Rusinowa Clearing and Wiktorówki

Holy Mother Jaworzyńska Chapel on Wiktorówki. also known as Holy Mother Queen of Tatra Chapel or Holy Mother Jaworzyńska Queen of Tatra Sanctuary, is a place willingly visited by tourists. Located in dense, spruce forest, it encourages thought and contemplation.

We begin our trip on Wierch Poroniec (also pronounced Wierchporoniec). There is a small, paid parking lot and a TPN entry ticket booth open from 15 april to 30 september. Only on start, our trail will go a little bit up, just to become nearly flat after couple of minutes. Great view of Magura Spiska, Bielskie Tatra and High Tatra accompanies us on the left side. A comfortable path leads us mostly by forest, making hot, sunny days walks easier. After circa one hour of calm march we get to Rusinowa Clearing, where a wide panorama of High Tatra (mostly Slovak) and Bielskie Tatra unfolds. This is a very popular place for tourists, gladly visited. Apart from wooden benches and tables, where we can take a rest, there is a hut at the edge of the glade where we can buy sheep milk products (sery, żętyca) due to cultural sheep pasturage. There is also another hut, currently closed, where a Matron – Aniela Kobylarczyk resided, hosting tourists many years ago.

From Rusinowa Clearing we can get to Gęsia Szyja (green signs), Palenica Baiłczańska (blue), Polana pod Wołoszynem (black) and to Holy Mother Queen of Tatra on Wiktorówki Sanctuary (again, blue signs). As for us, lets follow blue signs towards the temple. We leave the glade and venture towards spruce forest by a broad path. We cross the bridge above the stream coming from Gęsia Szyja's massif, and go down by a steep route. The trail is not so comfortable at this point. We must be careful, escpecially when it's wet (!). After few minutes we arrive at temple's gates.

Small, wooden temple perfectly fits its surroundings. It was built in 1930s, in a place which already had its history. It was told, that in year 1861, exactly here in Wiktorówki, Marysia Murzańska, a local shepherdess, had a vision of Holy Mother. There are memorial boards dedicated to people that lost their life in mountains around the chapel. The temple is administered by Dominican fathers, who were entrusted in year 1957. Wiktorówki chapel was often visited by John Paul II, still as Karol Wojtyła.

From Holy Mother Jaworzyńska Sanctuary we can go back to Wierch Poroniec the same trail as before, or the blue trail to Złota Valley exit (Zazadnia clearing).