Wieprz: the river of Roztocze and the konik horses

The Wieprz – the river of Roztocze and the Lublin region

The Wieprz is the largest river of the Lublin region - 303 km long and a right-bank tributary of the Vistula. It rises in Roztocze, between Lake Wieprzowe and Wieprzów, at about 274 m above sea level, and ends its course near Dęblin, giving up its waters to the Vistula. Along the way it crosses three quite different lands: rolling, limestone Roztocze, the Lublin Upland and lowland Polesie. Few rivers in Poland change character so much on a single route.

For kayakers the most attractive part is the middle course - from Zwierzyniec through Szczebrzeszyn and Krasnystaw, and on through Łęczna and Lubartów to the mouth near Dęblin. The route can comfortably be explored in stages over many seasons. In its upper course the Wieprz flows more briskly, among the forests, springs and hills of Roztocze; further down it slows and meanders widely across meadows, forming one of the most beautiful river landscapes in eastern Poland.

In terms of difficulty the Wieprz is one of the easy kayaking rivers. The current is calm, there are few obstacles, and most stretches suit both beginners and the experienced. The biggest challenge tends to be trees brought down by strong winds and the long, sunny stretches without shade, where in heat and wind you have to rely on your own muscles. Before the trip it is worth checking the current water level.

Overnight stops are no problem - along the river there are campsites, agritourism farms and prepared bivouac spots. It is worth remembering, though, that a good part of the valley is of natural value and under protection; in such areas it is better to use the designated spots and to check the local restrictions in advance.

Nature: Roztocze, the konik horses and the ravines

In its upper course the Wieprz flows through Roztocze National Park, established in 1974. Protected here are old beech and fir woods clothing the hills, of which the most famous is the reserve height of Bukowa Góra. The park's symbol is the konik polski - a descendant of the old tarpan - bred in Roztocze since 1982. Herds of the horses can be seen by the Echo Ponds, one of the most beautiful and most photographed corners of the whole region.

Lower down the river passes the Szczebrzeszyn Landscape Park with its famous loess ravines, and then ever wider, lowland valleys. Along most of its course the Wieprz has kept its natural character: numerous bends, oxbows and broad flood meadows. The banks are lined with willows, alders and poplars, and in spring and early summer the valley fills with flowering irises, meadowsweet and marsh marigold.

It is also an important refuge for wildlife. On the water you can watch grey and great white herons, marsh harriers, black storks, kingfishers and numerous species of duck; in the quieter stretches beavers and otters keep house. In the river itself live pike, perch, chub, ide, zander and catfish, and in the cleaner, upper stretches of Roztocze the water is at times good enough to suit more demanding fish species.

Stretches of the Wieprz trip: from Zwierzyniec to Dęblin

The Wieprz is a strongly meandering river, so the kilometres pass slowly here, and the trip is best split into stages. The upper stretch, from Zwierzyniec through Szczebrzeszyn, runs at the gates of Roztocze National Park, among the loess ravines. The middle stretches, through Krasnystaw and Łęczna to Lubartów, are the most winding, wild part of the valley, full of bends and oxbows. The lower stretches, from Wola Skromowska to Dęblin, lead through a broad valley all the way to the mouth on the Vistula. You can see every stretch on the map below - in "Take it easy" mode, with facilities and water levels along the way. And if you'd rather plan the trip your own way, you can draw your own route in "Your own way" mode.

See the trail on the interactive map Click to load the map with the route drawn in

Zwierzyniec – the pearl of Roztocze

The trip most often starts in Zwierzyniec - the former heart of the Zamoyski Fee Tail. The town's very name comes from the zwierzyniec, the great, fenced game park the Zamoyskis founded here. For centuries this was the seat from which the vast estates of the entail were managed, and today Zwierzyniec is the gateway to Roztocze National Park and one of the region's most popular tourist bases.

The town's symbol is the Baroque church of St John Nepomucene, the famous "church on the water", built in 1741-1747 on an artificial island in the middle of a pond, endowed by Tomasz Antoni and Teresa Zamoyska. The reflection of the church in the water is one of the most recognisable views in the Lublin region. Right beside it lie the Echo Ponds, where the konik horses graze along the bank - and where you can best feel the springlike, almost highland character of Roztocze.

