We already learned about Bardejov in my last posts, and today we will learn about the calvary which is towering on a hill above the city.
I remember walking up the hill unwillingly, only to please my grandparents when I was a child. It's been a long time since I have visited the calvary, so I suggested to my family that we would walk up when we were in Bardejov. I faced some resistance from my mom who said it was too far away, but at the end all agreed and we were ready to go after lunch.
I was excited as I couldn't remember almost anything so it was like I was going there for the very first time.
Let's go!
The Bardejov Calvary is a charming colourful church on top of a hill. It takes about 30 minutes to get up to the platform and the hike is relatively easy. There are two options to walk up from Bardejov. You can walk up an old road with many cracks or you can walk right up through the forest. We chose the first option as my mom and my aunt are not fit enough for the latter one.
The Church of the Saint Cross is surrounded by high trees, so if you come up here to enjoy the views like we did you need to walk further away from the city.
It is surprisingly not so old. It was built in the second half of the 19th century by the locals who didn't even ask to be paid for their work. It was a special social movement and I can't imagine that we would do something like this today.
This would have been my preferred path but as my family outvoted me I agreed to follow them on a less steep and more comfortable road.
I love forests in spring. The fresh grass is coming out and there are plenty of colourful flowers.
Look how many there are!
There are 13 chapels leading to the church. You might wonder why 13 as there are 14 Stations of the Cross. It's because the stations 7 and 8 are placed in a cojoined chapel. The chapels were built with help of local donations and a promise that the donors gained the right to bury their deceased family members inside of the chapels. Chapels
In the past, the chapels were locked as there were valuable paintings and artifacts placed in each of them. The chapels were also used for official ceremonies. Today, they have been emptied, so they are only protected by low metal fences.
It was raining for several weeks before we came, so there was a lot of mud everywhere. This road looks relatively clean, but there were parts where we struggled to cross. 'Struggled' might be a strong word, but if you put on white snickers then you don't want to walk through mud, right? 🙂
It was a bit sad to see the empty chapels, but honestly I understand as they only want to protect the historical items.
Some parts were steep, but it's not easy to get it on photos. My mom and my aunt were walking so far behind me. My sister and my husband joined them eventually, so I was walking alone enjoying the serenity of the moment. Believe me, I needed to be alone as having my mother and my aunt in one room after a long time is a bit too much.
You cannot see the chapels from the city, but as soon as you enter the forest they line up and both sides of the hill and you can easily see where you are supposed to walk.
And we are in the middle of the calvary hill with its cojoined chapel.
In only a couple of minutes, I have reached the top of the hill with the church. There is a large cemetery situated in front of the church. This is where important citizen as well as people who helped to build the calvary are buried.
And we are in front of the church! This is where I realized that if I want to see the views of Bardejov I need to continue walking. My family was finally arriving, so I continued walking and hoping they will find me.
First, I have tried to open the door and enter the church, but it was closed. My aunt later explained to me that it is open only was ceremonies as some items were stolen in the past, so now it's locked unless there is a celebration.
I found a narrow path next to the church which led me to large meadows above the city.
There are small gardens nearby, so the path is suitable for cars too. I saw some cars passing by, but I would probably walk or bike to the garden as there are deep holes and the terrain is uneven.
Bardejov started to appear in front of me, but I wasn't happy yet. I continued walking..
Soon enough I saw my family emerging from the forest. They found the same path next to the church 🙂
Can you see the church behind the trees?
On this side we are looking in direction of the High Tatras. We couldn't spot them as the weather there was not ideal.
And those hills in the back are in Poland already.
I must admit that I didn't expect such beautiful views. I don't think that I have ever been so far. Probably, we always stopped at the calvary and didn't continue further.
This is where the small gardens start. I would love to have my garden in such a lovely environment.
My mom started protesting again wanting to return back. We convinced her to walk to the bushes and then turn around. We let her dog off the leash and he had the best time of his life. This was also one of the reasons why she agreed to continue walking.
It was a perfect day for this trip. It was not too cold and not too hot. Unfortunately, we didn't take any water with us, so couldn't stay very long.
And we managed to get the view of Bardejov! We had to walk quite far but it was worth it.
The dog found the biggest stick possible and tried to take it with us. Well, he wasn't successful as the stick was heavier than him, but he still had a lot of fun with it.
And it tasted delicious!
We had a great time and I hope to come back again.
See you next time!