Szlak

Szlak is a Polish noun meaning trail, path, or route. In geographic usage, the term is also employed as a place name for several settlements in Poland.

The word derives from the Polish szlak, which historically referred to a track or main route used for travel, trade, or military movement. Over time, the sense broadened to include any marked path or itinerary, including hiking and cycling routes.

In Poland there are multiple villages and small communities named Szlak, located in different voivodeships. Because more than one locality shares the name, maps and gazetteers typically require disambiguation to identify the exact place.

In contemporary usage, szlak appears in common phrases describing designated routes and trails. Examples include szlak turystyczny for officially marked tourist trails and szlak rowerowy for bicycle routes. The term also features in road signage and travel literature as a generic reference to a specific route or pathway, and it can denote historical trade or pilgrimage routes where such contexts exist.

Overall, Szlak functions both as a descriptive geographic term and as a proper place name in Poland, reflecting the longstanding association between routes and settlements in the region.