Trzy Korony

Lore & Background

The Three Crowns was originally called simply Pieniny. In 1834, during the reign of Austria-Hungary, a German name Kronenberg appeared in documents, translated into Polish as the Crown. The current name took hold around 1860. The summit has been a tourist attraction for a very long time, with the first recorded trek to the top taking place in 1767 and regular tourists walking up around 1830. In 1906, the first official route from Krościenko was labeled with blue signs. After the liberation of Poland, the Three Crowns was bought by the Polish government from its private owners in 1929 and turned into the Pieniny National Park in 1932.

Reader's Guide

Trzy Korony is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Pieniny Mountains. The observation deck on Okrąglica hangs over a 500-meter precipice, offering views of the Dunajec river gorge, the Pieniny National Park, the Tatra Mountains, Beskid Sądecki, Gorce Mountains, and Beskid Żywiecki. In clear weather, one can see as far as Babia Góra, 63 km away. The summit is accessible via several color-marked trails from towns such as Szczawnica, Krościenko nad Dunajcem, Czorsztyn, and Sromowce Wyżne. During the tourist season, access to the platform requires payment and allows entry to the peak of Sokolica as well. The massif contains at least seven species of rare plants not found elsewhere in Pieniny, including the endemic but extinct Pieniny dandelion and Złocień Zawadzkiego. The fourth peak, Pańska or Bryłowa Skała, is a nesting zone for the rare wallcreeper bird.

Did You Know?

• The second tallest peak, Płaska Skała, rises 950 m above sea level.
• At the top of the third peak, Nad Ogródki, there used to be a weather station built in 1933 and operated manually by a hermit.
• The smallest peak, Niżnia Okrąglica, stands 80 m lower than the tallest peak and used to contain the original observation deck.
• The massif hosts the rare Pieniny Apollo butterfly, whose caterpillar feeds on Rozchodnik wielki.