The Valley of Palaces and Gardens at Jelenia Góra in Poland

To FREEDOMtravel

Advertisement

Writer: Helena Bergström

The Castle Valley at Jelenia Góra, in the south-west of Poland, is a valley extremely rich in castles, fortresses and palaces. Sometimes the castles are just a stone's throw away from each other, and in total there are around 30 interesting buildings to see.

Tweet

Share

Share

Pin

Share

Share

Castle Valley at Jelenia Góra

The Castle Valley at Jelenia Góra, sometimes called The Valley of Palaces and Gardens, is unique in the density of its castles and palaces. In this valley, at the foot of the Karkonosze mountain range (Riesengebirge), you'll find everything from Gothic defence towers to Renaissance mansions, Baroque palaces and outright castles.

The Castle Valley at Jelenia Góra is located near the Polish town of Jelenia Góra, and we travelled here by motorhome after our visit to Hrubá Skála in the Czech Republic.

A motorhome trip around the Castle Valley at Jelenia Góra

We googled different castles, fortresses and palaces in the area, drew them on a map and simply followed the map with the motorhome. Some of the castles were more interesting than others, but the most amazing thing was that it was always 2-15 minutes driving time between each building. Here are the castles we checked out, in the order we saw them...

1. Pakoszów Palace

Pakoszów Palace is a Baroque palace built in 1725 at the request of Johann Martin Gottfried, the mayor of Jelenia Góra. Today the palace operates as a 5-star hotel with the review "fantastic" on Booking.com.

Address: Zamkowa 3, Piechowice

2. Chojnik Castle

Chojnik Castle is located on top of a mountain in the Karkonosze National Park, overlooking the Jelenia Góra Valley. This fortress was originally erected by order of Duke Bolko I the Strong in 1292, to protect the borders against the menacing Vaclav II of Bohemia.

Today it is popular to hike up to this ruin, about 3 kilometres in each direction. We passed nearby with the motorhome but did not prioritise the hike, and therefore offer a picture from an image bank.

Address: Zamek Chojnik, Jelenia Góra

3. Prince Henryk Castle

Henryk's Castle is a historic hunting castle built in 1806 on the highest peak of the Łomnica Hills. You can park a kilometre away from the castle, and then walk up to the top where it sits. Once up there, you can enter the tower for a small fee, have a picnic on the benches around it, and take in the view. A nice walk we thought!

Address: 58-500 Staniszów

4. Staniszów Palace

Staniszów Palace is an 18th-century palace consisting of the main building, several neighbouring buildings and a large park complex. Today it houses a hotel, spa, restaurant and art gallery, and it looks cosy to sit and eat out in the greenery. When we stopped, a small tourist bus arrived with a whole bunch of happy Germans who planned to have their lunch here.

Address: Staniszów 100, Jelenia Góra

5. Miłków Spiż Palace

Miłków Spiż Palace, located near Karpacz, is surrounded by a two-hundred-year-old park overlooking the Karkonosze mountain range. The original Baroque palace was built by Carl Heinrich von Zierotin in 1667, and the palace was later rebuilt after a fire in 1768. Today, this beautiful building serves as a hotel and restaurant.

Address: Spiżowa 1, Miłków

6. Bukowiec Palace

Bukowiec Palace, or Schloss Buchwald as it is called in German, is a historic palace in the village of Bukowiec. Already in the 16th century a Renaissance mansion was built here, and the palace has since been developed. In most photos we have seen, the building is grey and a bit "boring", but when we came here it was yellow and really beautiful. Today it seems that people come here mainly to walk in the surrounding natural areas.

Address: Robotnicza 7, Bukowiec

7. Karpniki Castle

Karpniki Castle, or Fischbach as it is known in German, is a 16th-century castle, beautifully surrounded by a moat and water. A lot of history has taken place here over the years, including the famous Hohenzollern family. Today, the castle serves as a hotel and restaurant. A fantastic setting, we must say!

Address: Łąkowa 1, 58-533 arpniki

8. Łomnica Palace

Łomnica Palace has a history dating back to the Middle Ages. Among other things, the palace served as a noble estate for the von Küster family from 1835 to 1945. Today, the palace serves as a hotel, with two restaurants, craft shops and a museum. The castle is surrounded by a beautiful and peaceful garden, and we saw some restaurant guests sitting in the beautiful gazebo.

Address: ul. Karpnicka 3, Łomnica

9. Wojanów Palace

Just a few minutes from the Łomnica Palace, Wojanów Palace appears, which was one of the most beautiful castles we saw during the day. This castle, which has been inhabited continuously for over 400 years, today offers hotels with both rooms and apartments, as well as a restaurant, spa and conference centre. The castle is surrounded by a large and lovely castle garden where it is beautiful to walk around.

Address: Wojanów 8, Wojanów

10. Bobrów Palace

Bobrów Palace, or Boberstein as it is called in German, was the last castle on our castle tour. The first brick building on the site was built around 1450, as a castle or watchtower. After 1945, the palace was occupied by the Soviet army, among others, and from the 1960s it has fallen into disrepair.

The castle, which is privately owned, is really gorgeous but very badly worn by time. It is now surrounded by high fences and guarded by an angry watchdog. Building materials are lying around the house, so maybe there are plans for restoration, who knows?

Address: Bobrów 9A, 58-533

More castles in the Castle Valley at Jelenia Góra

There are actually even more castles in the Castle Valley at Jelenia Góra, about 30 in total. Here are a few more that we read about, but did not get to visit.

• Dwór Czarne
• Mysłakowice Palace
• Paulinum Palace

More castles nearby Castle Valley at Jelenia Góra

In addition, there are a large number of beautiful and grand castles, if you look a little further afield. Here are some that look interesting!

• Czocha Castle
• Frýdlant Castle, Czech Republic
• Książ Castle
• Świny Castle

More to see and do near Castle Valley at Jelenia Góra

Want to see more than castles and palaces? There are plenty of other things to see and do near the Castle Valley at Jelenia Góra. First of all, you'll want to check out the town of Jelenia Góra, which has an incredibly beautiful town centre, filled with beautiful buildings.

We also highly recommend a visit to Świeradów-Zdrój, where you'll find two fantastic spa hotels (which we'll tell you more about soon) as well as a wickedly delicious "Sky Walk".

You can also visit glassworks, both in Poland and in the Czech Crystal Valley. Another great experience is to get to the top of the Snezka Mountain, which is shared by Poland and the Czech Republic.

Do you like visiting castles and palaces?

Do you like visiting castles and palaces? Where have you seen the most castles and other castle-like buildings?

You might also like:

Sloup Castle in the Czech Republic - a fascinating place to visit Kokořín Castle in the Czech Republic - plus nature experiences Trosky Castle in the Czech Republic - a landmark ruin Rastatt Castle in Germany - 18th century baroque castle A motorhome holiday in Poland - golf, cities and history Malmö-Świnoujście with Finnlines - a comfortable crossing