Hala Rycerzowa

Hala Rycerzowa is a large mountain meadow in the Wielka Racza group in the west of the Żywiec Beskids, above the village of Soblówka in the commune of Ujsoły, right by the Slovak border. It covers the pass below Rycerzowa, also called Przełęcz Halna (1,165 m), and the slopes of the two summits above it – Wielka Rycerzowa (1,226 m) and Mała Rycerzowa (1,207 m). The largest part of the meadow lies on the eastern slopes of the pass; here, on a flat terrace, stands the PTTK bacówka on Rycerzowa, the main landmark of the hala. The meadow belongs to the Żywiec Landscape Park.

In the Carpathians a "hala" was a meadow that was not mown but only grazed; the second part of the name comes from the villages of Rycerka Dolna and Rycerka Górna, which probably belonged to knights (rycerz). The name Rycerka is already mentioned by Andrzej Komoniecki in his Żywiec chronicle at the beginning of the 18th century. The meadow itself, like most pastures of the Żywiec Beskids, was created by the Vlachs – shepherds who came here from the eastern Carpathians – by "cyrhlenie", that is by burning and felling the forest. Because mountain pastoralism became unprofitable, grazing on Rycerzowa has long since declined, but the large treeless spaces have made the hala one of the best viewpoints in the region. The rare saw-toothed bellflower (Campanula serrata) grows here.

The bacówka on Rycerzowa was opened on 14 September 1975 to a design by the architect Stanisław Karpiel. It is the first of a series of small wooden "bacówki" – shelters for experienced hikers that PTTK built in the Beskids in the following years on the initiative of Edward Moskała. Originally there was a plan to fly the finished building in by helicopter from Soblówka, but it was abandoned for technical reasons. The hut is not connected to the power grid.

What to see and do

• The panorama from the bacówka: the Lipowska and Rysianka ridges, the Pilsko and Babia Góra massifs, the Tatras and Podhale, and to the south the Slovak Low Tatras and Malá Fatra. On a clear day the Tatras can be seen even from the hut's windows.
• Two summits above the hala: Wielka Rycerzowa is 15 minutes from Przełęcz Halna on the red trail, and the meadows on the north-eastern slopes of Mała Rycerzowa are 15 minutes on the green trail.
• Autumn: in September and October the grasses on the ridge turn russet and the surrounding forests yellow and red.

How to get there

The most popular approaches start in Soblówka. The shortest and easiest is the yellow trail (Krawców Wierch – Przysłop Pass): about 4.6 km and roughly 2 hours up. The black trail Soblówka – Rycerzowa PTTK Hut is about 6 km long with 480 m of ascent. A longer but very scenic route leads from Ujsoły over the summit of Muńcuł on the green trail Ujsoły – Hala Rycerzowa (10.2 km, about 4 h 50 min). The hala can also be reached by the red main ridge trail from Zwardoń over Wielka Racza and by the blue trail from Przełęcz Przegibek. It is an ordinary mountain hike on forest paths – manageable for children who already hike, but not with a pram.

Season and safety

The hala is open all year; there are no tickets in the landscape park. In winter people come here on skis (a red ski-touring trail runs from Zwardoń), but the weather on the open ridge changes quickly: fog, wind and snow make navigation much harder. The trail south of Przełęcz Halna runs along the Polish-Slovak border – Slovakia has its own rules and rescue number (HZS 18 300). The Polish mountain rescue service GOPR can be reached at 985 or 601 100 300.

Nearby

The yellow trail leads east to the Hala Krawcula meadow below Krawców Wierch, and across the Slovak border, in the valley below Rycerzowa, lies the Kysuce Village Museum and Forest Railway, Vychylovka.

Photos: Adam Dziura, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Pudelek, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Marek Ślusarczyk (Tupungato) Photo gallery, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Adrian Tync, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.