Ustrzyki Dolne

View of Ustrzyki Dolne

Distance

109 km N, 241 km NV, 83 km NV, 25 km NV, 76 km NE, 116 km NV, 40 km NV, 394 km NV

Population

11.000 (1996)

Location and history

Ustrzyki Dolne is the most southeastern, truly urban community in Poland. (The word “Ustrzyki” comes from austria which denotes a place where rivers or streams run together). The city is the natural center of the Bieszczady area: tourist, commercial and administrative (municipal and powiat center). The location above the sea is approx. 480 m. There is roughly the same distance to the cities of Krosno and Przemyśl (83 and 78 km) on the small and large respectively “Bieszczady ring road,”. There is a bus service to Ustrzyki from Rzeszów, Warsaw, Katowice and Nowy Sącz. The city has a rail link – like the city closest to the Bieszczady Highlands. The European watershed passes through the Ustrzyki area, and the river Strwiąż, along which the city extends, is the only river in Poland that has its final outlet in the Black Sea.
Ustrzyki is only 9 km from the international border crossing to Ukraine in Krościenko.

The site is first mentioned in written sources in 1502 (with the name form Ustryk), namely in a cover letter issued by the Polish king Jan Olbracht.
The site's development is furthered by its location near the important trade routes that led to Krosno, Sambor (now in Ukraine) and Hungary.
After the partition of Poland in 1772, the area came under Austrian administration. In 1872 – via Ustrzyki – a strategic railway line was established from Hungary to the Przemyśl fortress.
Important for developments in the 19th century. was also the beginning oil extraction in the Bieszczady area as well as the timber industry.
From 1939, the Ustrzyki area was under Soviet occupation; 1941-1944 the area was occupied by the Germans – with great loss of human life. After the war, Ustrzyki and its surroundings were within the borders of the Soviet Union, but by an exchange of border areas in 1951 the city returned to Poland.
Between 1972 and 1982, in Ustrzyki Dolne, a very large timber industrial company was built, processing timber from Bieszczady and the whole of Podkarpacie.
The city is now the center of the administrative district of Podkarpacie County: Bieszczady Powiat.

Tourist attractions

Thanks to its location in the middle of the mountains and a prolonged snow cover, Ustrzyki Dolne has the best conditions for growing winter sports. Ski lifts have been built on the nearby hillsides, which include downhill slopes and cross-country ski runs. The city stands for various events of sports and entertainment character. In the summer season there are bathing opportunities as well as well-marked hiking trails and bike paths can be used. Not far from the city are 2 stud farms that allow tourists to practice horse riding. A few kilometers away is the large artificial Solina lake, which is an Eldorado in all water sports and fishing.
Despite the devastation that wars have waged for centuries, there are still some interesting historic buildings in the city.

From the 18th century can be mentioned the sanctuary in Jasień, where you keep the wonderful image of “Mother of God from Bieszczady”.
Also worth noting is the Roman Catholic Church consecrated to the Mother of God, the Queen of Poland, which contains a valuable icon.
Traces of Eastern cultural influence can be seen, among other things. in the wooden church in Ustianowa (from the 18th century), home to a Greek Catholic congregation, the walled Orthodox church building in the city center and the former Orthodox church (now branch church) in Strwiążyk – from 1831.
A remembrance of the Jewish cultural element of the city is the synagogue, built around 1800.

Ustrzyki Dolne is the seat of the International Center for the Environment of the Polish Academy of Sciences and of the Bieszczady National Park Scientific Center with the associated Bieszczady Natural History Museum.

Surrounding Area

Ustrzyki Dolne municipality is inhabited by approximately 16,800 people. The municipality includes the following other (smaller) buildings:
Bandrow, Braniów, Arłamów, Brzegi Dolne, Daszówka, Dwiniacz Dolny, Grąziowa, Hoszowczyk, Hoszów, Jałowe, Jureczkowa, Krościenko, Kwaszenina, Liskowate, ozobozew Dolny, Łbozew Górny, Łodyna, Łodyna Teleśnica Sanna, Trzcianiec, Trójca, Ustianowa Dolna, Ustianowa Górna, Wojtkowa, Wojtkówka, Zadwórze.
These settlements are mainly villages where the inhabitants are engaged in small-scale farming (cattle breeding and arable farming) as well as agrotourism.

To the west of the municipality is the large one Lake Solina and Lake Myczkowce and to the south Bieszczady National Park .

Over 1/3 of the municipality's area is covered by forest. These forests are part of the large forest complex that extends from Slovakia and into Ukraine, and at the same time part of the Góry Słonne Nature Park, which surrounds the city to the north and east. The forests are home to numerous wildlife, making them attractive both for nature lovers and hunters. Two nature reserves have been set up near the town.

Accommodation

Booking.com

In total, there are about 3,000 accommodation places in the city's hotels, boarding houses, etc. The same facilities can accommodate approx. 1700 dining guests. There is accommodation for every purse in the form of hotels, guesthouses, holiday homes, holiday centers, farm holidays (agrotourism), hostels and private room rentals.

Accommodation links:

Urzad Miejski w Ustrzykach Dolnych (Official site of the municipality) – in Polish, English and German, with links to practical information for tourists

Eating Out:

Urzad Miejski w Ustrzykach Dolnych (Official site of the municipality) – in Polish, English and German, with links to practical information for tourists

Other Internet sites and sources

Urzad Miejski w Ustrzykach Dolnych (Official site of the municipality) – in Polish, English and German

Wooden holiday cottages at Ustrzyki Dolne

Translated into English by Google Translate. Spangshus.dk accept no liability for any errors or omissions in translation.

Forests

Greek Catholic Churches

Lakes

Mountains

National parks

Natural history museums

Natural parks

Russian Orthodox Churches

Sanktuarier

Synagogues

Water sports

Winter sports

Wooden churches