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Po symbolicznej edycji w 2020 roku Jazz nad Odrą powraca w pełnej krasie. Pięć dni koncertów na trzech scenach, gwiazdy polskiego i światowego jazzu oraz tradycyjne jam session do rana – Strefa Kultury Wrocław odkrywa pierwsze karty tegorocznego programu.
Duszniki-Zdroj spa is located in a narrow valley of the Bystrzyca Dusznicka River on a former trade route leading from Czech Prague to Wroclaw. Nearby is the nature reserve ‘Peatland by Zieleniec’ and a uniformly forested ridge of the Orlica Mountains.
NATURAL CONDITIONS
The mountainous nature of the landscape dominates the entire municipality area above the spa town. It is an area with special landscape values. The forested range of the Orlica Mountains creates a levelled peak along the state border with three peaks towering above a relative height of 1000 m a.s.l. (Śerlich – 1025 m, Zielony Garb – 1026 m, Orlica 1084 m). Below, in the area of Zieleniec, Podgorze and Graniczna valley, the mountain tributaries of the Bystrzyca Dusznicka river divide the slope area of the mountains into single ridges (Przyjacielska Kopa – 737 m, Soltysia Kopa – 895 m, Mylna -879 m, Borsuk – 843 m, Chybna – 775 m, Gajowa 701 m, Jelen – 801 m). Along the entire length of the mountain section of the Bystrzyca Dusznicka river it flows deeply into the valley, which is a natural border between the range of the Orlica and Bystrzyca mountains. In this complex, a completely natural mountain landscape has been preserved. The Bystrzyca Mountains enter the town in its north-east area. It is a part of a forested, domed mountain complex with the peaks of Ptasia Gora (745 m a.s.l.) and Nawojowa (675 m a.s.l.).
CLIMATE
Duszniki-Zdroj has a mountain climate with an average annual temperature of 6.2°C, including January -3.3°C, in July 15.1°C. The length of the winter period is 16-18 weeks, while the summer period is about 6 weeks. Maximum relative humidity is observed in November, December and January, minimum in April and May. There are 44 foggy days in an annual range, the average number of bright days is 55. Southeast winds predominate. Annual rainfall exceeds 1000 mm, maximum rainfall is in summer, minimum in February. The first snow appears in mid-October, the last in mid-May. The average number of days with snowfall is 200, including 125 days with snow. These natural conditions are favourable for skiing and other winter sports. Varied terrain configuration has a direct impact on the diversity of microclimatic conditions. The highest temperatures and sunshine conditions occur on slopes with southern exposure. Slopes with northern exposure have the capacity to increase snow accumulation and the length of its cover. River valleys are natural flumes for cold air flow or retention. These are areas of clear thermal inversion. Forest complexes constitute a natural barrier for winds and they are conducive to the accumulation of snow cover and its durability. Climate in Duszniki has specific properties that can be felt especially in the spa area. The spa is located at an altitude of 560 m a.s.l. and the climate here is as it occurs at an altitude of 1000 m. Duszniki climate has some features of the alpine climate.
HISTORICAL VIEW
The history of settlement in our commune and surrounding area dates back to the Neolithic period. However, the first written references about the settlement upon the Bystrzyca Dusznicka river date back to 1324. In the fourteenth century, thanks to its location, it received the town rights. The town’s location also influenced its development as it was the trade route connecting Silesia with the Czech Republic. At the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries, a wooden stronghold was erected on the Gomola hill guarding the strategic Polish Gate. In the later centuries, a stone castle consisting of residential and farm buildings and a high 30-meter tower were built on the site of the former construction. It was the seat of the owners of feudal property Homole – Panowicow. Their state dominion included two towns: Duszniki and Lewin and 21 villages. During the religious wars the castle was taken over by the Hussites who decided to reside there. Abandoned in 1560, it began to fall into ruin. To this day only a fragment of the perimeter wall and part of the tower about 10 meters high survived from the former stronghold. Duszniki remained a private property until the liquidation of the Homol dominion in 1595.
