Babia Góra - Interesting Facts and Curiosities
Discover fascinating facts about Babia Góra: Babiogórskie records: the "most" and "number one" and historical facts related to conquering its summit over the centuries.
Babia Góra Records: All Things "Most"
We won't argue here whether the views are the "most beautiful," the sunrises are the "most spectacular," or the weather is the most changeable and unpredictable. Let's focus on the facts!
Babia Góra - The Tallest Peak?
The highest peak of the Babia Góra Range, Diablak (1725 m above sea level), is also the highest peak of the Żywiec Beskids, the entire Polish part of the Beskids, the Crown of the Polish Beskids, and the entire macroregion of the Western Beskids.
The Most Prominent Peak
The prominence of a peak, i.e., the relative elevation of the massif above its surroundings. It turns out that Babia Góra is the most prominent peak in the Polish Carpathians! It surpasses even the Polish Tatra Mountains in this regard. Among Polish mountains, it is surpassed only by Śnieżka in the Sudetes.
The Highest Source
The Głodna Woda Spring is located on the southern slopes of Diablak, precisely 100 meters below the summit (1625 m above sea level). It is the highest source in the Babia Góra Massif, as well as in the entire Beskids (Western and Eastern)! Its name supposedly comes from the fact that drinking this water increases appetite and makes us hungry. The water in the Głodna Woda Spring never freezes, and its temperature remains around 2-3 °C throughout the year.
Babia Góra and "Number One": Everything First and Everyone Who Was First
The First Conqueror of Babia Góra
The first people who definitely discovered the summit of Babia Góra were anonymous local residents: shepherds, herbalists, as well as bandits and treasure hunters. Unfortunately, they did not leave any accounts except for mysterious signs carved near the Babia Góra caves, including the inscription "Anas Lachowic Zywca 1643" (Słowikowa Studnia Cave, Izdebczyska).
The First Tourist Trip to Babia Góra
The first organized expedition to the summit of Babia Góra, which had a purely sightseeing character (unrelated to scientific research or commercial activities, etc.), was the ceremonial ascent of Archduke Joseph Habsburg in 1806. The ruler of Hungary was accompanied by an entire entourage, including an orchestra! This visit is commemorated by a large stone obelisk on the summit of Diablak.
Can you find the spot on the obelisk where the chest was attached? In the 19th century, this chest contained a memorial book for tourists visiting the summit.
The First Pole on the Summit of Babia Góra
Until recently, it was believed to be Fryderyk Jowin Bończa Bystrzycki, who allegedly reached the summit in 1782 - but now his account is considered unreal. Therefore, the first Polish conqueror of Diablak is considered to be Stanisław Staszic (see below).
The First to Witness the Sunrise on Babia Góra
The first person who definitely witnessed the sunrise on Babia Góra and eloquently described it was Stanisław Staszic. An Enlightenment activist, as well as a scientist and naturalist, he spent the night here and presented his experiences in the work "O ziemiorodztwie Karpatów i innych gór i równin Polski" ("On the Origin of the Carpathians and Other Mountains and Plains of Poland") published in 1815.
It is said that Lenin himself watched the sunrise from Babia Góra in 1912 - but this information is not confirmed, and the plaque commemorating it has been dismantled. Today, you can find a trace of this story... on a stamp at the Slana Voda shelter (SK).
The First Woman on the Summit of Babia Góra
The first known woman to document her ascent to the summit of Babia Góra in 1855 was the famous Polish mountaineer Maria Steczkowska. She described her expedition in Tygodnik Ilustrowany (Illustrated Weekly).
The First Shelter on Babia Góra
Apart from the temporary shelter for the archduke (see above) and the so-called Losertówka (a sandstone "chapel" that stood on the summit for 3 years in the mid-19th century), the first real shelter in the Babia Góra massif was built by the German tourist society Beskidenverein in 1904-1905 on the southern slopes of Diablak, at an altitude of 1616 m above sea level. The shelter burned down in 1948. Its ruins can be found along the green Diablak - Polana Stańcowa trail.
