Szklarska Poręba (, ) is a border town in Karkonosze County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. The town has a population of around 6,500. It is a popular ski resort.

Szklarska Poręba is an important regional and national centre for mountain hiking, cycling and skiing. The ski resorts in this area are growing in popularity as a budget alternative to the Alps, thanks to wide range of both Alpine and Nordic skiing facilities.

Geography

Szklarska Poręba is situated in the Sudetes, in the valley of the Kamienna, between the Karkonosze Mountains in the south and Jizera Mountains in the west, at above sea level, south-west of Jelenia Góra.

History

Establishment and early history

thumb|left|Our Lady of the Rosary church, the oldest preserved church in Szklarska Poręba

The land on which the village was founded was bought in the 13th century from Duke Bernard the Lightsome by the Knights Hospitaller descending from Calidus Fons (now Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój in Jelenia Góra), who were interested in finding gold and precious gems in the area. It was part of the duchies of Lwówek and Jawor, the southwesternmost duchies of fragmented Piast-ruled Poland. The village was established, as part of the Duchy of Jawor, and settled by German colonists. It was first mentioned in 1366 and 1372 in conjunction with a glass factory, forerunner of the famed later Josephinenhütte, as Schribirshau and Schreibershow.

In 1578 several Czech Protestants moved to the village and greatly contributed to its development. which annexed the region in 1742, with 15 districts covering .

20th century

thumb|left|Town centre, c. 1940

Around 1900 several artists discovered the beauty of the countryside and formed the Schreiberhau artists' colony, among them Gerhart Hauptmann and his brother Carl, Otto Mueller, Wilhelm Bölsche, and composer Anna Teichmüller. In 1911, founded the Silesian Artistic Weaving Workshop with an exhibition gallery, which existed until 1919. Later, younger artists formed the St. Lukas artists' association. In 1925 the first winter games of the International Workers Olympiad (organised by the Socialist Workers' Sport International) were held in the town. Twelve national delegations participated.

During World War II the Reich Labour Service (RAD) ran two Nazi German labor camps, RAD-Abteilung 6/103 and RAD-Abteilung 6/107, in the settlement. In 1942, the Germans also established a forced labour camp for Soviet prisoners of war in its vicinity. With the advance of the Red Army, German authorities called the population to flee their homes. Many fled to neighboring Sudetenland in German-occupied Czechoslovakia.

After the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II Schreiberhau became again part of Poland under the territorial changes of Poland after World War II and was given the name Szklarska Poręba which literally means "glassmakers' clearing". In accordance to the Potsdam Agreement, the German inhabitants were expelled and the village was resettled with Poles, many of whom were themselves expelled from former eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. The Josephinenhütte was moved to Schwäbisch Gmünd. The glass factory in Szklarska Poręba was renamed and continued to operate. On 22–27 September 1947 the conference on the establishment of the communist information office (Kominform) took place in the village. Following the Korean War, in 1953–1959, Poland admitted 181 North Korean orphans in Szklarska Poręba. The village gained the status of a town in 1959.

  • Bad Harzburg, Germany
  • Harrachov, Czech Republic
  • Kazimierz Dolny, Poland
  • Kořenov, Czech Republic
  • Worpswede, Germany

<gallery mode=packed>

Wodospad Kamieńczyka Karkonosze.JPG|Kamieńczyk Falls

2018 Schronisko na Szrenicy 1.jpg|Mountain hut on Szrenica

Szklarska Poręba, Willa "Jaskółka" - fotopolska.eu (283933).jpg|"Jaskółka" Villa

PL, Szklarska Poręba, ul. Kilińskiego 20 DSC 0001-001.JPG|Mineralogical Museum

2018 Kościół Bożego Ciała w Szklarskiej Porębie 4.jpg|Corpus Christi church

2018 Wieża widokowa na Wysokim Kamieniu 2.jpg|Observation tower on

</gallery>

References

Bibliography

  • Skiing in Szklarska Poręba
  • Municipal website
  • [http://www.szklarskaporeba.info/]
  • www.szklarska-poreba.pl Szklarska Poręba - gallery, news, map
  • Szklarska Poreba Apartments