Wilanów Full of Treasures: Geocaching and Guided Walks Funded by the Participatory Budget

The thirteenth edition of Wilanów's participatory budget gave the district over a dozen local projects. One of them is Wilanów pełen skarbów, meaning Wilanów Full of Treasures, a program of four geocaching workshops and two guided walks run by Centrum Kultury Wilanów. The goal is simple. Show the district from a side you never see from a car window.

A field game and a walk to a church nearly six centuries old

The first geocaching workshop took place on September 12 at the Dom Pracy Twórczej of Centrum Kultury Wilanów at ul. Ptysiowa 3. Participants, children from age six with a guardian and adults, spent an hour learning the rules of the game and installing the app under the guidance of trainers from Geocaching Warszawa. Then they spent an hour and a half hunting for hidden treasures in the field. Participation was free, but every person, including each child, had to register separately, since spots were limited.

A week later, on September 19, the first of two planned walks took place. PTTK guide Jacek Duda led the group from in front of the Church of Saint Elizabeth at ul. Przyczółkowa 29 in Powsin, a church founded in 1398 by Elżbieta Ciołkowa, widow of the voivode of Mazovia. For two and a half hours he spoke about the history of the parish, about Wilanów embroidery, whose pattern is said to originate from the gate of Wilanów Palace, about former chapels and sites of memory, and about forgotten local names such as Latoszki, Lisy and Potułkały.

The next edition of the field game is scheduled for September 26. Registration is handled by Centrum Kultury Wilanów, in person at ul. Kolegiacka 3 and through its website, and spots are limited, so it is worth moving fast. For residents who would rather explore the district on foot than through a phone screen, a second guided walk is still planned. Its exact date has not been announced yet.