Trail of the Eagle's Nests

The Trail of the Eagles' Nests (Polish: 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.^[1] 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 (Polish: Park Krajobrazowy Orlich Gniazd).

The castles date mostly to the 14th century, and were constructed by the order of King of Poland Kazimierz the Great.^[1] 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 14th century Polish border with the province of Silesia which belonged to the Czech Kingdom of Bohemia at that time.

The Trail of the Eagles' Nests is considered one of the best tourist trails in Poland, marked as No. 1 on the official list of most popular trails in the country. It encompasses all 25 castles and watchtowers, and is 163 km long (the bicycle trail is 188 km long). Most of the sites can also be reached by bus.^[2]

The castles of the Eagles' Nests

The Eagles' Nests castles (Polish: 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 Krakow as well as important trading routes against the foreign invaders. Later, the castles passed on into the hands of various Polish aristocratic families.

The Eagles' Nests along the marked trail (*) including similar structures of the Polish Jura ^[1]

Royal castles

Knight's castles

Defensive watchtowers