Sport, tourism and recreation - good rest within your fingertips
Sport, tourism and recreation - good rest within your fingertips
Szamotuły has well developed sport and recreation facilities, so the town can offer a possibility to spend leisure time in an attractive way. The sport heart of the town beats quickly in the football pitch and its two training areas, in the Wacław Hall, summer swimming pool, indoor swimming pool, skate park, Orlik sports grounds and conveniently located tennis centre (ten tennis courts and two indoor courts). The football pitch boasts with the best quality new grass surface and offers 3000 seats for the spectators and modern social infrastructure which ensures great potential for successful organization of sport events. The high standards of the sport facilities were proven by organizing the European Under - 19 Football Championship in 2006. Very positive opinion about the level of organization by Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) confirmed the European standards of our sports facilities and recommended them to use as a centre for sportsmen during international events, such as European Championships.
Casting is a very good example of such activities. It is an original sport discipline of throwing bait or a lure using a fishing line out to the marked aim of targets. Szamotuły has been an attractive venue to this top event for a few years. The adventure started with Polish Junior Championship which was followed by more prominent international events. In September 2014 Senior World Casting Championship took place in Szamotuły. 16 European countries as well as Japan and Australia were represented during the competition. International Sport Casting Federation (ICSF) appreciated the town, its hospitality and organization. Szamotuły is expected to keep a settled interest of the organizers of this sport discipline.
In April 2014 European Under-18 Rugby Union Championship took place in the stadium in Szamotuły. Our town was one of 10 Wielkopolska towns which were venues to the championship. The International Rugby Board appreciated the town, its hospitality and organization so much that in the future the tournament will probably take place in our town once more. Thanks to a close contact with this sport discipline young people had a chance to learn the rules and even take a fancy to this sport.
Cycling is another sports discipline which is popular in Szamotuły. Our town boasts with long and strong cycling traditions. Halszka town was a location of a few stages of Peace Race and Bałtyk-Karkonosze Race. In 2012 the town authorities and Szamotuły Sport and Recreation Centre (Sports Centre at present) decided lit the flame of cycling spirit in Szamotuły by organizing the first after a long break street cycling race. Since 2012, a periodical criterium at the lap in Sportowa – Lipowa – Kotlarska streets has taken place in Szamotuły. The best youngster cyclists from Poland and abroad compete here. The very same lap is a challenge for amateur cyclers who want to take part in the race in Szamotuły. Every year the interest in the Criterium is bigger. Over 200 competitors have been taking part in the competition since 2014.
Volleyball enthusiasts can find something for themselves. Women Volleyball Tournament “Szamotuły Cup” is one of the settled positions on the schedule. In the last match of this competition the champion of Poland plays against last season Polish Cup winner. It is so called Polish Super Cup match. The tournament is a result of the stress put on popularizing volleyball among children and teenagers. At the same time it strengthens interest in this sport discipline. Women players of UKS Szamotulanin and their achievements prove that this policy is successful. Szamotuły Volleyball School Centre (so called SOS) supports such activities.
After intensive sport competition, artistic performances or active leisure in Szamotuły and its neighborhood one can relax in Maraton Centre, a perfect place for business, recreation and sport. The Centre offers a three star hotel, hostel rooms for youngsters, a restaurant, conference halls, a swimming pool, a recreational swimming pool with an eighty-meter slide, a sauna, tub spa, a gym, fitness halls, a sports stadium and an indoor sporting arena. After intensive physical activity and good relaxation there is time for a good meal. It would be a mistake to leave Centrum restaurant and look for a good cuisine outside Maraton.
Maraton Centre, facilitated by Wacław Hall, organizes numerous cultural and sports events, so common in Szamotuły. Spacious premises are the best place for huge exhibitions and numerous events, such as Easter Tables, BMX and skateboard tournaments. In the near future the hall will be rebuilt and acoustically improved. This will raise its attractiveness for the prospect cultural and sporting events.
A swimming pool is an integral part of Maraton Centre. It is a perfect place for sport and recreation for Szamotuły citizens. During free classes for primary and junior secondary school pupils, they gain an indispensable ability of swimming. The pool in Szamotuły is also a venue for Special Olympics. They bring a lot of fun and satisfaction to a unique group of young people.
Beside convenient sport facilities, the town offers numerous possibilities of spending leisure time. Hiking trails, cycling lanes (about 30 km) and deep forests (Notecka Forest about 8 km from the town) make the town and its vicinity an attractive place for recreation.
Numerous water areas, such as a reservoir near Myszkowo or a lake in Pamiatkowo, make the area even more interesting. It is commonly known that there is no better place to rest than the nature. That is why Szamotuły Commune has prepared a wide offer of farm tourism, where, next to rural atmosphere and different ways of recreation, a tourist can find local products.
Horse enthusiasts will definitely like the Equestrian Centre in Baborówko which is dynamically gaining its popularity. It has been a venue to several editions of Equestrian Festival Baborówko. Horse Trials is the most difficult discipline during the festival. It draws equestrian elite from all over Europe. This top difficulty horse riding competition has a growing number of supporters from Szamotuły, Poznan and other regions of Poland and abroad. Equestrian festivals and traditional Saint Hubertus hunting tours turn small Baborówko into a renowned and vibrant equestrian centre.
Museum - Górka Castle with one of the biggest in Poland collections of Orthodox icons, Halszka Tower, gothic minor basilica and the Holy Cross Church with the neighboring buildings of a former Franciscan monastery are definitely worth recommendation. The monastery gate is opened during numerous exhibitions and when the music sounds in its patio and refectory. Visiting the austere interior of the former monastery gives a feeling that history in this magic place turns into the moving experience.
The mentioned qualities connected with sport and tourism are enriched by the pilgrimage route of St. James which goes across Szamotuły. The town is on the way of so called Droga Lubuska (Lubuska Road) – one of the European St. James pilgrimage routes, which meets with other routes and leads to the St. James Cathedral in Santiago de Compostella in Spain.
For Christians Santiago de Compostella is the third most important pilgrimage place, following Rome and Jerusalem. It is believed to be the place of burial of the remains of St. James the Greater Apostle. The tradition of pilgrimage is dated back to the 9th century. You can reach the place by numerous routes, one of which crosses Szamotuly. It is the so called Droga Lubuska (Lubuska Route) which is connected with the old Droga Wielkopolska (Wielkopolska Route) which leads from Gniezno through Poznan, Głogów, Zgorzelec to Prague; and further to Brandenburg. Droga Lubuska, which runs through Szamotuły, starts in Murowana Goslina and via Oborniki, Szamotuły, Ostroróg, Wronki, Miedzychód, Miedzyrzecz, Sulecin reaches Słubice and Frankfurt (Oder) to cross Brandenburg. Droga Lubuska in west Wielkopolska is the same as E11 European long distance path.