Szczebrzeszyn – the beetle and a labyrinth of ravines

A few dozen kilometres on, the Wieprz flows through Szczebrzeszyn. Most Poles know the name from a rhyme by Jan Brzechwa - and not without reason: on the market square in front of the town hall stands a two-metre bronze statue of a beetle, and around town you'll find it in more than one version. But this is also one of the oldest towns in the Lublin region, multicultural for centuries, where a Catholic church, an Orthodox church and a Renaissance synagogue once stood side by side, still bearing witness today to the Polish-Ruthenian-Jewish past.

The real attraction of the area, though, is the loess ravines. Szczebrzeszyn Roztocze, especially the stretch between Szczebrzeszyn and Kawęczynek, hides one of the deepest and densest networks of loess ravines in Poland - a labyrinth of deep, overgrown gorges that the locals call "Piekiełko" (Little Hell). It is a landscape you'll search for in vain by Poland's other rivers, and worth a separate trip on foot.

Krasnystaw – the town of hops

In the river's middle course lies Krasnystaw, one of the oldest towns in the Lublin region, already an important point on the routes leading to Ruthenia in the Middle Ages; for centuries it was the seat of a starosty, and to this day an imposing parish church and the buildings of the former Jesuit college survive here.

Today Krasnystaw is associated above all with hops. The surrounding fields are among the most important hop-growing areas in the country, and the town itself is famous for the Chmielaki Krasnostawskie - one of the best-known festivals of hop-growers and brewers in Poland. This is also the stretch where the Wieprz shows its most lowland face: wide meanders, a calm current and the huge open spaces of the valley.

Łęczna – the town of great fairs

Lower down the river passes Łęczna, once famous for fairs that were among the largest in the Commonwealth - trade here was chiefly in horses and cattle, and merchants came to the town from distant parts. The multicultural, largely Jewish past has left historic synagogues and the legible layout of the old market square. Łęczna is also a natural gateway to the Łęczna-Włodawa Lake District, a land of dozens of lakes east of the valley.

Lubartów – the Baroque Sanguszko palace

Further on the Wieprz flows near Lubartów, where one of the region's most beautiful monuments stands - the Baroque Sanguszko palace. It was raised in the 17th century by the eminent architect Tylman van Gameren for the Lubomirski family, and in the 18th century rebuilt by Paweł Antoni Fontana for Duke Paweł Karol Sanguszko, Grand Marshal of Lithuania. It is an elegant example of a magnate residence in the Lublin region, with an extensive layout and a park.

Kock – a tzaddik and the last battle of September 1939

Kock lies on the Tyśmienica, a few kilometres from the Wieprz - by kayak you reach it by turning into its mouth and paddling against a gentle current. It is worth it, for this is one of those towns where history is thicker than you might expect. In the 18th century it was rebuilt by Duchess Anna Jabłonowska, an Enlightenment reformer known for her modern management of estates; from her time come the Classicist layout of the town and the palace above the valley. In the 19th century Kock also became an important centre of Hasidism - in 1829 the tzaddik Menachem Mendel Morgenstern, the "tzaddik of Kock", founder of a famous dynasty, settled here, and followers made pilgrimages to him from across Central Europe.

Most strongly of all, though, Kock left its mark in September 1939. It was here, from 2 to 5 October, that the Independent Operational Group "Polesie" under General Franciszek Kleeberg fought the Battle of Kock - the last battle of the regular September Campaign. The Poles inflicted heavy losses on the Germans, and the surrender for want of ammunition on 5 October closed the five-week defensive war. Those days are recalled today by a war cemetery and monuments scattered around the area.

Dęblin – the fortress and the School of Eaglets

Near the end of its course the Wieprz reaches Dęblin, a town of two strong faces. The first is the tsarist Dęblin Fortress, the former Ivangorod - the Russians began raising its citadel in 1837-1845, and over the following decades expanded it into one of the larger fortresses on Polish lands, guarding the crossings of the Vistula and the Wieprz.

The second face is aviation. Dęblin is home to the legendary "School of Eaglets", today the Polish Air Force University, which has trained Polish pilots since 1928 and became one of the symbols of Polish military aviation. The mouth of the Wieprz on the Vistula itself, with its mosaic of islands, oxbows and riverside floodplain forests, is a refuge for many species of birds and fish - and a calm, natural close to a long expedition.

The Wieprz is a river that in a single journey brings together the springlike Roztocze, the loess ravines, the broad meadows of the Wieprz valley and towns with a surprisingly rich history - from the konik horses by the Echo Ponds, through Hasidic Kock, to the field of the last battle of Poland's September. Thanks to its easy current it works both for short outings and for long, multi-day trips.