Tilia is Latin for linden. Two honey trees grow next to the guest house, which owes its name to them. It prides itself on its uniqueness, facade boards, bricks and roof tiles recovered from old barns, and interiors in which traces of ancient history are intertwined with modern furniture, carefully selected accessories and contemporary design. The tempting architectural details are not only elements of buildings that no longer exist, but also fragments of an over 200-year-old arcaded house that stands right next to it. It all started with him.
I dreamed of an old house. It was supposed to be located in Żuławy. The seed was sown in me by my father, a writer and historian, with whom I lived here for a year as a child. These plains, interspersed with canals and filled with willows, remind me of the Netherlands, where my mother lived. No wonder that Mennonites from Friesland and the Netherlands came here in the 17th century and felt at home. It is probably to them that we owe the first buildings in our habitat and the construction of the windmill, of which today only millstones remain. In 1800 (or thereabouts) a house with an arcade on 6 pillars was built. Six years later, while escaping from Napoleon's army from Berlin to Klaipėda, Queen Louise, wife of Emperor Henry William III, found shelter in its interior. Prince Albrecht, regent of Brunswick, probably passed right next to the habitat in 1896 and came to the then Prussian Nickelswalde by steamer to admire the course of the Vistula, changed by the ditch, from a nearby embankment. Six years ago, I stood in front of my house and felt what you sometimes feel when you meet your future husband. I knew it was meant for me. Its revalorization not only led me to study cultural heritage protection, but fascinated me so much that I wanted to do more. Today, two linden trees welcome our guests, in front of whom stands the guest house. We put a lot of work and heart into it, wanting to share a space where you can take a break from everyday life, admire architecture, history and art, and build bridges from proximity.
Here, in Żuławy, in the Vistula Delta, a house awaits you, which we built with great care, paying attention to every element and detail. It was created based on materials recovered from no longer existing buildings. We combined beams, boards, bricks and roof tiles with clay and other natural raw materials. The facade boards and bricks come from old barns (two of them we dismantled with a team of carpenters), and the 11-meter ceiling beams were imported from the foundry in Grudziądz. The shape of the guest house resembles two connected granaries. The connector is a common part.
Tilia is adjacent to a house with an arcade on 6 pillars, which was built around 1800. At that time, it was part of a Langhof-type Olęder homestead. Next to the house there was a mill windmill of the Koźlak type, of which today only a square and stones remain. It all started with this house. After 5 years, during which we dismantled it and reassembled it, it became our family home. Its renovation, conservation and adaptation made us want to do more. After another three years, Tila was built, with its glass front wall facing the monument. From the windows you can also see the green space of the garden, our meadow, at the end of which there are beehives and an orchard. The entire habitat is almost a hectare of land.
You will stay here in two spacious and comfortable apartments, which were created based on individual designs. Their main theme was simplicity and a combination of old materials marked by time with modern design. They are filled with benches, tables and beds designed by me, made of reclaimed oak and ash, complemented by modern furniture, carefully selected accessories and inspiring books and magazines. They are distinguished by historical architectural details that attract attention. These are interiors that will be appreciated by aesthetes, fans of minimalism, who want to experience contact with unusual architecture and nature. They are filled with the scent of wood and clay.
The Lignum apartment (Latin for wood) is located on the ground floor, has 72 m² and was designed for 4 people.
It consists of: a separate bedroom with a double bed, a spacious bathroom with a shower, a kitchenette with an island, connected to a dining room with a large table and a living room with a fold-out sofa. Lignum has two terraces.
The Ventus apartment (Latin for wind) is located on the first floor, has 52 m² and can accommodate 4 people. It consists of: a separate bedroom with a double bed and a single bed for a child, a bathroom with a shower, a small kitchenette connected to the dining room and living room. There is also a work corner in the bedroom. The apartment is equipped with an adapter.
The bathrooms offer linen towels, bathrobes and sets of ecological cosmetics. The terraces have tables and benches where you can eat your meals, each is equipped with a barbecue and comfortable deckchairs.
Our guest house is an inspiring work space that stimulates creativity. The Internet here works flawlessly (its values are: download on average 50 Mb/s, and upload on average 15 Mb/s).
We openly admit that we love to feed our guests as best we can. We have many options so that everyone is comfortable. We will be happy to prepare breakfasts for you from local products as well as vegetables and fruits from our orchard and vegetable garden. We can fill your fridge with products for self-preparation of a morning meal or invite you to eat it under the arcade of our historic house or in the garden. The latter option is available weather permitting. It is also possible to deliver breakfast to your apartment.
In the breakfast baskets you will find: various types of cottage cheese, homemade hummus, vegetable spreads and pates, herrings or smoked fish, a selection of jams, jam and honey from our bees. We serve them with homemade sourdough bread. They are complemented by fruits and vegetables from our garden and from local hosts. Homemade granola and various porridges are also often in the baskets.
During common breakfasts, we serve a wide selection of dishes, here are a few examples: baked beets with thyme from the garden with garlic and honey pickle from our bees, herring on roasted beetroot in mustard-honey pickle with sprouts, millet with nuts and dried fruits and yogurt with homemade jam or jam , quiche: with leeks and goat cheese, with salmon, with beets and goat cheese, with chanterelles, cottage cheese in various ways, baked cheeses, various types of vegetable salads, homemade spreads, pâtés and hummus. Plus homemade rye sourdough bread.
