your free time with a host family and even participate in some daily routines on a farm, if you wish of course. In winter we can offer many ski routes with ski lifts. In addition, you can visit the Niedzwiedzia Cave (Bear Cave), a former uranium mine or a glass factory in any season you want. The charm of our land is our great value. Besides the tourists our region also attracts many businessmen and investors because we support business initiative, investment and development. For example we supported the construction of two winter sports centres in Czarna Góra and Kamienica. We are also preparing the construction of the water sports centres within the small impoundment lakes and other tourist and small business investments.Giving you this brochure I would like to invite you to the Stronie Śląskie Community

Zbigniew Łopusiewicz The Mayor of Stronie Śląskie

The Stronie Śląskie Commune is naturally predestined for practising an active rest and for organising new business enterprises. The complex tourist base gives you many opportunities to arrange your rest in a convenient way. In addition, well prepared tourist routes and other attractions will make you appreciate the charm of our land. In spring and summer you can go hiking and cycling here. The streams and the rivers can be a great attraction for passionate anglers. Agro-tourism is becoming more and more popular in the region, so you can spend

The Stronie Śląskie Commune is situated in the south-eastern part of the Kłodzko Land .

The Stronie Śląskie Commune is situated in a basin surrounded by the ranges ofthe Złote (Golden) Mountains, the Bialskie Mountains, Krowiarki range and Śnieżnik Massif.

The Złote Mountains - closing the Kłodzko Valley from the north-east, form an arch stretching from Kłodzko Pass to the lowering between Pasieczna and Smrek (Spruce). It is one of the longest mountain ranges in the Sudety Mountains. The geological structure of the Złote Mountains is quite complex. Gneiss, crystalline schist with basalt and syenite, crystalline limestone and amphibolite with trace of gold appear here. Due to the geological diversity the mining industry has been developed within the area. The Zote Mountains have been the terrain of mining exploration for a long time.

The Bialskie Mountains neighbour with Śnieżnik Massif from the west and with the Złote Mountains from the north. They are made of metamorphic rocks such as: Chalcedonic granite-gneiss and archaic gneiss, mica-schist, quartzite and phyllite. It is a comparatively compact mountain massif which is rarely cut by short but deep valleys of the Biała Lądecka, the Morawka and their tributaries. The lack of one central jointer is very characteristic for these mountains. The ridges form a flat surface with the average height of 1000 metres above sea level.

Śnieżnik Massif closing the Kłodzko Valley from the south is one of the highest mountain ranges of the Sudety Mountains. The geological structure of the massif is diverse. Gneiss, thanks to its resistance, forms culminations and less resistant mica-schist makes the valley lowering and the passes. The pink granite- gneiss of Śnieżnik came from Palaeozoic era. In Krowiarki range and in the area near Kletno carbonate rocks can also be found. They are overcrystallised limestones in the form of marbles and crystalline dolomites, making the lenticles and refills among mica-schists.  Śnieżnik Massif is formed by the group of spurs in which Mount Snieznik is the central jointer. There are five separate spurs, that look like flat ridges, coming from the summit. Each spur is separated by the deep-cut erosion valley generating the Alpine character of the massif. The central and the highest point of the massif is Śnieżnik

Śnieżnik ( 1425 metres above sea level)). It is also the highest mount of the Kłodzko Valley and the sixteenth of the highest in the Sudety Mountains. The top dome lies above the upper border of the forest and offers a spectacular view. When the weather is good you can admire the Karkonosze Mountains, Ślęża Massif and the Beskidy Mountains from here. On the slopes of the top dome you can find some stone rubbles dating back to the glacial era. You can also come across a great number of rare plants and artificially introduced dwarf mountain pine which are protected within the area of the Śnieżnik Kłodzki landscape reserve covering 192, 33 hectares.