In the mid-fourteenth century, in Duszniki, metallurgy developed exploiting small deposits of iron ore which was smelted in a nearby smithy located in today’s Podgorze. However, the ore deposits quickly depleted and the mining industry collapsed only to return to Duszniki after over four centuries. At the beginning of the 19th century buildings of a large ironworks belonging to the Mendelssohn family were built in the Strazyska Valley. Feliks Mendelssohn – Bartholdy stayed in the estate of his uncles in 1823. The young composer probably gave many concerts in the developing spa resort at that time. In honour of the composer, the Duszniki society named the main avenue leading to the former smelter after him.
At the end of the 16th century, there was a lively development of the town related mainly to weaving, trade and papermaking. Even before 1562 a paper mill was erected in Duszniki. The buildings of the present paper mill come from 1605 and constitute a set of adjacent facilities: the main building, the drying room, the entrance pavilion and a small outhouse. In 1968 the Papermaking Museum was established here gathering exhibits on the history of papermaking and the development of the paper industry. In 1971 a paper mill, where paper production by hand methods is takes place until today, was launched. The 30-year war brought destruction and inhibition of the town’s development through continuous marches of the Swedish and imperial troops and by contributions. Re-development only took place in the second half of the 17th and 18th centuries. Duszniki became an important centre of weaving and cloth trade, a paper production centre and a health resort. Although the first mention of healing waters comes from the beginning of the 15th century, it was not until 1769 that the first studies of mineral springs were carried out. From that moment on the development of the spa began rapidly. Pavilions, inns, first bathing facilities and a social house were built. From year to year the turnout increased so that at the beginning of the 19th century Duszniki was known almost all over Europe. The construction of a picturesque road from Duszniki to Polanica through the Hell Valley and running a railway line to Kudowa in 1890-1905 intensified the influx of patients and tourists to the spa towns in this part of Klodzko Land.
There were many outstanding Poles in Duszniki and they left interesting descriptions and views of the old spa. A prominent guest was King Jan Kazimierz who, after abdication on his way to France, stopped on 17.08.1669 at the ‘Under the Black Bear’ inn. In 1818 Jozef Elsner was having a treatment, followed, on 3.08.1826, by his eminent pupil Frederic Chopin who came to Duszniki Zdroj with his mother and sisters. Two charity concerts crowned the composer’s stay and treatments. Duszniki was also made famous by a writer Fryderyk Skarbek, a poet and a preacher Karol Bołoz Antonowicz, a poet Roman Zmorski, Zygmunt Bogusz Stęczyński, Zygmunt Krasiński and Karl von Holtei, a doctor Fryderyk Skobel and Edward Dembowski.
After 1945 Duszniki became one of the most popular spas and holiday resorts in Poland. As early as 1946 the First International Chopin Festival was organized here, former guesthouses and hotels were converted into spa hospitals, nursing homes and holiday homes. Old mineral water intakes were removed and new ones were erected together with the Mineral Water Pump Room. The facilities of the spa part currently are: Natural Medicine Plant providing a full range of healing services, two spa hospitals, numerous nursing homes, recreation centres, hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, cafés and bars. The history of the city is inseparable from the history of the spa. Its creation was determined by the discovery of numerous sources of healing waters. The healing properties of the ‘Zimny Zdroj’ source were already known in 1408. The fame of Duszniki waters spread far beyond the borders of the country. Due to their pleasant taste they were sought after as a banquet drink by prominent families. However, it was not until the 18th century that the sources were properly evaluated and began to be used. Around 1770 the medical world began to be interested in the healing properties of Duszniki waters. In 1801, the spa doctor Dr. Blottner published a brochure in Klodzko the title of which was: ‘A guide for those who want to use the milk treatment and health sources in Kudowa and Duszniki as a medicine’. The author dedicated it to the medicine doctor Mogalle from Wroclaw, ‘the doctor of the higher mining office and the assessor of Collegi Medici et Sanitas’. This doctor (most likely a Pole from Opole) earned his attention in the field of spa treatment in Lower Silesia. He published many papers mainly describing mineral springs and Silesian bathing waters contributing to their development.
Located in Klodzko County at that time, Duszniki owed him the role of a health resort and the establishment of a dairy and farm plant. Led by an example of similar resorts located in the Czech mountains, he concluded that due to the highest location and its alpine conditions (flora and climate) Duszniki could play a similar role. In 1800, such a resort was established in Duszniki. Dr. Mogalla developed a new, better way to de-whey and whey for healing purposes. Thanks to this, the spa quickly gained recognition and the number of patients kept increasing year by year.
