ISSN 0867-5856 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18778/0867-5856.29.2.05 e-ISSN 2080-6922 Tourism 2019, 29/2 Iwona Jażewicz https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5698-442X Pomeranian Academy in Słupsk Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Tourism Department of Socio-Economic Geography and Regional Studies [email protected] Aleksandra Zienkiewicz https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2323-913X Pomeranian Academy in Słupsk Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Tourism Department of Tourism and Recreation [email protected] DEVELOPMENT DETERMINANTS OF HOLIDAY SETTLEMENT: CASE STUDY OF THE GMINA OF STĘŻYCA Abstract: The article presents the results of research on a specific recreation space – holiday plots. It is an attempt to identify the con- ditions for the development of holiday settlements, using the example of the gmina of Stężyca situated in the centre of the Kashubian Lake District. The authors indicate the conditions related to the location of holiday plots, as well as the motivations and expectations of their owners. As a result of the study, it was concluded that natural and landscape assets, as well as temporal and spatial accessibility determined the development of the holiday settlement in the gmina of Stężyca. Equally significant factors are family ties and sentiment towards their place of birth. Keywords: holiday settlement, holiday plots, gmina of Stężyca, Kashubian Lake District. 1. INTRODUCTION Currently, a major tourism issue is recreation in the coun- (Matczak, 1987a), the morphology of its areas of hous- tryside surrounding a city, a special recreation zone used ing (Makowska-Iskierka, 2004; Matczak 1984), as well by inhabitants who temporarily leave it. Tourism loca- as an analysis of summer house construction (Matczak, tions in such zones sometimes become the foundation of 1986a). Research conducted by Włodarczyk (1999), Szkup larger urban settlements, or even new towns. Holiday (2003) and Makowska-Iskierka (2011) identified the rec- villages visited by city dwellers are frequently situated reational space in selected areas of this zone for Łódź. near seaside destinations, winter sports or inland water As regards different aspects of the development of the recreation centres (Beaujeu-Garnier, Chabot, 1971). recreational function, a major contribution was made Comprehensive research on the recreational func- by authors discussing the same zone for Warsaw who tion in the countryside surrounding a city has been con- presented research on the location of second homes (Ko- ducted mainly with regard to large agglomerations (Dzie- walczyk, 1990) as well as the impact of natural and social gieć, Liszewski, 1984). An outstanding work was written factors on the quality of time spent there (Kowalczyk, by Liszewski (1987) who presented the origins and de- 1993). In-depth studies of the recreation areas in the zone velopment of tourist settlement for this area of Łódź. around Kraków were conducted by Faracik (2006, 2011), Detailed empirical studies presenting the range, forms whereas Grucza & Grucza (2007) presented factors con- and development level of the recreational function in cerning the impact of second home location around the this zone of Łódź were conducted by Matczak (1985). Gdańsk agglomeration. A comparative analysis of select- The research also included suggestions concerning dif- ed aspects of the recreational function in the countryside ferent measures of this function, i.e. the analysis of land surrounding Warsaw, Łodz and Cracow was presented use (Liszewski 1985; Matczak 1991), the scale of tourism by Jakóbczyk-Gryszkiewicz (1995). © 2019 Iwona Jażewicz, Aleksandra Zienkiewicz. This is an open access article licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Cover date: December 2019 44 Tourism 2019, 29/2 Similar research has been conducted with regard 2. THE NATURAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES to cities in relation to housing (e.g. Liszewski, 1991; Mat- OF THE GMINA OF STĘŻYCA czak, 1987b), river valleys (Wiluś, 1997; Wojciechowska, 1998), administrative units (Adamiak, 2012; Jażewicz, Zienkiewicz, 2017; Matulewki, Tomczak, 2013), and nat- Today’s natural landscape of the gmina of Stężyca is most- ural regions (Dziegieć, 1989; Krukowska, Świeca, 2008). ly the outcome of the land formation processes that took Less numerous have been works concerning individual place during the last north Polish glaciation, and only part- recreation in Poland (Adamiak, Sokołowski, 2012; Dru- ly of the processes that followed the ice sheet retreat. gie domy…, 2011; Durydiwka, 2012; Heffner, 2015; Kowal- The effects of glacial activity in this area include sub- czyk, 1986, 1994; Wyrzykowski, 1985). stantial