Śnieżnik Landscape Park, set up in 1981, covers three mountain ranges situated in the eastern part of the Sudety Mountains: Śnieżnik Massif , the Złote Mountains and the Bialskie Mountains. The forestless ridges, rocks and vast caves with unique stalactite and stalagmite forms are also a big attraction here. There are five reserves within the area of Śnieżnik Landscape Park: Śnieżnik Kłodzki , Nowa Morawa , Śnieżna Białka - called Sycamore (Maple) Forest, Wilczki Waterfall and Bear Cave (the Niedzwiedzia Cave). We can distinguish four vegetation belts in this area: the foothills belt, the lower mountain belt, the higher mountain belt and especially attractive the Alpine meadows with many rare and protected grass and herb species. In the higher parts of the mountains we can observe a phenomenon of the long-lasting snow cover lying which is typical for the Alpine regions. The architecture within the commune is homogenous and characteristic of a mountain village. The typical of mountains and healthy climate was used for balneological purposes because of the fact that the sulphide and fluoride mineral water springs appear here.

Strachocin and Goszow covered up and one urban complex was formed. The royal family quarters and great glass-works were situated here. In 1967 Stronie Slaskie received municipal rights as a result of a permanent development. The growth of the settlement was possible thanks to the industry development. Near Mount Śnieżnik and Krowiarki range there were the biggest in the whole county deposits of metal ores ( gold, silver, magnetite, limonite, hematite and siderite) and non-metal ores ( alum and saltpetres). After the Hussite wars the coins of Kłodzko County started to be minted here. In the foothills of Mount Snieznik many metal ore mines were set up . The development of the mining industry caused a necessity to establish an appropriate administration. In the 16th century the seat of so called mining - judge was appointed in Stronie Slaskie. In the second half of the 16th century the Habsburgs introduced a standardized system of the industry administering. Finally in the Biala Ladecka and the Klesnica valley an important industrial centre with its head office in Boleslawow, administered by king's chambers, was established. When the silver deposits situated in the Snieznik foothills were finished, the extraction and processing of the iron ores were increased instead. During the Thirty-Years War the mines and ironworks were damaged and the extraction near Sienna, Janowa Góra and Kletno survived only slightly. Finally at the end of the 17th century the mining centre in the foothills of Snieznik Massif stopped working.

Some of the iron mines in Janowa Góra, Kletno and Sienna were still working in the 19th century. The material received from the mines was next being processed in ironworks in Stronie and Strachocin but only on a small scale. Finally mining and the ores processing were replaced by the mill industry, alcohol production and wood-cutting. Besides: trout farming , lime kilts, breweries, quarries, sawmills and creameries became common here. The stock-farming was also developed in the region. Some new inns and about 50 timber-works were set up. The glass and crystal production increased in Strachocin. In 1940s and 1950s the uranium ore was being extracted in Janowa Góra and Kletno. Moreover, one of the biggest glass factory is still working in Stronie Slaskie today.

In the 14th century a land connected with a castle in Karpno near Ladek covered also the judge's land in Goszow, Stary Gierałtow and Stronie. In that time Karpno land belonged to the Glaubos, the Talewitz and the Parchowitz family. In 1353 Karpno was attached to the Czech Kingdom and given as a hereditary feud to the Moravian margraves who held it until 1410. In the period of anarchy, after the Hussite wars, the entire estate and the castle was a property of a robber-knight , baron Hinko Kruschina von Lichtenberg. Then the land was bought from Kruschina's heirs by the king's governor in 1454. Shortly afterwards it was incorporated to the Czech Crown and became a private property. The land included, among others, Snieznik Massif and the Bialskie Mountains. In the 16th century the town of Boleslawow and a few villages: Bielice, Janowa Gora, Kamienica, Kletno, Mlynowiec, Nowy Gieraltow, Nowa Morawa, Sienna and Stara Morawa were founded. In the forest near Gieraltow and Stronie there were also some private farms. The villages, including Stronie, were next sold in 1684 by the emperor -Leopold I to Michael Wentzel - the count von Althann, the governor of the Silesia district and the owner of Międzylesie and Roztoki. Goszów, Stary and Nowy Gieraltow, and also Bielice belonged to the baron Hofmann von Lichtenstern. The count von Althann connected the villages and made one complex called Stronie. In the 17th and the 18th century the property changed the owners very often until 1838 when it was bought by the Princess Marianna von Oranien ( Nassau-Oranim-Nederland). The landed estate remained in the Oranien family until 1906 when the Prince Friedrich Heinrich von Preussen took it over. At the beginning of the 20th century the area covering 219 hectares became a state property of the treasury. Originally it was rented, and afterwards, since 1937 it belonged to the Wroclaw Landed Society ( Landgesellschaft Breslau) and started to be parcelled out. During the First World War the river bed of the Biala Ladecka was regulated within the area of the forests and the localities. The Russian war - prisoners built the embankments, prepared banks and built numerous stages of fall. The surface of the forest was being systematically expanded by the plots bought out from the peasants.

