TOURIST VALUES AND TOURIST POTENTIAL OF THE COMMUNE

Source: 121013_ongeo.jpg (630 × 300) on 01/21/2021.

The Piwniczna-Zdrój commune is very attractive in terms of tourism, regardless of the age group of tourists, their tourist preferences and financial possibilities.

The tourist attractions of the Piwniczna-Zdrój Commune include, among others:

1. recreational values: natural and healing mineral waters - the so-called acidic waters, mountain areas - numerous walking and cycling routes of various difficulty levels, forests, rivers and mountain streams, rich accommodation base: mountain shelters, hotels, sanatoriums, private lodgings, fresh air, mineral waters, sanatoriums;
2. sightseeing values: terrain without human interference, landscape park, valleys, waterfalls, springs, mountain streams and rivers, Museum of the Piwniczna Lovers' Society, monuments, cultivated culture and tradition of the Black Highlanders - regional groups, cyclical cultural events;
3. specialist qualities: mountain river rafting: canoeing, SUP, rafting, rafting, horse stables, climbing wall, mountain hiking and cycling trails, bicycle paths, sports competitions: running, cycling, enduro, hunting values (the commune is part of the hunting district No. 242 ), ski resorts, chalets and mountain huts.

Natural objects in the commune include: Poprad Landscape Park and numerous natural monuments.

The historic buildings in the commune include: the historic urban layout of the town - a quadrilateral square with streets emerging from its corners. There are 19th-century burgher houses in the square, under which there are gothic cellars where Hungarian wine was once stored. Another monument is a cistern-well, which supplied the townspeople with water for everyday use, and later was used as a fire-fighting reservoir. In addition, the Regional Museum of the Piwniczna Lovers' Association in MGOK, the exhibition includes, among others: old appliances for everyday use, handicrafts, folk costumes, photocopies of documents, reproductions of royal privileges, a collection of ski equipment and old skis, iconography, rock paintings. The parish church of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, built in the years 1881-1886, which is a basilica church with a tower and a bell from 1523, and a Jewish cemetery.

In accordance with the provisions of the Piwniczna-Zdrój City and Commune Development Strategy for 2013-2020, the tourist potential of the commune is weakened by, inter alia:

• insufficient use of the tourist values of the city and the commune as well as the regional and cultural context in the products and services offered by local entrepreneurs,
• poorly developed tourist service base, including hotel and catering facilities; no categorized accommodation base,
• insufficient spa and health resort infrastructure ensuring the proper quality of treatment,
• insufficient visibility of the tourist and recreational values of the commune's areas outside the city of Piwniczno-Zdrój,
• progressive degradation of the elements that make up the natural environment of the commune (high air pollution),
• lack of financial resources to pursue active cultural activities.