Salmopol Pass

The Salmopol Pass (Przełęcz Salmopolska), also called Biały Krzyż, lies at an altitude of 934 m above sea level in the Silesian Beskids. Voivodeship road 942 from Wisła to Szczyrk and on to Bielsko-Biała passes through it. It is the highest pass in the Silesian Beskids accessible by road, and also a junction of hiking trails with a car park, an inn and a ski lift.

Where it lies and what it divides

The pass lies between Malinów (1,115 m) to the south-east and Biały Krzyż (940 m) to the north-west.

Formally it connects the Żylica valley, that is Szczyrk, with the Leśnica valley, that is Brenna, but the layout of the ridges also makes it easy to walk from Szczyrk to Wisła through the Malinka valley. On the pass the boundaries of three localities meet: Wisła, Brenna and Szczyrk, as well as three ranges: the Barania Góra and Skrzyczne Range, the Równica Range and the Beskid Węgierski. The pass is also the border between geographical Lesser Poland (the Żywiec region) and Cieszyn Silesia, and so the border between the Żywiec and Silesian dialects.

The origin of the names Salmopol and Biały Krzyż

The name Biały Krzyż (White Cross) comes from a white wooden cross standing just above the road on the pass.

Salmopol is in fact a settlement lying below the pass on the Żylica valley side, once a separate village, today part of Szczyrk. The settlement was supposedly founded by Protestants from Cieszyn Silesia fleeing religious persecution. The ridge of the pass carried the historical border between the Duchy of Cieszyn and the Duchy of Oświęcim, and from the mid-16th century between the Duchy of Cieszyn and the Kingdom of Poland. In 1771 the Bar Confederates retreated across the pass into Cieszyn Silesia after losing the battle at Szczyrk.

The road and the former hut

The road over the pass was built in 1965-1968 and opened on 22 July 1968.

It is 13 km long and climbs from Szczyrk in six hairpin bends. In 1932 Rudolf Antoni built a wooden hut here, “Biały Krzyż”, known as Antoni's Inn; in November of that year a tourist station of the Bielsko branch of the Polish Tatra Society was set up in it. The building burned down on 15 February 1945. Today the “Biały Krzyż” inn stands here, along with a wooden snack bar, a car park and a bus stop. Next to it operates the Biały Krzyż Ski Complex.

Trails from the pass

Trails cross on the pass, from which one can reach, among other places, Klimczok, Malinowska Skała, Kotarz, Brenna and Wisła.

The source also mentions a route to Skrzyczne via Malinowska Skała and to Barania Góra. Check the details of routes and walking times on a current tourist map. The higher parts of the mountains include Skrzyczne, about 5.5 km from the pass.

About 6.9 km further on rises Barania Góra.

The Salmopol Cave

Near the pass lies the Salmopol Cave (Jaskinia Salmopolska), but it is not open to visitors.

Its passages are more than 100 m long, but they are of a collapse type, and as a natural monument of inanimate nature the cave is legally protected.

Practical information

• Location: a pass at the junction of Wisła, Brenna and Szczyrk, on voivodeship road 942.
• On the pass there are accommodation, a restaurant and a car park; when it is crowded, there are also car parks lower down along the access roads.
• Minibuses and PKS buses from Bielsko-Biała run from the Szczyrk side (outside the winter season), and buses from Cieszyn run all year from the Wisła side. Check timetables before you travel.