Ochotnica Górna

• Today’s Magurki clearing is part of the old Magurki mountain pasture, one of the largest and best-preserved historic grazing areas in Ochotnica.
• The observation tower was built in 2015 and is one of the main points of the Szlak Kultury Wołoskiej.
• The tower stands on the 1,108-metre-high Magurki peak, at the eastern edge of the clearing below.
• On the southern side of the clearing is Królczyków Koliba, a shepherd’s hut with numerous Wallachian features.
• The origins of Magurki are associated with a group of Wallachian shepherds who settled there around the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries.
• The wooden chapel of St Joseph the Worker stands in the private open-air ethnographic museum in Studzionki.

Magurki is more than a single viewpoint. The name refers both to the peak and to the clearing below. Today’s clearing is part of an old mountain pasture, one of the largest and best-preserved historic grazing areas in Ochotnica. This place brings together a distinctive landscape and a traditional form of pastoral use.

The observation tower helps distinguish the two places called Magurki: it stands on the 1,108-metre-high peak, at the eastern edge of the clearing. The tower was built in 2015 and is one of the main points of the Szlak Kultury Wołoskiej. If you are interested in this route, this helps place the tower within the cultural landscape described here.

Królczyków Koliba is also part of this picture, but is located on another side of the clearing: the shepherd’s hut stands to the south and has numerous Wallachian features. The tower, mountain pasture and hut can thus be understood as distinct landmarks around Magurki, rather than being treated as the same place.

The origins of Magurki are associated with the first group of Wallachian shepherds to settle there around the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. This cautious historical attribution gives the old mountain pasture a timeframe. Together with the shepherd’s hut, it offers a way to explore pastoralism and Wallachian features, without suggesting that the two details say the same thing about the past: one concerns the tradition surrounding the area’s origins, while the other concerns the characteristic features of the koliba.

Another cultural stop is in Studzionki, a mountain settlement in Ochotnica Górna. The wooden chapel of St Joseph the Worker stands there in a private open-air ethnographic museum. As a building, it is clearly distinct from the shepherd’s hut at Magurki. If you would like to identify different expressions of regional culture, the chapel and the koliba offer two specific, separate examples.

The places described offer different points of interest for planning your trip: Magurki combines a historic mountain pasture with a peak, observation tower and shepherd’s hut; Studzionki is represented here by the chapel in the private open-air museum. When comparing accommodation, consider which of these themes matters most to you. These facts provide cultural and landscape context without conflating the different places into a single destination.

If you would like to compare more destinations, also discover: Łopuszna, Tylmanowa, Tylka, Lasek, Rokiciny Podhalańskie, Szczawnica, Raba Wyżna and Grywałd.

What is the Magurki clearing?

Today’s clearing is part of the old Magurki mountain pasture, one of the largest and best-preserved historic grazing areas in Ochotnica.

Where are the observation tower and Królczyków Koliba?

The tower stands on the 1,108-metre-high Magurki peak, at the eastern edge of the clearing below. The Królczyków Koliba shepherd’s hut is on its southern side.

Where is the chapel of St Joseph the Worker?

The wooden chapel stands in the private open-air ethnographic museum in Studzionki, a mountain settlement in Ochotnica Górna.

For the broader travel overview: Nowotarski.