Wałbrzych

Wałbrzych was an important regional centre throughout its history, specializing in clothmaking, and enjoyed the most growth after it and the surrounding areas developed large-scale coal mining. Other industries followed, including most prominently pottery. Wałbrzych suffered relatively little destruction in the Second World War and, apart from the city itself, it can boast a number of historic building and attractions in its immediate surroundings, like the magnificent Książ castle or the spa town of Szczawno-Zdrój. By today, however, the region is quite economically depressed due to the fall of its traditional industries.

By plane

• Copernicus Airport Wrocław

  phone: +48 71 35-81-100
  The closest airport is the Wrocław Airport.

By rail

Wałbrzych is also a major railway junction.

By car

The town can be reached by road within an hour's drive from Wrocław using the DK35 road.

Wałbrzych is an expansive city over many hills and has a well-developed,street and road network.

Książ

• Książ Castle

  address: ul. Piastów Śląskich 1
  Largest castle in Silesia (third in Poland), built in 13th century and remodeled several times. Cultural and exhibition centre of the region.

• Palm House

  address: ul. Wrocławska 158
  Built in 1911-1914 by order of Jan Henryk XV Hochberg, in tribute to the beautiful wife of the duchess Maria Theresie von Pless called Daisy.

• Ruins of Old Książ CastleFaux Gothic ruins built opposite (across a valley) Książ Castle at the end of 18th century.

Wałbrzych Old Town

• Wałbrzych Market SquareA place where a weekly market took place in the past. In the years 1731-1853 its center was occupied by the Baroque town hall. Today, the attraction of the Market Square are historic tenement houses and a fountain in which water compositions change every several minutes

• Town HallA representative three-storey building maintained in the style of historical eclecticism, imitating gothic. In the middle top of the front facade there is a clock, under it there are bas-reliefs depicting three shields with the arms of Wałbrzych in various historical periods. Since 1999, the bugle call of Wałbrzych has been heard every day.

• Wałbrzych, the Guardian Angels ChurchBuilt in 1898 in the neo-Gothic style, in the place of the previous church. The church is hall, built on a Latin cross plan, it is 60 meters long, 30 meters wide, and 22 meters high.

• Sanctuary of Our Lady of SorrowsGothic church, rebuilt into a Baroque style.Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sorrows placed in the center of Wałbrzych and is the oldest building of the city, called by the inhabitants "the heart of the city". According to chronicles, already in 1191, there was a settlement of Wałbrzych founded on a hill in the midst of a deep forest, near a wooden church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. From the altar in this church came a spring, having the power to heal the sick. The legend says that a pious knight, in thanksgiving for saving him from certain death, set up among the forest on the hill, near the spring with miraculous water healing eye diseases, the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, and built a wooden church for her glory.

• Protestant churchDesigned in the years 1785-1788 by Carl Gotthard Langhans, the founder of the Berlin Brandenburg Gate

• Centrum department store building

  address: ul. Słowackiego 7
  One of the network of department stores owned by the Schocken family spanning the entire Germany was built in 1930 in the then Waldenburg as a striking modernist building. After the Second World War, it became one of Poland's Centrum department stores. The latter chain did not survive the recent economic changes in Poland and the building now houses various unrelated retail establishments.

• District Court

  address: Słowackiego

• Post Office

• District Prosecutor's Office

• Alberti Palace

• palace of the CzetritzThe palace used to be called the "Castle of Walbrzych". It was built in 1606 - 1628 by the family von Czettritz. It happened after the fire of the "Nowy Dwór" castle.

Elsewhere

• Ruins of Nowy Dwór CastleThe ruins of the castle Nowy Dwór (Ogorzelec) are on the top of Castle Hill (618 m). Probably the castle was erected by the prince of Świdnica-Jawor Bolek II Mały in the mid-fourteenth century.

• Old Mine in Wałbrzych(Centrum Nauki i Sztuki Stara Kopalnia) is the biggest post-industrial tourist attraction in Poland, located in the former bituminous coal mine – Kopalnia Węgla Kamiennego “Julia” (“Thorez”). It covers the area of 4.5 hectares of historic post-industrial objects with authentic equipment, such as a machine park which has been secured and made accessible for visitors. With the help of guides working in Stara Kopalnia (former miners who worked in KWK “Julia” in the past), all visitors can not only see the enormous scale of mine infrastructure, but also learn about the character of the dangerous and demanding work of a miner.

