers almost 494 km² in the south-western part of the Silesian Voivodeship. It includes the north-eastern districts of Racibórz, the northern part of Rybnik and parts of a dozen or so municipalities, and its heart is the former Cistercian complex in Rudy. The park was established in 1993 and belongs to the Complex of Landscape Parks of the Silesian Voivodeship.
The park takes its name from the fact that monks arranged the landscape here. The convent, usually twelve monks and an abbot, came to Rudy in 1258 from Jędrzejów in Lesser Poland. The Cistercians ran agriculture and forestry, built mills and developed iron metallurgy. Remains of forges and former ironworks have survived, and the park includes, among others, the Łańcuchowy pond.
Forests cover about 57 per cent of the area, mainly pine. The terrain is crossed by a dense network of rivers and streams, among them the Ruda and the Bierawka, and there are more than 270 bodies of water. The park protects valley forests and ponds where birds nest. The Łężczok nature reserve covers 477 ha and has existed since 1957. According to the park, 236 bird species have been recorded here, of which 154 breed.
The most important monument is the former Cistercian complex in Rudy with its Baroque monastery and palace, which we describe in more detail in the entry on the basilica in Rudy. The park also has several wooden churches, the oldest of which dates from 1534. You can learn the history of the narrow-gauge railway at the historic station in Rudy. The park's education centre operates in a former small hospital built in 1858-1861.
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