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 area has been designated a protected area known as the Eagle Nests Landscape Park. The castles date mostly to the 14th century, and were constructed probably by the order of King of Poland Casimir the Great. The trail has been named the "Eagles' Nests", as most of the castles 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 border of Lesser Poland with the province of Silesia, which at that time belonged to the Kingdom of Bohemia. 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.

The castles of the Eagles' Nests

The Eagles' Nests castles, 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 Kraków as well as important trading routes against the foreign invaders. Later, the castles passed on into the hands of various Polish aristocratic families. ! Royal castles ! ! Knight's castles ! ! Defensive watchtowers Episcopal castles Residential-defensive towers

Picture gallery