In the 19th century the health resort visitors from Ladek were interested in the villages which now belong to the Stronie Commune. Thus the trails led from Ladek towards the Bialskie Mountains and Snieznik Massif . In 1860s the glassworks in Stronie was being visited by the tourists who also enjoyed the trips along the routes in the Biala Ladecka valley and towards the other places situated near Stronie and the Morawka valley. The visitors often made their way towards the viewpoints within the area of the Jaworowa (sycamore) Forest or Gross Wurben forester's house near Nowe (new) Bielice. The Jaworowa Forest, typical for the scenery of the Sudety Mountains, is also called a paradise. It is situated above the village of Bielice 1015 metres above sea level. In the first half of the 19th century the Princess Marianna, who liked the forest very much, built a hunting lodge here. From the Jaworowa Forest people could admire the views over the town of Nysa (Neisse) and Nysa’s surroundings. There were also some interesting viewpoints near Bielice. The Klodzko Valley and Silesia could be seen from Kowadło (anvil) - the mount over the village of Bielice. What is more, the view towards Moravia spread away from the southern part of the Jaworowa (sycamore) Clearing. In 1866 -1882 the tourist traffic developed within the area of the Bialskie Mountains thanks to the roads that were built here. In the beginning these gentle mountains were traversed by carts. All the more the travellers chose the routes where they could find some interesting botanical and geological specimens. In the second half of the 19th century Strachocin and Stronie together became an important tourist centre from where the visitors began their trips. The fact that a railway line with a railway station in Strachocin was opened on the way from Klodzko via Ladek to Stronie in 1897 contributed a lot to the overall growth of the tourism in the region. In 1930s there were many hotels, inns and lodgings for holidaymakers in Strachocin, Stronie and Goszow. There was also a doctor's surgery open here. Moreover, Bielice, Nowy and Stary Gieraltow, Kamienica and Kletno also became resorts where winter sports and hiking were being practised. Although Bolesławow, Goszow, Morawa, Rogozka and Sienna were less important as the summer resorts, there were attempts to organise a winter sports centre in Boleslawow in 1920s.

A real must-see attraction in Snieznik Massif is the Niedzwiedzia (Bear) Cave. It was discovered by chance during the process of a marble exploitation on the right slope of the Kleśnica brook valley in October 1966. It happened at 800 metres above sea level in a new set up marble quarry called Kletno III . The total length of all known tunnels spreading away in three levels is about 2,7 km. The extremely attractive tourist route showing the remains of Pleistocene animals' bones, the parts of alluvial deposit and diverse calcite dripstone forms gathered in a place called Sale Palacowe (Palace Rooms) runs along the middle level. In a heading of a former quarry there is a pavilion with an interesting exhibition .The cave was formed as the result of a destructive process of the limestone dissolving and erosion caused by water. The intensity of the process called karst formation was diverse and depended on changeable conditions within the area. Deposition processes of carbonates, which were dissolved earlier by water, formed dripstones such as stalactites, stalagmites, draperies, cascades, potholes and calcite varnish.