Just a year later, the first Polish shelter was built at Markowe Szczawiny - it was called the Hugon Zapałowicz Hut and was erected in 1906.
The First Casualty of Babia Góra
The specific (and often very difficult) conditions on the Babia Góra ridge unfortunately claimed many lives. The first documented fatal accident on Babia Góra was the death of Jakub Sobeński, a soldier of the Austro-Hungarian army, in a snowstorm in late autumn 1918.
The most notorious tragedy was the death of 4 skiers from Andrychów and Wadowice, who froze to death on Babia Góra on February 15, 1935.
Curiosities about Babia Góra: Everything You Might Not Know Yet
You have been to Babia Góra countless times, in winter and summer, at sunrise and sunset, conquering its summit in various weather conditions and through different trails from different sides. Is it possible that there is still something you don't know about it?
Monument to Józef Piłsudski on Babia Góra?
After the marshal's death, bonfires were lit on Babia Góra (as well as on other Carpathian peaks), and there were plans to build a monument. In the end, the legionnaires carved an inscription on one of the natural rock slabs on the summit, and an urn with soil from Babia Góra was placed in Józef Piłsudski's grave.
Aircraft Accidents on Babia Góra
During World War II, a German transport plane crashed on the Babia Góra ridge (on the northern side of Kępa) - 2 out of 3 crew members survived the accident. The remnants of the plane were blown up. In 2013, a small private plane flying from Poznań to Bratislava crashed near Perci Akademików, and 3 people died.
Why Do We Walk on Border Posts?
On the red trail between Przełęcz Krowiarki and Gówniak, we come across many granite border posts that serve as steps. Why? During World War II, the border between the General Government (D) and Slovakia (S) ran through this area.
Other Names for Babia Góra and Diablak
This exceptional mountain has many names: Kapryśnica (The Capricious One) and Matka Niepogód (Mother of Bad Weather) refer to its unpredictable nature. The Slovaks also call it Orawska Święta Góra (Orawa Holy Mountain) and Orawska Fudżijama (Orawa Fujiyama). Diablak itself is also called Diaby Zamczysko (Devil's Castle) or Diabelskie Zamczysko (Devil's Fortress).
(the stone wall on the summit is not a "castle," but intentionally built by the employees of the Babia Góra National Park as a windbreak).
Masses on Babia Góra
The altar table on the summit of Diablak was set up by the Slovaks, and occasional religious services are held there. Polish Mountain Volunteer Rescue Service (GOPR) organizes a special mass on a Sunday in mid-September in honor of GOPR rescuers and Babia Góra enthusiasts. The mass is celebrated near the statue of Our Lady Queen of Babia Góra, located in a rock niche on the northern side of the summit.
Do Falcons Nest on Sokolica?
No, they don't, and probably never did. The name of the first peak we encounter when climbing Babia Góra from the side of Przełęcz Krowiarki/Lipnicka... is a mistake! Eagles, not falcons, nested on the rocky cliff of Sokolica! Well, not everyone is an ornithologist, and everyone is entitled to make mistakes.
Where Did Gówniak and Krowiarki Get Their Names?
Exactly from what their names suggest! It may be hard to believe today, but cattle used to graze on the southern, gentler slopes of Babia Góra and on Przełęcz Krowiarki. "Krowiarki" refers to the girls who used to watch over the grazing cows (which actually grazed on the meadow separating the Babia Góra Range from the Polic Range), and another name for Gówniak is "Wołowe Skałki" (Ox Rocks) - so now we know who left THAT, from which the name of one of the peaks of the Babia Góra massif originated.
In conclusion: if cows and oxen made it here... so can you!
P.S.1 Would you like to conquer the summit of Babia Góra and personally explore the places described in the legends? We write about how to get here in this article:
Babia Góra - all trails. For children and more
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P.S.2. If, like us, you sometimes like to let your imagination run wild, take a look here:
Babia Góra - legends, stories, and secrets
Where does the name Babia Góra come from? What secrets does it hold, and what legends surround the Queen of the Beskids? Discover the most important ones! ...
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