Image: Eagles Nests Trail 06

Description: The “Trail of the Eagles' Nests” (Szlak Orlich Gniazd) of south-western Poland, is a marked trail, named after a chain of 25 medieval castles which the trail passes by, between Częstochowa and Kraków. The Trail of the Eagles' Nests was first marked by Kazimierz Sosnowski. Since 1980, much of the area has been designated a protected area known as the Eagle Nests Landscape Park (Park Krajobrazowy Orlich Gniazd). The castles, including Pieskowa Skała, Ogrodzieniec, Mirów, Bobolice Castle date mostly from the fourteenth century, and were constructed by the order of the Polish King Kazimierz the Great. They have been named the "Eagles' Nests", as most of them are located on large, tall rocks of the Polish Jura Chain featuring many limestone cliffs, monadnocks and valleys below. They were built along the fourteenth century border of Lesser Poland with the province of Silesia, which at that time belonged to the Kingdom of Bohemia. The Eagles' Nests castles (Orle Gniazda), many of which survived only in the form of picturesque ruins, are perched high on the tallest rocks between Częstochowa and the former Polish capital Kraków. The castles were built to protect Kraków as well as important trading routes against the foreign invaders. Later, the castles passed on into the hands of various Polish aristocratic families. The Scotch Mist Gallery contains many photographs of historic buildings, monuments and memorials of Poland.
Title: Eagles Nests Trail 06
Credit: Own work
Author: Scotch Mist
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
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