BOTANICAL GARDEN IN ZAGWIŹDZIE

The Parish Botanical Garden in Zagwiździe was established in the 1920s. Its founder was the then parish priest of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, Father Franciszek Ogórek, builder of the church in Zagwiździe. The garden features several dozen plant species, including exquisitely flowering rhododendrons, azaleas, magnolias, and other shrubs and flowers, as well as alpine vegetation on rockeries. A wooden pergola covered with climbing plants and numerous walls and steps leading to the hill, on which the statue of St Roch is located, adds a touch of mystery. The garden also has a pond where goldfish once swam. Surrounded by old beech trees is a chakra of power. It is a "place of power". The chakra consists of a decorated stone slab, renowned for radiating positive energy. A moment of meditation in its vicinity is

enough to make all your worries disappear and fill you with a lust for life. According to legend, this place was often visited by the Prussian king, Frederick the Great, himself. The chakra is one of eight checkpoints in the field game "Discover the monuments of Zagwiździe".

The botanical garden won the 2009 competition "Kwitnąca Wieś Opolska – Turystyczne Niezapominajki" (Opole Countryside in Bloom – Tourist Forget-Me-Nots) in the category of the most flowery rural tourist attraction in the Opole region, and took first place in the competition "Opolskie kwitnące" (Opole in Bloom) – for the flowering of towns and municipalities in the region in the category of recreational and sports facilities.

The garden is available for visitors free of charge all year round.