Duszniki was founded in the 13th century as a settlement connected with the nearby Homole stronghold. Probably at the beginning of the fourteenth century, it obtained its town rights and served as a marketplace along the trade route leading from the Czech Republic through the Polish Gate and further along the Bystrzyca valley to Klodzko. From the beginning of the 16th century the healing properties of the ‘Zimny’ and from 1797 the ‘Letni’ sources were known. Even before the end of the 18th century, the first bath parks and guesthouses were built. Goat and sheep’s milk treatments enjoyed great popularity among the visitors who came to Duszniki. Famous guests began to come to the increasingly fashionable spa resort: in 1813 Frederick Wilhelm III enjoyed his stay, wounded Polish soldiers of the Napoleonic army were treated here, in 1815 Jozef Morawski stayed in Duszniki, in 1818 Józef Elsner, and in 1826 Fryderyk Skarbek and Fryderyk Chopin. Even before the World War I, a spa house and a lot of new guesthouses were built. In the interwar period a ski jump, toboggan run, bobsleigh track and ice rink were constructed. After World War II, the spa facilities were nationalized, and most of the boarding houses were taken over by the Employees’ Holiday Fund. Duszniki became a popular spa and holiday resort for the workers. During the period of low stabilization, in the 1960s, a new spa house with a mineral water pump room and several new sanatorium buildings were built.
CULTURAL EVENTS IN DUSNIKI-ZDROJ
CHOPIN FESTIVALS
The International Chopin Festival in Duszniki Zdroj is held annually to commemorate the stay of Fryderyk Chopin. Chopin himself gave two charity concerts during his stay in the resort. The Chopin Festival has been taking place since 1946 becoming one of the oldest festivals in Poland. It gathers the best pianist stars from the country and around the world.
SIGHTS AND TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
PAPER MUSEUM
When we take the main route leading to the Polish-Czech border in Kudowa in Klodzko region, just before entering Duszniki we can see a historic paper mill standing by the road on the banks of the Bystrzyca Dusznicka river. Paper has been made here for 400 years and the location of the mill is obviously not accidental – it was conditioned by the need for clean water necessary for production.
Duszniki paper mill is one of the biggest tourist attractions of our beautiful region. It is the only preserved and operating facility of this type in Poland and one of the few in Central Europe. According to archival documents and an inscription placed on a stone lintel the mill was erected, or actually rebuilt after the previous flood, in 1605. Today the building is part of a historic industrial complex harmoniously blended into the surroundings.
Manual production and printing of business cards, letterheads and other products up to A3 size is also carried out here. Visitors can shop in the museum’s store.
PARISH CHURCH St. PETER AND PAUL
The church is located on a hill separated from the street by a high stone retaining wall. The first mention of the parish in Duszniki dates back to 1324 and tells of Albrecht a priest from Duszniki. In 1346 the church’s altar of St. Catherine was mentioned. Around the middle of the 16th century a stone church was erected on the site of an old wooden temple. Its presbytery is the south-eastern chapel of the present church. In 1550 the first Protestant sermons took place there. At the end of the 16th century the church was renovated with the emperor’s help and in 1598 a new pulpit was created. It was later moved to the chapel of St. Trinity. The seventeenth century begins, unfortunately, with a fire of the church and it was not rebuilt until 1629. In 1623 the church passed into the hands of Catholics and in these hands it survived to this day. In the years 1641-1680 a still existing stone tower was built. It was rebuilt twice: in 1656 and later in 1675. During the great fire of the town in 1844 the roofs burned down and the tower’s coping collapsed.
The church is very rich inside with its baroque main altar from around 1730 by M. Kössler including figures from 1717-25, with a picture ‘Farewell to the Apostles Peter and Paul’ by an eminent Czech painter Piotr Brandel. Other altars come from 1720, 1725 and 1780 and from the beginning of the 19th century. The most valuable is the altar of the ‘Fourteen Helpers’ with statues made probably by M. Kössler. The church also has an ornamented Renaissance baptismal font from 1560, a rococo organ prospectus from 1780 as well as numerous sculptures and baroque paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries. The pulpit from around 1730, also probably by M. Kössler, deserves a special attention. It was commissioned by a parish priest Heinel. The pulpit has a shape of a whale with a gaping mouth. In 1732, the figure of Evangelists was made by the famous Silesian sculptor M. I. Klahr.
