Mielno

Between two shores

On the one side - the Baltic Sea, on the other one - Jamno lake, and between them on its narrow sand-bank spit - Mielno. No wonder it is one of the most popular seaside towns in Poland, the pearl in the crown of Western Pomerania.

In the summer, tourists hungry for a holiday atmosphere choose this place as their destination. Wide beaches await them dusted with a soft quartz sand - the only of its kind in Europe. They can walk a promenade along the shore and continue it through a sand-dune forest. Tourist routes are well marked for trekking trips while cycling enthusiasts will find an abundance of cycle routes marked out for them. The beauty of this area can also be admired from the deck of the ship or the windows of the aircraft.

There are lots of attractions for everyone... Throughout the high season, the organisation Mielno Artistic Summer invites you to its events: Summer Cinema, Indian Festival, Zumba Summer Party, and the Super Star Karaoke Festival. These are just some suggestions that it clear why more and more music, film and cabaret artists are visiting Mielno.

In the winter, the town transforms into the European capital of Winter Swimming. Since 2004, every year in February, thousands of winter-swimming enthusiasts have arrived here to take part in the International Winter Swimmers Rally. A giant walrus sculpture next to the main beach entrance reminds us of their presence. Around the corner in front of the town hall another friendly animal has its own monument. Mielno’s Deer in the square finds its way into every visitor’s photo album. There is also fun to be had at "Family Park" and the aerial adventure park "Tukan".

The medicinal properties of the natural sea spray aerosols abundant in Mielno’s mild, maritime climate make tourists eager to rest here throughout the year. The resort’s array of accommodation facilities is growing all the time to fulfil the expectations of family, business and health tourism.

Not only is Mielno a great holiday destination, it's a town with a long history that is visible everywhere. The first mention of the old Moellen settlement dates back to 1266. The name most likely derives from the Old Slavic "miela" meaning shoal.

The first mentions of the small fishing village called Unieście (now within the district of Mielno), whose name is thought to derive from the Slavic word "wnieście" (which means roughly ‘Place where things are brought in’), are recorded at around the same time.

And so, the obligatory points on the sightseeing tour include Mielno’s gothic Church of the Transfiguration. The urns with ashes discovered nearby indicate that earlier the hill was presumably a pagan place of worship. On the other side of the Koszalin Seaside Park, a Slavic settlement dating back to the 9th or 10th century has been restored. You cannot miss the alleyway here tangled with the contorted limbs of beeches. Girth measurements of their trunks reach up to 200-300 cm! The alleyway is just one element of a 3.5-acre manor park from the late 18th/early 19th century.

There is much to offer in Unieście. An exceptional likeness of Madonna and Child can be found in the Church of Our Lady of the Sea Star. This wooden figurine was created no earlier than in 1300 and brought here as a gift.

The remnants of a Luftwaffe sea-rescue airbase bear witness to the village’s stormy history. Its construction was begun in 1935, four years before the outbreak of World War II.

Observers on the beach are often intrigued by a steel cylinder protruding from the Baltic seabed some 150 metres from the shore. Despite the distance, it is well visible from the mainland. There used to be a sea-level recorder inside it that transferred sea level fluctuations to the mareographic station of the State Hydrological and Meteorological Institute.

The fishing harbour in Unieście is, obviously, at ul. Rybacka (‘Fisherman’s Street’). There are fishing boats "getting some rest" on the beach, and at the harbour there are wooden figures of fishermen and pirates that keep order. Here you can try local specialities such as pickled cod liver (‘marynowane wątróbki z dorsza’) all year round.

Narrower yachts have their own dock at the marine club "Tramp"; one of the oldest and most famous sailing clubs in Poland.

And there is another harbour from which a ship charmingly called "Koszałek" sails out for 40-minute cruises across Jamno lake. It docks at the Jamno marina on the Koszalin side, and the marina at the Jamno Canal.