Cemeteries and monuments
a Way of the Cross on Matyska hill with sculpted stations and a steel Millennium Cross at the top
Churches and monasteries
Gothic church with a chancel from the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries and a Natura 2000 bat refuge
Churches and monasteries
a church blessed in 1983, since 2013 the seat of the parish in Przybędza
Churches and monasteries
chapel of 1907 by a spring at the foot of Kopa Radziechowska, known as “U Dziadka”
Churches and monasteries
a shrine from 1868 by the Żywiec - Zwardoń road, the site of a legend of a battle between highlanders and Swedes
Things to do in Radziechowy near Żywiec: the Golgota Beskidów Way of the Cross, the Gothic Church of St Martin and mountain chapels.
Radziechowy sits beneath the Beskid slopes, and most of the sights belong to the religious landscape of the Żywiec region. The five places on the list are a Way of the Cross up a hill, three churches and a roadside shrine, and they link easily into one walk with views.
The best-known place is the Golgota Beskidów, a Way of the Cross leading from Radziechowy to the top of Matyska hill (609 m above sea level). The sculptures at the stations follow designs by Prof. Czesław Dźwigaj, and a large stainless steel Millennium Cross stands on the summit, visible from far away. It was raised to mark the Jubilee Year and blessed on 10 November 2000. The parish of St Martin looks after the site, and entry is free.
The Church of St Martin at ulica Plebańska 1 goes back to the turn of the fifteenth century, and the parish was founded here in 1390. The presbytery is the oldest part. In 1722 a chapel of St Isidore was added for a confraternity. A colony of lesser horseshoe bats lives in the attic, protected under Natura 2000, so the church also matters for nature.
In Przybędza, a part of Radziechowy, stands the Church of Our Lady of Częstochowa, built in the early 1980s. It was consecrated on 26 August 1983, spent thirty years as a chapel of the Radziechowy parish and has been the seat of its own parish since 2013.
The full list of churches and chapels is in churches and monasteries in Radziechowy, ready for planning a route.
The Chapel of St Anne stands by the road to Twardorzeczka, at the foot of Kopa Radziechowska. Locals call it "U Dziadka", after the surname of the former owner of the land. It was built beside a spring that was believed to have healing properties and consecrated in 1907. From here you can see the Żywiec Basin.
The Shrine on Foksowa Kępa, also called "Na Horolnej", is a brick shrine from 1868 beside the road from Żywiec to Zwardoń. Maciej Foksa, a farmer and bricklayer, founded it. Local legend says it stands where highlanders fought the Swedes in 1656.
Several of these places can be visited alone at an easy pace, as the page on what to do alone in Radziechowy shows.
The Golgota Beskidów: its stations climb from the village to Matyska hill, where a steel cross waits at the top.
No, the site is free to visit. It is looked after by the parish of St Martin in Radziechowy.
A Gothic structure from the turn of the fifteenth century and a colony of lesser horseshoe bats in the attic, protected within Natura 2000.
On Foksowa Kępa, beside the road from Żywiec to Zwardoń. The legend speaks of a battle between highlanders and Swedes in 1656.