The most impressive cascade dripstones are about 8 metres high (Great Cascade). The cave deposit, called alluvium that fills most of the corridors and rooms, contains a great number of bones belonged to the animals that lived near the cave during the last glaciation ( cave bear, cave lion, cave wolf, cave hyena) as well as to the animals living today. Most Pleistocene remains found here were recognized as cave bear's bones ( Ursus Spelaeus) and hence the name of the place (Bear Cave). At the moment the cave is a place of wintering for some bat species. It is also a place of living for some species of insects and spiders that like shadow and humidity. The Niedzwiedzia Cave together with its surroundings is the place of a long-term research. Thus the tourist traffic in the cave is strictly limited. You can visit the cave in a guided tour in a group of max 15 people, from the end of January to the end of November, every day, except Mondays and Thursdays. For the sake of the limited admission an advance booking required (by post or telephone) . Contact: The Tourist Service Company "Jaskinia Niedwiedzia", tel.(074) 8141250.

An old lime kiln from the turn of the 18th century is situated in Stara Morawa on the road to the Niedźwiedzia Cave ( Bear Cave) in Kletno. Since 1978 the Rybczynski family have been restoring the building. They added a residential house and a studio to the remains of the old foundations and walls. In a park adjacent to the house you can admire a Japanese garden enclave. Additionally an exhibition of art presents works of Erna, Jola and Jacek Rybczyński (paintings, graphics, objects of art and sculptures). The Polish-German Association "Wapiennik Gnadenstein" based in Moguncja together with the Polish Association “Museum-Wapiennik” and "Stronica Śnieżnicka" (the Śnieżnik Page) editor's office (the local artistic periodical) are also seated in the building. The manager of the whole undertaking is a superb artist and a tutor - professor Jacek Rybczyński.

The cold war, the arms race between the USRR and the USA and moreover the construction of nuclear weapons caused the increase of the uranium ores production. In 1947 Soviet specialists started the exploration within the area of the Sudety Mountains . As a result in the summer of 1948 they discovered high radiation in the dumps located near the medieval drifts in Kletno. Thus the utilization of the drifts began. Afterwards the mine called "Kopaliny" (useful minerals) was built within the area. In the course of only six years the tunnels with total length of 37 km were driven. Twenty drifts and three shafts 83 -150 metres deep were built and 228 000 m3 of uranium ore were produced. In 1953 the mine was closed because the production was not sufficient enough. Generally the deposit gave over 20 tonnes of uranium which was only 5 % of the total production in the Sudety Mountains.

An irregular deposit situated in Kletno, called a magnetite vein, exploited for the iron ores in the past, was from several cm to 2,5 metres thick. The ore contained about 30 minerals including: sulfides, selenites, local metals, uraninites (uranium tar) and secondary uranium minerals. In 1953-1958 the fluorite was still being mined in the heading. In 2002 the tunnel nr 18, situated 800 metres from the central car park in Kletno on the way connecting Kletno and Sienna, was opened for tourists. With regard to the radioactivity problem, the tunnel, separated from the system of headings located in the highest part of the mine, is absolutely safe. The visitors start from walking along the metal stairs in a small shaft towards the heading level where the actual tourist route 200 metres long begins. On your way you can also see some natural fluorites, quartzites and other minerals. In addition a special exposition with minerals and some materials showing miners' working conditions was prepared for you. In autumn and winter you can also see some bats wintering here.

The glass factory was founded in 1864 by Franc Losky. It was situated on the site of the former glass factory within the area bought from the Princess Marianne von Oranien. Then the factory was called "Oranienhute" and developed quickly finding new customers abroad thanks to the factory owner's efforts,. A railway built in Stronie in 1897 also supported the progress of the firm. During the First World War the glass factory production was restricted significantly.The years between WW I and WW II were quite difficult for the factory that did not manage to avoid the global crisis. During the World War Two the company fell into decline. Eberhardt Losky was the last director of the factory that time . In 1946 the production restarted from the crystal glass decoration. The company received a new name "the United Glass Factories of the Lower Silesia District - the National Crystal Glass Factory in Stronie Slaskie". In 1951 the factory started the molten glass smelting. At first it was boron-silicon laboratory glass. Then the production of lead glass (crystal glass) was introduced in 1953. The glassware export started the same year. Since the beginning the factory was precursory in the new technologies implementation. In 1961 a new way of glass smelting was used in the factory for the first time. Old pot furnaces were replaced by tank ones. In 1970 the name of the company was changed again for "Violetta" Crystal Glass Factory in Stronie Slaskie. In 1992 the glass factory transformed into a joint-stock company. Since then it is called a joint-stock company of the Crystal Glass Factory "Violetta" in Stronie Slaskie.