differences in height, up to 168.5 m (measured The authors of this paper have attempted to present from the surface of Ostrzyckie Lake – 160.1 m, to the top the determinants of holiday settlement development in the of the Wieżyca – 328.6 m). Such large differences in height Kashubian gmina of Stężyca, which is situated in the Kar- make the area of the gmina extremely attractive, especial- tuzy powiat close to the Gdańsk agglomeration. They ly as regards winter sports. The highest parts of the mo- have pointed both to the conditions related to the loca- raine belt are cut by the Szymbarskie Hills black tourist tion of holiday plots, with particular consideration of nat- trail. On the hills, there are ski slopes and lifts, e.g. the ural, landscape and cultural assets, the close proximity ‘Koszałkowo’ Recreation Centre pistes, situated on the of the owners’ permanent residence, as well as accessi- privately-owned land between Szymbark and Wieżyca. bility by transport, and to their owners’ motivations and The pistes are very well prepared for winter skiing. The expectations. largest one is 300 m long and there are up to 50 m dif- The source materials used in the article were based ferences in height between individual downhill courses. on secondary information found in the records and reg- The piste features three T-bar lifts. On the slopes, there isters provided by the Gmina Office in Stężyca, the Sur- are an additional three snow tubing courses, 70, 100 and veying Department and the Powiat Starostwo Construction 120 m in length. Another attraction of the gmina is the Department in Kartuzy, as well as the Powiat Inspectorate Kashubian Observation Tower, named after John Paul II, of Construction Supervision in Kartuzy. However, it was with three decks. From the top, you can admire the Szym- the primary data obtained from a survey and a field in- barskie Hills, the ‘Radunia Circle’ and the ‘Kashubian ventory that proved particularly important and useful. Road’ tourist trail. Basic field research was conducted during the summer A major natural asset of the area are its surface waters. months (July-August) of 2013 among the owners of hol- The central and southern part of the gmina belongs to the iday plots in the form of a survey (104 questionnaires).1 Radunia River basin, its south-eastern part to the Wieży- The study included two districts, Niesiołowice and Siko- ca River basin, the north-western part to the Słupia Riv- rzyno, which had the majority of holiday plots and where er basin and the south-western part to the Wda River the largest number of permits to build holiday houses basin. The lakes in the gmina are very attractive for tour- were issued. The subject of the article is the gmina of ists, the area covered by lakes being about 15%. The ma- Stężyca. According to the geographical regionalization jority are ribbon lakes, e.g. Stężyckie, Raduńskie Górne by Augustowski (1970), the gmina is located within the and Raduńskie Dolne, Lubawisko, Dąbrowskie, Ostrzyc- Kashubian Lake District; administratively, it is a part kie, Patulskie, Bukrzyno Duże and Bukrzyno Małe, as well of Kartuzy powiat (a medium level administrative unit) as Zamkowisko Duże and Zamkowisko Małe Lakes. The in the Pomeranian Province. An element which indi- longest (except Raduńskie Dolne) and at the same time vidualizes the gmina is its location in the area of ethnic the deepest in the gmina is Raduńskie Górne Lake which Kashubia (Mordawski, 2008), with its own Kashubian covers 387.2 hectares and is up to 43 m deep (Table 1). dialect as well as folk art and material culture. In 2014, Apart from the landscape assets and the unusual con- the gmina covered 160.5 km2 and was inhabited by about centration of lakes, tourists can also appreciate the for- 10,000 people. It consists of 14 districts (Borucino, Cza- ests which take up about 30.1% of the whole area. ple, Gapowo, Gołubie, Łączyno, Łosienice, Niesiołowi- They include riparian woodlands, as well as beech, oak- ce, Pierszczewo, Potuły, Sikorzyno, Stężyca, Szymbark, beech, alder, birch and pine woods. The forest is an in- Zgorzałe and Żuromino), which became the basic spatial dispensable assemblage of plants which plays an impor- units considered. This choice was determined by the avail- tant role in people’s physical and mental regeneration. ability of the statistical materials provided by the Gmina It has high positive qualities, such as clean air, tranquil- Office and the Powiat Starostwo in Kartuzy. A very impor- lity, natural landscape, lack of industrialized or urban- tant task was to define the time range and the work shows ized areas, as well as a special micro-climate. Moreover, change over time and mostly concerning the period of forested areas create an opportunity for aesthetic expe- 1989-2011. rience,