Lunch dishes can be delivered on request in the form of catering. They will be prepared by friendly restaurants and companies producing organic food.
Each of the apartments has a kitchenette, they differ in size, but each has been equipped in a thoughtful way, so that preparing meals in them is a pleasure. In the summer season, we invite you to use the gifts of our orchard and organic vegetable garden.
Several times a year, you can take part in culinary meetings organized under the arcade of our historic house, with a tasting menu composed on the basis of the cuisine of Żuławy and the Vistula Spit, by chef Paweł Dołżonek.
We have created our guest house with a view to a comfortable rest in the interiors that allow you to experience art, history and immerse yourself in nature thanks to the glass wall with a view of the entire habitat and our 200-year-old arcaded house. We wanted to create interiors that will be a feast for the eyes and will please souls - they will bring relief to the awakened senses, they will have a relaxing effect, and also, if you intend to, they will allow you to discover the layers of creativity hidden in your interiors.
Our historic arcaded house has an open character and we will be happy to show you around, telling the story of the building itself, its inhabitants and its conservation.
There is a sauna in the immediate vicinity of the house, which is at your disposal. From the building at night you can observe the starry sky. You can use almost a hectare of space, with a meadow and an orchard, immersing yourself in nature.
Our habitat is located on the edge of the village, in close proximity to the mouth of the Vistula River. The space is vast and flat, we are surrounded by meadows, fields and forests. We are 2.5 km away from the beach. The surroundings encourage walks - you can go to the meadows, go to the forest, which is full of mushrooms in the season, or visit the Mewia Łacha nature reserve, which is located in the buffer zone of the Vistula Spit Landscape Park. The reserve is the only place in Poland where tufted terns nest, and you can also see the dunlin there. The path for visitors leads from the Vistula River, along the base of a sandy headland, to the beach, where you can try to spot seals. At least two live in the reserve permanently.
Lovers of two wheels will be pleased with us. Right next to our habitat, there is the Vistula Bicycle Route, leading along the corridor of the international EuroVelo 9 route, appreciated for the opportunity to enjoy the views. Bicycle paths lead along the crown of the Vistula embankment, as well as along the sea shore (you can go on a trip through Kąty Rybackie, Krynica Morska to Piaski or via Sobieszewska Island to Gdańsk). From Gdańsk to Malbork, running through our vicinity, there is also a bicycle route along the Mennoit trail, i.e. Dutch settlers who founded villages along the Vistula in the 16th and 17th centuries. Another attraction for active people is the network of Nordic walking paths.
You will be surrounded by small villages, towns and cities with medieval castles and Gothic churches, as well as arcaded houses (e.g. in Żuławki, where there are 6 of them, and Drewnica), windmills (a historic trestle windmill in Drewnica and the only one preserved in the area) Żuław, a Dutch windmill in Palczewo), drawbridges (e.g. the complex of bridges over the Szkarpawa, including the swing railway bridge in Rybina) and many other monuments that remember the past centuries. Fans of history and architecture can be very busy in Żuławy.
200 meters from the guesthouse there is a stop for Żuławska Koleje Accessowa. Trains set off on each holiday day and on selected days throughout the year. They run on the line of the Right Brzeg Vistula - Jantar - Stegna - Sztutowo. From the port in Mikoszewo, which is right next to our habitat, you can go by boat to watch the seals often staying on the islet, which is located at the very mouth of the Vistula to the sea, in the Mewia Łacha reserve (they are organized from late spring to early autumn). The ferry crossing between Mikoszewo and Świbno (also available from late spring to early autumn) allows you to quickly get to the Sobieszewo Island. The island is 35 km² and the total length of its beaches is 11 km.
From Mikoszewo, it is close to Gdańsk, Malbork, Frombork or Elbląg. 50 minutes by car separates us from Kadyny, where you can try horse riding or windsurfing, and 60 minutes from the port in Tolkmicko, from where you can take a 30-minute ferry cruise to Krynica Morska.
In snowy winter, we provide our guests with sledges and cross-country skis. The descents from the windmill hill and the Vistula embankment provide a real experience!
On special request, we will organize for you ornithological observations or forest baths with a certified guide of the Forest Therapy Institute.
What’s there for children?
For children, there is space, a meadow, an orchard with fruit that can be eaten straight from the trees and unlimited, soothing contact with nature. The proximity of the river, lake and sea are our other advantages. And in the area there are also pleasant attractions for children, such as a narrow-gauge railway, ferry and boat crossings, and animals (in the nature reserve and in the mini zoo in Jantar).
In each of the apartments, the youngest will find board games, blocks, puzzles and books. Each guest aged 4-12 receives a gift from us about the architecture and culture of Żuławy with tasks to be solved.
In summer, we organize for children:
- painting and drawing locations in the habitat or in its immediate vicinity,
- architectural and art workshops related to the architecture of Żuławy,
- culinary workshops.
Every year in June, as part of the Open Days of Żuławy Monuments, we open our arcaded house to the public. On the occasion of this action, we organize thematic workshops for children and prepare tasks for visitors.
What’s there for employees?
The simplicity that prevails in our apartments makes the overstimulated head gain peace and balance necessary for effective work. In the apartments there is a large table, right next to the kitchenette, and right next to it, in the living room, you will be able to wrap yourself in a blanket on the sofa. In 3 out of 4 apartments there is a desk, so you can hide there for a moment of concentration. Huge windows in the rooms make the surrounding nature a part of the house.
- extension cord
-loudspeaker
-camera