At the moment about 1.000 people from Stronie and the region are employed here. Since the beginning the factory had a good reputation among glass artists who could made their works here. The factory is also available for tourists on weekdays. Guided tours only. A special route for the visitors enables them to see the basic stages of the crystal glass production. The route includes:·manual and mechanical glass smelting and glass moulding section·cooling section·semi-finished products processing·manual cutting sectionThe route takes 1,5 h and finishes with the ready-made products presentation. The visitors have also an opportunity to do some shopping in a manufacturer's own shop.

A modern sports centre in Stronie offers among others: indoor swimming pool, sports hall with basketball ground, fitness club with dry and wet sauna, Jacuzzi, weight-lifting gym, solarium and mountaineering wall. Accommodation also available (hotel rooms). Stronie is also becoming a winter sports centre. There are many ski lifts on the slopes of Snieznik Massif .

Not so long ago a ski centre on Mount Czarna Gora was opened. The centre offers numerous sport devices such as: chairlift, 8 ski-lifts and ski roundabout (carousel) for children. In fact the massif is cut by the system of the former ground roads which are perfect routes for the cross-country skiing.

God's Mother the Queen of Poland and St. Maternus Parish Church from the 13th century. Originally wooden, in 1732 rebuilt from Gothic into baroque style. It is a basilica building with a nave and two aisles, a choir finished with a semicircular arch and a barrel vault covered with frescoes. The entrance is decorated with a heraldic cartouche made of stone and a niche with a statuette of Christ in it. Over the statuette there is a belfry from 1758. The rich interior consists of a baroque altar from the 18th century, a polychromatic pulpit and a stone-font. Near the church you can find a shrine and a tombstone of the Losky family.

The baroque - statue of St. John of Nepomuk from about 1720 - situated by the parish church

The ruins of the early baroque St. Onufry Chapel from 1732. The chapel was founded in 1732 by the Count Johan von Wallis who was the owner of Stronie Slaskie.

The Princess Marianne von Oranien coat of arms from the end of the 19th century, placed on a facade of a building in 60 Kosciuszko Street in Stronie Slaskie

Gothic and Renaissance St. Joseph Oblate Parish Church in Boleslawow - built in 1598, destroyed in the 17th century, rebuilt as a baroque building. Rich decorated interior.

Baroque votive column from 1672 - founded by a judge called Wolf. Primitivism in workmanship is very characteristic to the column. Sculptures decorating the column present some biblical scenes, portraits of bishops and popes. The whole is decorated with vines and birds motifs.

The former manor house complex from the 19th century – nowadays a building of the Town Office in Stronie, in the past it was an administrative centre and a seat of lords. It was built as a summer residence for the royal family. In the 19th century the house was a common destination for the health resort visitors from Ladek.

Baroque St Michael Archangel Church in Stary Gieraltow from the 18th century. It is one-nave church with separated choir and a diverse decor.

An auxiliary church of the Stronie Slaskie parish in Sienna - a stone building with a nave and a semicircular choir, covered with a barrel vault and a gable roof where a high octagonal spire with a conical broach roof is placed. The church was erected in the second half of the 18th century.

It was published on the order of the Town Hall in Stronie SlaskieKościuszki Street 55;57 - 550 Stronie Śląskietel. 0*74/ 811 77 11;fax 0*74/ 811 77 32e-mail: umss@stronie.pl;www.stronie.plText: Konrad Tomaszewski, Iwona Rybka-Ceglecka, prof. Wojciech Ciężkowski, Marek Suszyński.Photos: Tomasz Gmerek, Izabella Zamojska, Konrad Tomaszewski, Lech Sadowski.Translation: Iwona Matuszkiewicz