The best traffic-free bike rides around gmina gmina Mielnik

Worth stopping by to see this church

The Orthodox Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Maćkowicze, built in the late 1990s.

Before organizing your route, be sure to check the ferry times and ticket prices: https://podlasie.siematycze.pl/83-siematycze-przeprawa-promowa-mielnik-zabuze It's worth having cash with you.

The market square in Mielnik, after revitalization in 2023, has gained a completely new character, a fountain in the central part, zones for play and relaxation, interesting elements of the so-called small architecture.

Most of the "Molotov Line" bunkers along the Bug River are in very poor condition.

The Bug Valley tempts with picturesque views, but this is not the only attraction of this area. History enthusiasts flock here to discover the remains of one of the most famous fortifications of World War II. Around 1,900 structures of various purposes, over 150,000 soldiers and civilians working on their construction in 1940, over 1,000 km long – the scale of this undertaking is still admirable today. And all this in order to separate themselves from the German ally, with whom Minister Molotov had signed a friendship treaty just a few months earlier. However, Stalin knew that an alliance with Germany was as fleeting as the smoke from his favorite pipe. Hence the construction of large-scale fortifications, which were to stop the aggressor, enable mobilization in the event of war and support offensive operations. The Molotov Line, like its French “cousin” – the Maginot Line, did not live up to the hopes placed in it. The German attack surprised the Russians, some of the bunkers were not even occupied, others did not resist for long. Abandoned almost without a fight, some turned into a pile of rubble, after the war they became a treasure trove of engines and generators for the local population.

Large reinforced concrete shells of combat bunkers hide from the view of outsiders in the forest shade or grow from the tops of the Bug River hills. Overgrown with grass and bushes, covered with thick moss, they are beginning to resemble more and more the creations of nature, not human hands. The memory of them is slowly fading away along with their outlines. And yet eighty years ago, Soviet staff officers proudly referred to them as... Stalin's fangs. They were supposed to bite all those who dared to raise their hands against the Soviet Union. The belt of famous Soviet fortifications stretches across a significant part of the southern and western edges of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. The Molotov Line, because that is the name under which they are currently best known, is a real treat for lovers of military equipment and military architecture.

The Orthodox Church of the Icon of Our Lady of All Sorrows Joy in Koterka is located in a remote area surrounded by forest, approx. 1.5 km south of the village centre. An interesting story is connected with the construction of the church. According to it, on 19 May 1852, a woman appeared to a resident of these areas - Eufrozyna Iwaszczuk - ordering a prayer of atonement. In 1855, when an epidemic of plague air broke out, the Mother of God ordered Eufrozyna that the priest and the parishioners should pray for God's mercy. After this event, the parish priest - Szymon Budziłowicz decided to erect a cross at the site of the apparition. The area quickly became a popular place spontaneously visited by pilgrims, who miraculously experienced healing there. Later, a spring appeared in the place of the cross, and with it pilgrimages and further healings. In 1906, permission was obtained to build the church. On July 29, 1912, the church was consecrated. During its construction, many healings occurred. During World War I, the bells were removed from the church, which were taken down by the Germans, and the entire clergy were evacuated to Russia. During this period, the entire fence was also destroyed, as well as liturgical vestments, banners and candlesticks. A new fence was erected in 1925, while three new bells were acquired in 1931. The church is a building built on a cross plan, with a narrower chancel closed on three sides and two rectangular sacristies. The church is oriented, has a single-space interior layout divided into three parts. Next to the church there is a well over a spring in the form of a hexagonal arbor. Renovation and conservation works were carried out in 1996. In the summer of 2012, the church in Koterka celebrated the important ceremony of the 100th anniversary of the consecration of the church. The jubilee was celebrated with great pomp by the parishioners, but also by the inhabitants of the entire Mielnik commune and the surrounding area. On this occasion, a polychrome was also made inside the church, designed and executed by Jarosław Wiszenko. To this day, the church and the miraculous icon located in it are a place of pilgrimage for Orthodox believers.