Papieżówka, Gorce National Park
Facts and practical information
Papieżówka - a clearing in the valley of the Kamienica River in the Gorce Mountains, in a place where from the slopes of the Gorce Mountains its tributary, the Ustępny Stream, flows into the Kamienicki Stream. Papieżówka is located in the area of the Gorce National Park, within the village of Zasadne in Małopolska province, in the Limanowa district, in Gmina Kamienica.
It is a small clearing on the right bank of the Kamienica Creek. There is one hut there. In August 1976, for two weeks in the clearing lived Karol Wojtyla, the then Metropolitan of Krakow. He held days of recollection and wandered in the Gorce. He chose this place because of the remoteness, peace, and also because he already knew the Gorce from his previous wanderings. He lived in spartan conditions; the only equipment in his hut was a wooden table, a stool made of a tree trunk and a bunk made of branches. He piled the stones in front of the hut with his own hands. Nobody recognized him during his stay in Gorce.
The upper part of the clearing is currently used as a timber yard. To commemorate the stay of Cardinal Wojtyla, a large boulder with a commemorative plaque was placed in the clearing. It features an inscription quoting words that Karol Wojtyla, already as Pope John Paul II, said during one of his pilgrimages to Poland: "Guard these trails for me". The hut was restored in 2004.
Lesser Poland