The Eagles' Nests Landscape Park (''Park Krajobrazowy Orlich Gniazd'') is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

in south-western

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, and one of over 120 Polish official Landscape parks. It was established in 1980, and covers much of the area of the

Trail of the Eagles' Nests The Trail of the Eagles' Nests () of south-western Poland, is a marked trail along a chain of 25 medieval castles between Częstochowa and Kraków. The Trail of the Eagles' Nests was first marked by Kazimierz Sosnowski. Since 1980, much of the ar ...

, marked as No. 1 on the official list of tourist trails. The trail passes by some 25 medieval castles called the Eagles' Nests, built on large, tall rocks by the order of King

Casimir III the Great Casimir III the Great (; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, retaining the title throughout the Galicia–Volhynia Wars. He was the last Polish king fr ...

Location

The Park () is shared between two voivodeships:

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

and

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship ( ) is an administrative province in southern Poland. With over 4.2 million residents and an area of 12,300 square kilometers, it is the second-most populous, and the most-densely populated and most-urbanized region of Poland ...

or more specifically its

Częstochowa County Częstochowa County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its adm ...

( Gmina Janów,

Gmina Olsztyn __NOTOC__ Gmina Olsztyn is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Częstochowa County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. Its seat is the village of Olsztyn, Silesian Voivodeship, Olsztyn, which lies approximately south-east of Częstoc ...

) and

Zawiercie County __NOTOC__ Zawiercie County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. ...

(

Gmina Łazy __NOTOC__ Gmina Łazy is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Zawiercie County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. Its seat is the town of Łazy, which lies approximately south of Zawiercie and north-east of the regional cap ...

Gmina Ogrodzieniec __NOTOC__ Gmina Ogrodzieniec is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Zawiercie County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. Its seat is the town of Ogrodzieniec, which lies approximately south-east of Zawiercie and north-east ...

). The Park lies within the

Polish Jura Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

formation also known as the Polish Jurassic Highland or

Kraków-Częstochowa Upland The Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, also known as the Polish Jurassic Highland or Polish Jura (), is part of the Jurassic System of south–central Poland, stretching between the cities of Kraków, Częstochowa and Wieluń. The Polish Jura borders ...

(), stretching between the cities of

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

and

Wieluń Wieluń () is a town in south-central Poland with 21,624 inhabitants (2021). The town is the seat of the Gmina Wieluń and Wieluń County, and is located within the Łódź Voivodeship. Wieluń is a capital of the historical Wieluń Land. W ...

. The Polish Jura, along with its numerous medieval castles () built by King Casimir (1310–1370), is visited by roughly 400,000 visitors a year. Part of the Upland belongs to the

Ojców National Park Ojców National Park () is a national park in Kraków County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, established in 1956. It takes its name from the village of Ojców, where it also has its headquarters. Chopin visited Ojców in 1829. It ...

, the smallest of Poland's twenty

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

s, ranking among the most attractive recreational areas in the country."Pattern of karst landscape of the Cracow Upland (South Poland)" by Witold Stefan Alexandrowicz and Zofia Alexandrowicz, Acta Carsologica, Slovenian Academy Of Science

/ref>

Notes and references

''Poland'' by Neil Wilson, Tom Parkinson, Richard Watkins

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History 20th century Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...

*
List of castles
*

*

Eagle Nests Parks in Lesser Poland Voivodeship Częstochowa County 1980 establishments in Poland Protected areas established in 1980 {{Poland-protected-area-stub