Śleźa mountain massif

View from the church tower on the area on Śleźa mountain with the PTTK hut

View from the tower of the Church of the Virgin Mary towards Lake Mietkowski

The concrete lookout tower from the second half of the last century is by no means beautiful, nor can it be easily overcome, but the view from it is worth it.

The lookout tower from 1907 was unfortunately closed. There was no info about opening hours.

According to available information, the chateau has been under reconstruction since 2016, so hopefully it will continue and it will be possible to repair it.

The Śleźa (Šlonža) mountain massif is located about 35 kilometers SW of the Polish city of Wroclaw. From the main bus station (located underground) you can reach the town of Sobótka in about an hour, which is located at the foot of the mentioned massif. In the near future, you can also get here by train, because the railway line is being renewed from Świdnica after 16 years of cessation of operation. We arrive by bus at Sobotecká small bus station. Mount Šleźa is 5.5 km and 500 meters above sea level. From the bus station, you can follow the red sign directly from here, but since we want to go to the Bismarck lookout tower on the Wieźica hill, we choose another option. We set off on Świdnicka Street in order to come across a yellow sign coming from the former (and future) train station. The plan is doing well and after about 500 meters we find a yellow one, which leads us left through the park and then a slight climb to the forest. The road ends there and the sign leads us a little further along the forest road, to change direction by almost 180 ° after a while. We continue with a slight ascent, the first ones are starting to appear, although at the moment not very attractive views of the town from which we came. The road from the serpentine again measures just over half a kilometer and we are already coming to the Wieźica saddle. Here it is possible to have a snack in the tourist hut, or visit the building on the opposite side of the road. But we continue along the yellow sign, which plunges into a denser forest and the road begins to climb more and is more rocky. This is so that we do not miss the Bismarck lookout tower on the hill Wieźica (414 m above sea level). We found a building from 1907, but we were not allowed to climb 60 steps to a height of 15 meters to see the surrounding countryside, because it was closed. So we continue. The route first descends slightly to the Przelecz Debowa saddle, then continues over the indistinct Bartoszek hill to the crossroads, where the red sign from Sobótka joins us. Behind it, the angle of inclination increases and we climb around the statue of the Virgin with the fish (sometimes also called St. Peter with the fish) and the bear with the cross. Both are hidden under a shelter and surrounded by a fence, although already quite leaky. The statues date from 400–200 BC and were created by the Celts. The cross on the bear's back is probably from a later period and marked the boundary of the land. The stony path continues upwards and after about a kilometer we come to a meadow on Mount Ślenźa. It is a wonderful Sunday afternoon and there are many tourists and pilgrims, because the mountain is also a place of pilgrimage for the Slezan. In addition to the tourist cottage, there are two interesting buildings, allowing beautiful views of the surroundings. Firstly, there is the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was built in 1702 and was rebuilt in the middle of the 19th century after a fire. It is possible to ascend to the observation platform of the church tower. And about 100 meters away is a concrete lookout tower from the seventies of the last century. Although both buildings stand very close, each of them opens up a view in a different direction. After paying the entrance fee, the church offers a view towards Wroclaw and Świdnica, admission to the lookout tower is free and from here you can enjoy the Owl Mountains. When climbing the lookout tower, be very careful, the metal ladders are almost perpendicular (watch out for the knees) and the manholes in the concrete to all three floors are standardized for an ordinary person…, so you won't otherwise climb down your backpacks. Certainly none of the European Commissioners visited the lookout tower, because although it was reconstructed in 2014, it is necessary to be very careful when ascending and descending, the manholes between the floors are not secured against falling. You can also have a good snack, either in the buffet by the church or in the cottage PTTK (Polish tourist club), where you can also buy local beer Sobótka. There are also several fireplaces in the meadow, which local tourists use richly made of sausages. And there is a second „Celtic“ bear with a cross (if it really is a bear). The return trip will not be directly to Sobótka, but we choose the blue sign to the village of Górka. The road is quite rocky and quite a steep descent, so watch out for your feet. This way we go about a kilometer, then we go on a bigger forest path and the descent is more comfortable. Once again and after about a kilometer we dive into the forest on a forest path, so that we finally reach the village of Górka again on a comfortable forest path. On the edge of the village on the left side we pass the castle park and come to the Górka castle. Originally there was an Augustinian monastery, in the 19th century it was rebuilt into a Neo-Renaissance chateau, after the Second World War it served as a training center, then as a hotel and since 2016 it has been under reconstruction. Then the sign continues along the local road between the buildings to the main road. There is also a bus stop with connections to Wrocław. But because we still have an hour, we set off on foot along the main road to Sobótka. It is about 2.5 kilometers from here to the bus station. This trip can also be made from the Czech Republic, from Meziměstí it is 65 km to Sobótka. And then just choose the right weather. The whole described circuit then measures about 14 km.