In the autumn of 2016, a short stretch of cycle path in the Polish countryside began to glow bright blue after dark. The 100-metre test section near Lidzbark Warmiński, in the Masuria region of north-eastern Poland, contains luminophores that soak up daylight and release it at night, with no cables, lamps or power supply.

Blue-glowing cycle path near Lidzbark Warmiński, Poland, at night

Poland’s first glowing bike path

The path opened at the end of September 2016 on a trail leading to Lake Wielochowskie, just outside Lidzbark Warmiński. The glowing surface was developed by TPA Instytut Badań Technicznych, a technical research laboratory in Pruszków near Warsaw, and the construction company STRABAG laid it. It was billed as the first luminous cycle path in Poland and was treated as a prototype: TPA wanted to see how the material performed and lasted outdoors before using it anywhere else.

Blue-glowing section of the Polish cycle path at dusk, from a Gazeta Wyborcza video
A blue-glowing section of the Polish experimental cycle path at dusk. Original image credit: Gazeta Wyborcza screen grab.

How the luminophores work

Luminophores are synthetic particles that absorb light energy and release it slowly as visible light, the same principle behind glow-in-the-dark watch dials. Mixed into the aggregate of the surface, they charge during the day and then shine on their own. TPA’s president, Dr Igor Ruttmar, said the material gives light for more than ten hours, so a sunny day can carry the path through much of the night before it recharges the next morning.

Much of the coverage called it “solar powered”, which is a loose description. There are no solar panels or electrical parts: the path stores sunlight chemically in its surface. That makes it self-sufficient and cheap to run, although the material costs more to lay than an ordinary bike lane, and its long-term durability could only be estimated at launch.

Why the path glows blue

By day the surface looks blue, and at night it glows in the same colour. The designers chose blue to suit the green, lake-filled landscape of Masuria. The project was inspired by the Van Gogh–Roosegaarde Cycle Path in Nuenen, the Dutch village near Eindhoven where Vincent van Gogh lived from 1883 to 1885. Designed by Daan Roosegaarde with Heijmans, that path is studded with thousands of glowing stones that recall The Starry Night.

Visiting Lidzbark Warmiński and Warmia

Lidzbark Warmiński is a small town on the Łyna River in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and it rewards a visit even in daylight. Its centrepiece is the Gothic Castle of the Warmian Bishops, built in the 1350s and now a museum. Nicolaus Copernicus lived here from 1503 while serving his uncle, the bishop, and probably wrote part of De revolutionibus within its walls. Ignacy Krasicki, the last Prince-Bishop of Warmia and a leading poet of the Polish Enlightenment, also held court here, and the town has a monument to him.

The surrounding Masurian lake district is one of Poland’s favourite cycling regions, with quiet roads, forests and thousands of lakes. Late spring to early autumn brings the best riding weather. Bring proper lights: a glowing surface helps you follow the line, but it will not make you visible to others.

If you enjoy infrastructure that makes you look twice, see the Moses Bridge in the Netherlands, a footbridge that sinks into the moat of a Dutch fort.

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