Międzybrodzie Żywieckie and Góra Żar
Międzybrodzie Żywieckie is a village in the Silesian Voivodeship, located on the artificial lake Międzybrodzkie on the Sole River. The village and its surroundings are considered one of the most beautiful places in the Żywiec Beskids. Tourists come here from all over Central Europe. Especially fans of paragliding flights and cycling. The village is famous for its beautiful landscapes, forests and hills. In the vicinity of the village there are many tourist attractions, such as the Prince’s Castle in Żywiec, the Park of Beskid Miniatures or the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima. Let’s not forget about the Żywiec brewery – which is worth visiting 🙂
Table of Contents:
- How to get to Mount Żar?
- Parking on mount Żar.
- Queue to the top.
- Attractions.
- Porąbka-Żar Power Plant.
- Red trail from Mount Żar to Kiczera.
How to get to Mount Żar?
Żar Mountain is located in the Żywiec Mountains in southern Poland. It is a popular tourist destination where you can practice skiing, hiking or paragliding. The mountain also offers well-prepared downhill routes. The top can be reached by car (with special permission) or by public paid cable car. On the slope of the mountain is also located … 🙂 Airport
- To get to Góra Żar by car, take the S1 road from Bielsko-Biała to Żywiec. Then turn east into ul. Bialska to międzybrodzie Żywieckie. Take the asphalt road through the dam towards the lower station of the Żar Mountain lift. Heading the serpentines to the top of the hill about halfway around the bottom station of the lift there are 2 parking lots for tourists. Leave the vehicle there.
- Option on foot – from the parking lot – along the narrow-gauge railway leads the black trail. It is in no way varied. We just go upstairs all the time. The entrance should take about an hour, and the passage is 1.8 km.
- The paid variant of the queue is also nice for people with a bicycle, child or person with a disability.
Parking on Mount Żar
At the foot of the mountain in the area of the lower station of the cable car there is a parking lot that can be used by tourists. There are 2 car parks and both are paved and managed by private individuals. There is space for about 200 cars. This is the last moment to leave the vehicle, because a little further there is a ban on entry (except for residents) and the turning back itself can be problematic because it is narrow. From my observation, it seems that this is respected – and at the top there is a police patrol waiting if someone decides otherwise.
Queue to Mount Żar
The lower station of the cable car is accompanied by a bicycle shop, ATM and accommodation.
The price list of tickets for Mount Żar is PLN 18 normal (top or bottom) or PLN 22 normal (top-down). There are passes for the whole day for cyclists for PLN 69. The entrance takes a few minutes. Tickets can be purchased online on the PKL website or on site at the box office.
Tourist attractions at the top of Mount Żar.
At the top of the Żar mountain there is a beautiful panorama of Lake Międzybrodzkie. The lake itself is also a popular tourist destination due to its magnificent views, which makes it an ideal place for a few-day trip in the region. The rope park and toboggan run as the main attractions directly at the top are a great proposition for children. For a little older there is an option to buy a paragliding flight. (~ 300 PLN = 10 minute flight with transport to the top)
Porąbka-Żar Power Plant
It is a pumped-storage power plant located inside the Żar mountain. The power plant uses a tank located at the top to store water. This water is also pumped from the lake – when the demand for electricity is low. When the demand for electricity increases, water is released from the upper reservoir and flows through turbines that produce energy. The Porąbka-Żar power plant is the second largest power plant in Poland and the largest pumped-storage power plant in Poland.
It is possible to visit the power plant with the basic plan of the trip:
- Passage from the entrance gate to the main building.
- Film screening
- Lecture at the spatial mock-up of the power plant
- Descent of the communication adit to the basic level of the power plant chamber
- Passage past the starting motors to the control room
- Exit via the evacuation adit to the communication adit
- Return to the main building.
More on the website of the Międzybrodzie Żywieckie Power Plant: zewpz.pl
Trail from Mount Żar – Kiczera
If we have already visited and seen everything that interested us, I recommend going towards Kiczera along the red trail. It is the main trail leading to the top of Luboń Wielki through the Kocierska Pass, Myślenice and Jordanów, and the trail begins in Bielsko-Biała, Straconka – the church. I think that this is one of the most charming trails in the area, but I have never been able to walk it in its entirety – not this condition 😛
- from Mount Żar to Kiczera we will reach in 45 minutes, and the passage is just over 2km. with the 110m approach, nothing should cause us difficulties. From Kiczera itself, the infrastructure of the power plant – Międzybrodzie Żywieckie – is much better visible.
