Krynica Morska Things to Do

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The fishing port on the Vistula Bay at Piaski is much more elaborate than the one on the open sea, which is probably due to the fact that fishing in the bay is safer. What looks in the picture like wigwams are poles used for stretching the fishing nets, drying in the sun. Looking across the water, you can see Frombork with its characteristic towers in the distance. The port is a nice place to visit as it offers access to the bay, otherwise fenced off or overgrown with rushes all along the village. One thing that is missing from there is a bench or two, then I could sit there for hours.

Krynica Morska has two fishing harbours, one on the side of the bay with a proper pier and the other on the side of the open sea. Here the fishermen face higher waves and the boats are just pulled onto the shore by a jeep. The place is alive with the commotion and just watching the boats come and go can be interesting. There are a number of eateries on the dunes and a cafe with a terrace facing the sea.

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The traditional name of Piaski - the last village on the Polish side of the Vistula peninsula east of Krynica Morska - was Nowa Karczma ( the New Inn). That name derives from an inn that existed here already in the Middle Ages when in 1429 a knight of the Teutonic Order, Henryk Holt granted the innkeeper by the name of Hannos the privilege of running an inn there. The first church in the village was built around 1600. The present one is completely modern and must be quite new.
The settlement changed its position a number of times due to moving sands and dunes but it was always re-built. The last of such enforced migrations took place in 1825. The Second World War brought a lot of damage here too. It was only in 1964 that the first asphalt road connected Piaski with Krynica and the rest of the world. Now the village seems to be thriving with lots of new buildings and a few new shops. Many of its inhabitants still make their living from the sea but in the summer tourism seems to be taking over. It's enough to look at all those signs "Wolne pokoje" or "Zimmer frei" to see the scale of the business.
The pictures show the place where the road from the beach meets the main road and the view from part of the road a little off the beaten track where the bay is clearly visible - at other places it is fenced off and hidden by trees.

A few kilometres west of Krynica Morska lies Sztutowo, a nice village with beaches and guesthouses but unfortunately best known for the first concentration camp in World War II.
Established already on 2 September 1939 and functioning until 9 May 1945, it was a place where 120 000 prisoners from 19 countries and of 25 nationalities lost their lives.
Was it any consolation to them that they were dying in such beautiful surroundings? I don't think so. The place is now a museum, terrible evidence of the tragic past.