If you live in Poznań, you probably know a few nice parks in Poznań, places like Park Wilsona, Park Chopina, Park Sołacki, Cytadela, and all the other beautiful parks located near the city center. But if you’re a foreigner and an expat in Poznań and looking for new interesting places, where to go, cool spots, must see, top things to do in Poznań on the weekend, we highly recommend visiting Dębina:
→ Its name comes from the word “dąb”, which means oak. Dębina is full of these beautiful trees, some of which are really old.
→ With 80 hectares of area and 11 kilometers of paths, Dębina is a great place for both walking and cycling.
→ There are four big ponds in Dębina:
- Staw Słoneczny (The Sunny Pond)
- Staw Dębowy (The Oak Pond)
- Staw Grundela (its name comes from the German word Grundel, meaning a goby)
- Staw Borusa (named after a local forester)
→ Dębina is home to many animals such as ducks (kaczki), swans (łabędzie), turtles (żółwie), beavers (bobry a.k.a k**** bober), roe deer (sarny), and wild boars (dziki). You don’t need to be scared of them, but we also don’t recommend petting or touching them. A mother wild boar might be aggressive when protecting her young.
→ In the heart of the park, you’ll also find a bar called “Bufet u Borusa.” It offers nice food at very low prices. It might be a bit hard to order anything in English there, but not worries – talking Polish is the best way to learn Polish, so here are some simple and useful phrases in Polish:
- poproszę frytki (French fries, please)
- poproszę piwo (Beer, please)
- poproszę kiełbasę (A sausage, please)
- poproszę zapiekankę (You’ve probably heard of zapiekanka before — it’s a classic Polish street food: an open-faced sandwich, sometimes called “Polish pizza,” with mushrooms and cheese.)
→ Location: This huge park is located between two districts: Starołęka and Dębiec. A long time ago, Dębiec used to be a dangerous district, but now it’s charming and perfectly safe. We still have a rhyming saying: “każdy z Dębca to przestępca” (everyone from Dębiec is a criminal), though. Probably you’ve heard a lot of stereotypes about certain districts of Poznań (not only about Dębiec, but also Jeżyce or Łazarz), but don’t worry – today’s Poznań is a very safe place.
The name of Starołęka district is combined from two words: stara (old) and łąka (meadow). To enter Starołęka, you must cross the Warta River using a newly renovated bridge. You can easily go back to the center by tram from Starołęka, but I strongly recommend walking back there along the Warta instead. There are almost no people by the river in this area, the nature is wild, and the views are stunning.
→ How to get to Dębina: The bus stop is called Piastowska. You can get there by bus no. 603, 171, or 176. Piastowska is a request stop (przystanek na żądanie), so make sure to press the stop button in time. 🙂
If you’d like to speak Polish with the Dębina’s forest ranger in Polish, or ask about the availability of the shelter and fire pit (a great spot for a party!), we invite you to join our unique Spoko Polish language course – the best way to learn Polish.
The courses are conducted online, so you can take part from any city!
At SPOKO Polish school, you’ll learn modern, useful language in an accessible and enjoyable way, and you’ll learn a lot about Polish culture.
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