There are places in the Podkarpacie region where you can go to receive spa treatments, for your health and beauty. They all have a unique microclimate, unpolluted natural environment, as well as mineral therapeutic resources. If you add to this the nearby attractions, wholesome food and hospitality of the local people you get a recipe for a wonderful holiday. Here are five places in the Podkarpackie where you can enjoy leisure time and take care of your body and soul.
Polańczyk Zdrój
Polańczyk Zdrój is the largest holiday resort in the Podkarpacie region in terms of the number of spa houses and guest houses. It is located in a beautiful area on the edge of the Bieszczady Mountains on the shore of the artificial Lake Solina. Because of this location, the place has a rather mild and unique microclimate. Treatments offered in Polańczyk are intended for visitors with various medical conditions, including respiratory, cardiovascular and rheumatic diseases as well as diabetes. In addition to the pure mountain air, the most important therapeutic resources of Polańczyk include mineral water which can be used as a drinking cure and in therapeutic baths.
Polańczyk is also a popular centre for water sports. There are many well-marked hiking, cycling and horse riding trails in the area. In winter, ski lifts wait for tourists. You can enjoy a leisurely stroll along the shore of the lake and on the Solina dam walkway, where you can admire not only the mountains, but also the lovely islands on the ‘Bieszczady sea’.
Iwonicz-Zdrój
Iwonicz-Zdrój is one of the oldest Polish spa towns, with over 400-year history. The healing properties of the local mineral waters were first mentioned in 1578 by Wojciech Oczko, physician to King Stefan Batory. They were also mentioned by the doctor of Queen Marysieńka Sobieska, and even by the personal medic of King Louis XIV of France. In the 1800s, Iwonicz was known for its social and cultural life. It was visited by many famous and renowned people, including the painter Jan Matejko and the writer Eliza Orzeszkowa.
The therapeutic mineral waters are used for inhalation, drinking and bathing cures, and for the production of Iwonicz medicinal salt and cosmetics with ‘Iwoniczanka’ brand. The town is located in the Low Beskid, in the valley of the river Iwonicki Potok, among hills covered with fir and beech forests. Another great asset of Iwonicz-Zdrój is undoubtedly the microclimate which has been shown to have therapeutic properties. This is an excellent place for hiking and cycling. A number of walking paths lead from the town to the most interesting scenic places and landmarks. From the summit of Góra Winiarska you can admire the views of the eastern part of the spa town as well as the Rymanowskie Hills, Kamieniec castle, the surroundings of Krosno and Mount Cergowa.
Horyniec Zdrój
The history of this spa town goes back to the 17th century. King John III Sobieski himself used to come here for hunting and for healing baths. Horyniec is known for Poland's best resources of natural therapeutic mud, which is called ‘black gold’. Mud therapies are effective for treating musculoskeletal disorders, paresis, sciatica, joint degeneration and women's diseases. Visitors who come here to receive treatments can benefit from therapeutic baths.
Mineral water with high content of sulphur and hydrogen sulphide produce antibacterial, analgesic and anti-allergic effects. The treatment is also good for the body's immunity system. Horyniec-Zdrój is a type of lowland spa, with a large number of sunny days. During holidays in Horyniec you should visit the nearby attractions, such as the Nature Reserve on the Tanew River, the Palace of the Poniński Family, the Szumy waterfalls, or the beautiful Greek-Catholic Church in Dachnów, located along the Podkarpackie Wooden Architecture Route.
Rymanów-Zdrój
Rymanow-Zdrój is a spa town with many facilities providing therapies and treatments. Operations of this type were started in the second half of the 1800s by Count Potocki. The area around Rymanów and the nearby Iwonicz has a specific microclimate. Warm air coming in from the Hungarian Lowlands accumulates here, and the surrounding forests produce higher humidity; these phenomena contribute to the gentle microclimate which is one of the therapeutic assets of this area.
The main attractions here include the architecture of the historical buildings which contribute to the unique style and atmosphere of the town. Situated within the main park and in the town centre are wooden villas and guest houses from the 19th century with design inspired by Swiss-style spa architecture. These are the following villas: Opatrzność, Gołąbek, Zofia, Pogoń, Leliwa, as well as the wooden Villa Maria, a two-storey log building from the 1800s. In the centre of the town is the Pump Room where visitors can drink the mineral waters named Tytus, Klaudia and Celestyna.
Right next to it, you can relax at the graduation tower; the mineral mist in the air which you breathe here does not only build up immunity, but also helps with allergies and high blood pressure.
Latoszyn Zdrój
Although Latoszyn is the youngest health resort in the Podkarpackie, the natural mineral springs have been known here for a long time. In the 19th century, a spa and baths facility operated at the springs, it was however destroyed during the First World War. In 1932, owing to Wacław Krawczyk from Dębica, a new spa facility was established, and a few guesthouses were built here. This was a beginning of the spa village, which was very popular. Baths in water with high contents of sulphur as well as mud baths were applied as a treatment for rheumatic diseases.
These operations came to an end in 1944 and 1945, when the infrastructure was destroyed and the springs were buried as a result of the warfare. After the war, new boreholes were drilled. Research showed that water from Latoszyn is valuable because of its contents of minerals. In 1990, the water was officially recognised for its medicinal properties, and in 2012, the villages of Latoszyn and Podgrodzie received a status of protected spa-type area. In 2018, the small village near Dębica returned to the map of Polish health resorts.