New bridges by the Poprad River and bicycle routes

The local portal of Muszyna informs about numerous investments that are going to promote the village among tourists – amateurs of nature and the architecture monuments of Lemkovyna and the Presovian Rus’. On 17 February 2017 in the Manor House in Muszyna (Dwór Starostów) the secretary of the Ministry of Development of the Republic of Poland passed an agreement on realization of the first project of the series entitled: “Resorts within the Polish-Slovak borderline as a way of realising health tourism, recognisable in Europe.” Within the agreement, bicycle routes will be built that are going to connect the Polish-Slovak resort area and promote the net of Poprad Resorts as a common and competitive region with regarding to any other European resort. The first element of he cooperation will be building cross-border bicycle routes that will connect Krynica, Piwniczna, Szczawnica in Lemkovyna and Ruzbachy, Stara Lubovna, Lubovnianske Kupele, Bardejov and Bardejovske Kupele in the Presov area. In the Hnezdne village near Kamienka, the route will connect with a similar bicycle route that leads through the Tatra mountains. The by-Poprad route will lead through the most precious and the most beautiful protected areas, national parks, monuments of wooden architecture and natural resources of mineral waters. The whole route will contain marked areas for tourists and repeatable elements of the small architecture that are to be inspired by the traditional Rusyn architeture. The idea of  marking and describing the route will be the further effect of a planned competition. The routes will partly lad through new and partly through already existing fragments of roads. As the coordinators explain, the project aims to promote multicultural heritage and traditions of the Poprad Valley. The whole bicycle route will be almost 230 km long and there is over 5 mln zl prepared for the investment, 85% of which will be funded by European grants.

The second investment that will contribute to the development of the bicycle routes will be about making the bicycle paths by the Poprad river a part of international route EuroVelo11 (EV11). EuroVelo11 started in North Cape, Norway and it goes through 11 countries, finishing in the Athens, Greece. Within the grant, a 28 km part between Mnisek by the Poprad river and Muszyna will be built and, what is even more interesting, two bridges between Andriivka and Maly Lipnik, as well as between Legnava and Milik. There are also plans to mark the road of “not intensive traffic” between Muszyna and Presov on the length of almost 72 km. The road will be adapted according to the standards of the EuroVelo net of roads. It will lead alternately through the Polish and Slovak shore of the borderline river. The route will lead from the railway station in Muszyna through the bridge to the other shore – Zapopradzie (Behind Poprad), further to Legnava, then through a bridge to Milik and Andriivka, the through a bridge to Maly Lipnik, through Sulin to Mnisek and Andriivka, and further to Nowy Sącz.  A part will be marked as a bicycle route only – from Maly Lipnik through a hill to Plavnica, Lipany, Sabinov, Velky Saris to Presov. The investment shall be ready until October 2017. Within the project, three places where cyclists will be served are planned, a service centre in Maly Lipnik and informational point for tourists in Sulin.

photo above – the Poprad River