Bacówka na Bukowinie, Żabnica: sheep's cheese and alpacas

Bacówka na Bukowinie stands on a slope above the village of Żabnica, next to Węgierska Górka, where the Żywiec Beskids meet the Silesian Beskids. It is a family farm with more than a thousand sheep. In summer the flock grazes on the Beskid mountain pastures, known in Polish as hale; the sheep are milked and the cheese is made every day right at the bacówka. The owners stress that their cheeses contain sheep's milk only, with no chemical additives meant to “improve” taste or looks.

Grazing here is about more than cheese. The bacówka took part in a LIFE+ project to protect the treeless mountain meadows of the Żywiec and Silesian Beskids: without sheep, the pastures quickly turn to scrub, and rare plants and the old shepherding culture disappear with them.

Why go

• Taste and buy fresh cheese where it is made: bundz, smoked bundz, bryndza, oscypek-style cheeses and gołki, plus sheep's kefir, yoghurt and żętyca, the traditional whey drink.
• See the flock and the animals up close. A pen holds sheep you can stroke and feed with carrots, and alpacas live next to them. A walk with three alpacas on leads lasts 20 minutes, and no advance booking is needed.
• Catch the redyk. At the end of the grazing season the farm holds an autumn redyk, the ceremonial return of the sheep from the pastures. In 2026 it was set for 27 September: a procession with the sheep from the riverside boulevards of the Soła in Węgierska Górka to the bacówka, a thanksgiving mass, a show of shepherding traditions, tastings of sheep products, folk bands and craft stalls.

What to taste and buy

The highlight is bundz, a young soft cheese that Poles jokingly call “Polish mozzarella”: sweet and buttery in the first days, then ripening and turning sour. The bacówka also makes smoked bundz with herbs: it is aged for a few days, dipped in brine and then smoked naturally over beech and alder. Another local speciality is the “Beskid cheese” with cranberries or fenugreek, shaped from scalded bundz and smoked over beech wood. Bryndza is made from their own bundz, ripened for several days and then crumbled and salted. Newer products include sheep's halloumi. The shelves also carry honey, natural syrups, cranberries and souvenirs. You can have coffee or tea with home-made cake on site, and ice cream in summer.

Practical information

Address: ul. Bukowina 5, 34-350 Żabnica. The bacówka lies on the southern edge of Węgierska Górka, by the S69 road from Żywiec to Zwardoń, about 15 km from the centre of Żywiec. You can drive right up to it and there is a car park, so it suits families with children and people who are not planning to hike. Hours: open daily; the website gives no exact times, so call before a long trip. Prices: alpaca walk 70 zł for 20 minutes, carrots for the animals 10 zł a bag. Contact: +48 668 280 268, [email protected]. Some products can also be ordered from the online shop on the website.

Nearby

• The 1939 defence forts of Węgierska Górka, including Fort Wędrowiec, next to which an extra car park opens during the redyk.
• Lake Żywiec, the reservoir on the Soła half an hour's drive to the north.
• The castles of Żywiec: the Old Castle, the Habsburg palace and a large park.
• From Żabnica, trails lead to Hala Boracza and Rysianka, among the finest mountain pastures of the Żywiec Beskids.

Official website: bacowkanabukowinie.pl

Photos: bacowkanabukowinie.pl.