POLISH-CATHOLIC CHURCH OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY
Originally the Evangelical church of the Swedish Gustav Adolf Association, it was established as the first church of this association in Silesia. In 1844 the founder Riwotzky bought a plot near Slowacki street. The construction was carried out by an architect called Haeusler and it was under the supervision of the king’s inspector Opitz. A jar with two thalers and a medal from the Berlin industrial exhibition in 1844 was placed in the foundations. The originally flat tower covering was made by Reuner from Wroclaw. The construction of the church was completed in 1845 and in August 1846 bells were hung in the tower. There was a cemetery by the church. In 1893 the tower helmet was completed and in 1892 a new sacristy, church floor, altar, pulpit and organ as well as Rogowski’s painting decoration were made.
THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY HEART OF JESUS
The decision to build a spa church was made in 1897. Construction began in 1899 and was completed in 1902. The temple is situated on a terrace on a mountain slope. Stone stairs from the side of Wojska Polskiego street lead to it. The church is served by the Franciscan Fathers. Holy Masses they are held there only during summer.
ABOUT THE MONASTERY FRANCISCAN
The complex was founded in 1925-1926 as a monastery and at the same time a holiday home for the Franciscan brothers from the entire Silesian province. In the chapel of Saint Francis of Assisi and Leonardo masses are celebrated daily at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and on Sundays and holidays at 7 a.m., 9 a.m., 10.15 a.m., 11.30 a.m. and 7 p.m.
THE FORMER CHAPEL OF ST. TRINITY
The chapel stands on the Rozalia Hill (560 m a.s.l.) surrounded by beech forest. It can be reached by either a gentle winding path on the slope or 132 steps. The building was erected as a votive chapel under the invocation of the Holy Trinity after the plague of 1679. In 1704 a hermitage was built near the chapel. The last hermit left the hermitage in 1806. A sacristy was added in the middle of the 19th century. The hermit’s house adjacent to the chapel was demolished in the 1960s. In 1970 the chapel was transformed into the Museum of Chopin Festivals (currently closed). On the south side of the chapel there is the gravestone of the Fraise family dated 1685. It has a form of a cave with a female figure with one hand supporting the head and the other resting on the skull laid on a catafalque.
THE SPA THEATER OF FRYDERYK CHOPIN
The building was constructed in 1802-1805 as a social house where the cultural life of the spa was focused. The theatre was built together with a complex of three other buildings around the spa square. The construction was carried out by a carpenter Kretschmer and a bricklayer Stiller, the designer was an architect H. Geissler. In 1808 a billiard room was added from the north. In 1826 Fryderyk Chopin performed there. The theatre is located near the Bystrzyca Dusznicka river in the Spa Park. Currently, it hosts numerous piano concerts, theatre performances, spa concerts and light music evenings.
THE STONE OBELISK WITH THE BUST OF FRYDERYK CHOPIN
The stone obelisk was founded by Wiktor Magnus a forester, by profession, who was fond of Chopin’s music. Near the historical site of the concert of the great composer a two meter high diorite boulder was laid. It has a bronze medallion depicting the artist’s bust and a Latin inscription ‘For Fryderyk Chopin, who in Duszniki in 1826 with his true art showed high culture and noble soul character at the dawn of his youth, a Pole erected this monument, with the permission of the municipal authorities, for the eternal memory of an other Pole’. The relief sculpture was made by the Warsaw studio of the Łopieński brothers. It was designed by Roman Lewandowski. The unveiling of the obelisk took place on June 19, 1897.
MONUMENT OF FRYDERYK CHOPIN
This monument was made according to the design of the artist sculptor Jan Kucz, who received one of two equivalent prizes in the competition for the Chopin monument in London. The bronze cast was made by a specialist Warsaw workshop ‘Artistic Bronze’. The monument was erected in the Spa Park in front of the southern entrance to the Spa Theatre in 1976 on the 150th anniversary of the composer’s stay in our town. The ceremonial unveiling of the monument was made during the 30th International Chopin Festival.
