Krynica

Introducing Krynica

Set in attractive countryside amid the wooded hills of the Beskid Sądecki, Krynica (kri-nee-tsah), often known as Krynica-Zdrój (Krynica Spa), is Poland’s largest spa and mountain health resort. Though the healing properties of the local mineral springs had been known for centuries, the town only really began to exploit them in the mid-19th century. By the end of the century Krynica was a fashionable hang-out for the artistic and intellectual elite and continued to be so right up until WWII. Splendid villas and pensions were constructed during that period, blending into the wooded landscape. Development continued after the war but priorities shifted towards cheap mass tourism, and massive concrete holiday homes and sanatoriums came to occupy the slopes of surrounding hills. Nevertheless, Krynica has managed to retain much of its laid-back, refined atmosphere.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009