Wdecki Landscape Park Set for Further Development
One of the highlights of Marshal Piotr Całbecki’s visit to Świecie and Tuchola counties on Monday (13 July) was a stop in Tleń. During the visit, the Marshal toured the site where the staff of the Wdecki Landscape Park are planning to create a new educational space on the grounds surrounding the historic Miller’s House, located on a picturesque four-hectare property. He also visited the Kociewie Heritage Room housed in the Tleń railway station. The visit was attended by Members of Parliament Iwona Kozłowska and Iwona Karolewska, Regional Councillor Tadeusz Pogoda, Wdecki Landscape Park Director Daniel Siewert, and Park Ranger Julita Karpus.
“Landscape parks are invaluable natural and tourist assets, as well as tangible testimonies to our region’s cultural heritage. Throughout the year, they attract numerous visitors and school groups. That is why the regional self-government actively supports landscape parks in protecting nature and local heritage, while strengthening their environmental and educational functions,” said Marshal Piotr Całbecki, summing up the visit to Tleń.
The four-hectare property in Tleń was transferred to the Wdecki Landscape Park by the regional self-government at the end of 2025. It includes a 17th-century building that once served as the miller’s house and later housed, among other things, a post office. The park intends to transform the site into an educational facility.
The building could become a museum presenting the history, traditions, customs, and natural heritage of this part of the Tuchola Forest. Park staff have already begun collecting historical artefacts from the Kociewie region, which are currently displayed in one of the rooms of the Miller’s House and could form the foundation of the future museum. The park is encouraging local residents to support the initiative by donating historical objects to the Centre for Active Nature Conservation in Tleń.
Recently, the grounds of the Miller’s House hosted the Natural Tourism Festival, organised as part of the “Summer in the Constellations” programme.
Park staff also point out that they have long lacked a permanent educational trail. The site is ideally suited for this purpose, as it lies at the confluence of the Prusina and Wda rivers and encompasses a variety of habitats, including aquatic, wetland, meadow, and forest ecosystems.
The park’s educators plan to organise educational activities for visitors of all ages, from young children to senior citizens, including programmes for Universities of the Third Age. They also intend to develop the area with educational installations, models of local flora and fauna, shelters, and a designated campfire area.
Another advantage of the site is its close proximity to the Wdecki Landscape Park’s Centre for Active Nature Conservation. This would also allow it to serve as a centre for documenting, promoting, and preserving the park’s cultural heritage. The surrounding area contains numerous still-undiscovered archaeological sites of national scientific and tourism value.
In 2017, archaeologists discovered the remains of a 4th-century Gothic settlement within the park. In subsequent years, further discoveries included a Bronze Age burial mound and the grave of a German soldier from the Second World War. The historic Miller’s House could also become an important venue for local community events, meetings, and workshops.
During his visit, Marshal Piotr Całbecki also toured the Kociewie Heritage Room at the Tleń railway station, which is managed by the Wdecki Landscape Park. The exhibition features artefacts illustrating the everyday life of the region’s former inhabitants, the history of the local railway, and traditional woodworking. Most recently, the museum welcomed passengers taking part in the inaugural seasonal journey of the “Borsuk” train from Toruń to Tleń.
The Wdecki Landscape Park was established in 1993 and is headquartered in Osie, in Świecie County. Administratively, it covers parts of seven municipalities: Osie, Drzycim, Warlubie, Lniano, Jeżewo, Śliwice, and Cekcyn.
In 2022, the park expanded its educational infrastructure with the opening of the Centre for Active Nature Conservation in Tleń. That same year, Poland’s first “Silent Trail” was created within the park. Inspired by solutions developed in Central Finland, the trail was established by the Kujawsko-Pomorskie regional self-government as part of the pilot project “Quiet Areas as a Tourist Attraction” under the Interreg Europe programme.
The discovery of the 4th-century Gothic settlement near Osie in 2017 is regarded as one of the most significant archaeological finds of its kind in Poland.
The Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region is currently home to ten landscape parks administered by the regional self-government:
- Wdecki Landscape Park
- Brodnicki Landscape Park
- Gostynińsko-Włocławski Landscape Park
- Górznieńsko-Lidzbarski Landscape Park
- Krajeński Landscape Park
- Nadgoplański Millennium Landscape Park
- Tucholski Landscape Park
- The Association of Landscape Parks „Lower Vistula Valley”, comprising:
- Chełmno Landscape Park
- Lower Vistula Landscape Park
- Łosiowe Hills Landscape Park
Beata Krzemińska
Spokesperson of the Marshal’s Office
14 July 2026