Skrzyczne

Skrzyczne (German Rauhkogel) is a 1257 m mountain, the highest peak of the Silesian Beskids in southern Poland. As the highest summit of its range it belongs to the Crown of Polish Mountains. It rises at the northern end of the main ridge of the Barania Góra and Skrzyczne range and separates the upper Żylica valley from the Żywiec Basin. Its slopes belong to the town of Szczyrk and the villages of Słotwina and Lipowa in Silesian Voivodeship.

Skrzyczne is easy to recognise from afar: it drops steeply to the east and north, and an 87 m radio and TV transmitter mast stands on the summit. It can be seen from many places, from the Żywiec Beskids and even from the Tatras. Above the Żywiec Basin it rises as a single escarpment almost 800 m high.

How to get there / trails

Several marked trails lead to the top (times from Polish Wikipedia, based on the Compass map):

• blue from central Szczyrk via the Hala Jaworzyna meadow – 2 h 25 min (down 1 h 45 min);
• green from central Szczyrk via the Becyrek pass – 2 h 15 min (down 1 h 40 min);
• red and green from Buczkowice via the Siodło saddle below Skalite – 3 h 20 min (down 2 h 30 min);
• blue from Ostre – 2 h 15 min (down 1 h 30 min);
• green and red to the Salmopolska Pass via Malinowska Skała – 2 h 15 min (3 h the other way);
• green to Barania Góra – 2 h 45 min (3 h back).

The easiest way up is the two-section «Skrzyczne» chairlift from Szczyrk. The upper section, from the Hala Jaworzyna meadow to the summit, was replaced in 2013 by a modern detachable four-seat chairlift. The PTTK Skrzyczne mountain hut stands right next to the summit.

The view from the top

The summit overlooks Szczyrk and the Wilkowice Gate, Żywiec and Lake Żywiec in the Żywiec Basin, the Silesian Beskid peaks of Klimczok, Magura and Skalite, the main ridge of the Little Beskids and Pilsko in the Żywiec Beskids. In good visibility Babia Góra and parts of the Tatras can be seen. To the east, towards Lake Żywiec, the mountain is a well-known launch site for paragliders.

Nature and history

The Skrzyczne massif is built of thick layers of Godula sandstone. To the north the ridge descends towards the Siodło saddle in several high steps, and the slopes are covered with large boulder fields left by frost weathering during the Ice Age, now partly overgrown with forest. Since the late 1960s about 20 small crevice caves and rock shelters have been found on the slopes. The largest, Spider Cave (Jaskinia Pajęcza, 61 m of passages), lies at about 1075 m south-west of Hala Jaworzyna; it is no longer accessible because its entrance has collapsed. Skrzyczne is home to one of Poland's sites of the rare Moravian monkshood, and its slopes are known for blueberries.

According to a popular legend recorded in the 18th century in the «Żywiec Chronicle» by the Żywiec mayor Andrzej Komoniecki, the name comes from the croaking (Polish skrzeczenie) of frogs that lived in a black-water pond in the hollow between Skrzyczne and Małe Skrzyczne.

The first hut on the summit was built in 1933 but burned down; the present one was built in the late 1930s. The northern slopes are occupied by the COS ski area with about 14 km of runs, including a FIS-homologated piste, and bike and downhill tracks cross the summit; World Cup rounds were held there in 2024–2025.

Safety, season and rules

Skrzyczne is visited all year round, but the weather on the open summit changes quickly: in winter expect strong wind and icing, and walkers should keep off the ski runs. When descending in fog it is easy to mix up the trails that leave the summit in different directions. The mountain lies in the Silesian Beskids, where help comes from the GOPR mountain rescue service: 985 or +48 601 100 300, or the general emergency number 112.

Interesting facts

• Skrzyczne is the fifth most topographically prominent peak in Poland.
• The winter 24-hour mountain race «Zamieć» crosses the summit.

Photos: Krzysztof Dudzik-Górnicki (User:ToSter), CC BY 3.0; Marek Mróz, CC BY 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Andrzej Kępys, CC BY-SA 4.0; Marcin Stanikowski, CC BY-SA 3.0; Krytar, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.