• Wałbrzych Museum

  address: ul. 1 Maja 9
  Departments include ceramics, art, history and geology.

• Gross-Rosen Museum

  address: ul. Szarych Szeregów 9
  The archives are located in Wałbrzych. The concentration camp is in Rogoźnica, 25 km north.

• Gold TrainAlleged location of hiding the legendary train with gold plundered by the Nazis during the Second World War

• Mausoleum in Wałbrzych (Totenburg)Hitler's monument of "pride, glory and strength" commemorated the victims of World War I, in fact it was a place of cultivation of Nazi ideas

• Railway tunnel under the Little Wołowiec mountainCounting is the longest railway tunnel in Poland.

• Mountain Borowa (black mountain)The highest mountain in the Wałbrzyskie Mountains, in 2017 a public observation tower was built.

• Mountain ChełmiecThe second largest peak in the area. A monumental mountain in the shape of a dome that dominates the city. At the top there is an observation tower, 45 meter cross, and two radio-television masts.

• The city has several tunnels and underground bunkers built during World War II, some of these tunnels are buried completely or partially. As well as a lot of mining facilities (mining shafts, industrial halls, tunnels)

• "Książ" Herd

  address: ul. Jeździecka 3
  Horse riding.

• Galeria Victoria

  phone: +48 74 632 30 01
  address: ul. 1 Maja 64, 58-300 Wałbrzych
  A very modern out-of-town shopping centre with a range of stores representing many of the retail chains popular in Germany and Poland, covering footwear, apparel, beauty, electronics and more, even including a foreign currency exchange point. Due to the city's economic situation, the apparel/footwear selection is mostly low-end. Anchored by the Intermarche supermarket and featuring a cinema and a food court. Ample parking and a free bus to Plac Grunwaldzki in the centre of Wałbrzych every 25 minutes (every hour on Sundays). Great for convenience shopping. Absolutely not the place to go for local produce or those who don't enjoy formatted retail.

• Pasaż

  address: pl. Magistracki 8, 58-300

• Pierogowa Chata

  address: ul. Wrocławska 82

• Caffe Sztygarówka

  address: ul. Wysockiego 29

• Palmiarnia Kawiarnia "Pod Tropikiem"

  address: ul. Wrocławska 158

• Pod Pretekstem Art Cafe

  address: ul.Rycerska 1 58-300

• Złota Stacja

  address: ul.Rycerska 1 58-300

• PTTK „Harcówka”

  address: Lotników, 58-301

• ibis Styles Wałbrzych

  address: ul. 1 Maja 70
  A Holiday Inn Express built to the brand's newest standards in 2013, and then hastily rebranded to ibis Styles. Reasonable prices, breakfast and WiFi included. The hotel is within an out-of-town shopping complex and very convenient to reach by car, while pretty much impossible otherwise.

• Castle Hotel

  address: ul. Piastów Śląskich 1

• Hotel Club Restauracja APROPOS

  address: Ul. Wieniawskiego 82

• Zielone Wzgórze

  address: ul. Świdnicka 12A

• Hotel „Maria”

  address: ul. Wrocławska 134 b

• Hotel Arkadia

  address: Ul. Wrocławska 113

• Pensjonat Stada Ogierów Skarbu Państwa „KSIĄŻ”

  address: ul. Jeździecka 3

• Zajazd „Adamski”

  address: ul. Fabiana 20

• Zajazd

  address: ul. Orkana 92

• Dolnośląskie has a wealth of destinations to offer within an hour's drive from Wałbrzych, including:

• Wrocław, the region's capital
• Karpacz, the portal to the Karkonosze Mountain Range
• Jelenia Góra, a smaller historic town and a popular tourist destination for mountaineers as well

Wałbrzych is close to the border of Poland and Czech Republic

• Wałbrzych's Czech twin town, Hradec Kralove, is a two-hour drive away, less than 100 km by road
• Prague is only 3 hours away by car (continue from Hradec Kralove over E67)