Nowy Sącz County

Nowy Sącz County is an administrative district in the south-eastern part of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, bordering Slovakia. Its administrative seat is the city of Nowy Sącz, which is not part of the county. The current county was established in 1999, but its history dates back to the mid-19th century, when it was part of Galicia under Austro-Hungarian rule. Over the years, the region was inhabited by Poles, Lemko Ukrainians, Germans, and others, and experienced significant changes due to post-World War II deportations.

The county is known for its mountain ranges, including parts of the Sądecki Beskid, Low Beskid, and Wyspowy Beskid, as well as the valleys of the Dunajec, Poprad, and Kamienica rivers. Large forest areas cover much of the region, with the Poprad Landscape Park and the artificial Rożnów Lake as natural highlights. The area is famous for its mineral waters, spas, and Lemko cultural heritage.

Key towns and villages with the most karpaty.rocks objects include Piwniczna-Zdrój, Krynica-Zdrój, Żegiestów, Muszyna, Wierchomla Mała, Szczawnik, Złotne, Uherce, Młodów, and Stary Sącz. Numerous hiking trails cross the county, such as "Piwniczna Zdrój – Obidza", "Rytro – Przehyba", and "Nowy Sącz – Makowica". Notable sights include the market square and Poor Clares Monastery in Stary Sącz, the Nikifor Museum in Krynica-Zdrój, Rożnów Lake, the Church of St. James in Powroźnik, waterfalls, apiaries, and vineyards. Mountain shelters are available on Jaworzyna Krynicka, Hala Łabowska, Obidza, and other peaks.

Getting there from Ukraine

Lviv – Nowy Sącz ≈335 km, ≈4 h 25 min without queues: M-10 to Krakovets → Krakovets – Korczowa → toll-free A4 via Rzeszów and Tarnów to Brzesko (≈198 km) → DK75 to Nowy Sącz (≈47 km). ≈257 km, ≈3 h from the border. Via Shehyni – Medyka (Przemyśl, DK28, DK77 to the A4) ≈348 km, ≈4 h 50 min.

Sources: Wikipedia, Wikidata, OpenStreetMap, Karpaty.rocks data.