Votive figure of the Mother of God with a child
Erected in 1725 on the Market Square as a votive offering for saving from the plague. It depicts the Mother of God with the baby Jesus surrounded by Saint Florian and Sebastian, guarding the city from plague and fire.
BASIC MEDICAL PROFILES IN DUSNIKI SPA
CARDIOLOGY: ischemic heart disease, conditions after myocardial infarction, therosclerosis obliterans of the lower extremities. GASTROLOGY: gastric and duodenal ulcer, liver and intestinal diseases. PULMONOLOGY: chronic and allergic respiratory diseases. GYNECOLOGY: infertility, adnexitis. LOCOMOTIVE ORGANS OSTEOPOROSIS
Duszniki Zdroj Health Resort has a full range of therapeutic services, i.e. natural therapies, specialist tests, analytical and diagnostic tests, drinking cure and dietary treatment.
NATURAL MEDICINAL RESOURCES IN DUSNIKI ZDROJ:
– sodium bicarbonate-calcium-sodium, magnesium, ferruginous, slightly radiant;
– high type mud deposit.
Healing mineral springs belonging to the type of crevice sources are the greatest natural resources of Duszniki. These waters flow from metamorphic rocks (micaceous shales), while volcanic carbon dioxide arising deep in the earth saturates groundwater of rainfall origin, thanks to which they have better dissolution ability of rocks. The degree of mineralization is at the level of 1.3 – 2.5 g / dm3. They have a stable chemical composition. Source efficiency fluctuates slightly only under the influence of precipitation. They are used for drinking cures, mineral baths and for CO2 production.
Five sources are currently exploited are: – ‘Chopin’s Pieniawa’ – sorrel, bicarbonate-calcium-sodium, ferruginous, capacity 330 m3 / min, contains CO2, temperature 18 ° C, depth 78 m. -‘Jan Kazimierz’ – sodium bicarbonate-calcium-sodium, sulphide, yield 80 dm3 / min, contains CO2, temperature 16 ° C, depth 160 m. – ‘Agata’ – sorbic sodium bicarbonate, ferric, ferric, yield 14 dm3 / min, contains CO2, temperature 12 ° C, depth 20 m. – ‘Jacek’ – sorrel bicarbonate-calcium-magnesium, radioactive, sulphur, yield 7 dm3 / min, contains CO2, temperature 18 ° C, depth 90 m. – ‘B-4’ – sorrel bicarbonate-calcium-sodium-magnesium, ferric, yield 7 dm3 / min, contains CO2, temperature 16.6 ° C, depth 55 m (17)
PERFORMED TREATMENTS: – Aquavibron, – diadynamic – group therapeutic gymnastics, – individual therapeutic gymnastics, – gymnastics, – saline inhalations, – saline-oil inhalations, – interdyn electro therapy, – galvanization + ionophoresis, – conifer needles baths, – mineral baths, – 4-chamber bath, – cryotherapy with gymnastics, – quartz lamp, – laser therapy, – magnetotronic, – partial massage, – underwater massage, – whirlpool massage – shower, – mud tampons, – terapuls electromagnetic therapy, – ultrasounds, – mud wraps.
SPECIALIST TESTS: Mammography, DPX apparatus – osteoporosis examination.
HURSING HOMES, SPA HOSPITALS, REHABILITATION CENTRES IN DUSZNIKI ZDROJ: – Klodzko Spa Resorts Complex – Customer Service, 23 Zielona street, phone: +48 74 866 94 77, www.zuk-sa.pl; e-mail: biuro@duszniki.zuk-sa.pl – Moniuszko Sanatorium, 40 Zdrojowa street, phone: +48 74 866 94 51 – Wieniawski Sanatorium, 23Wojska Polskiego street, phone: +48 74 866 95 79 – Szymanowski Sanatorium, 4 Graniczna street, phone: +48 74 866 95 08 – Jan Kazimierz Health Resort Hospital, 23 Zielona street, phone: +48 74 866 93 63 – Chopin Spa Hospital, 14 Zielona street, phone: +48 74 866 94 78 – ‘Azalia’ Nursing Home, 3-5 Ofiar Katynia street, 58-310 Szczawno-Zdroj, tel. +48 74 664-26-30, e-mail: biuro.azalia@sanatoria-dolnoslaskie.pl – Chemik Sanatorium, 17 Wojska Polskiego street, phone: +48 74 866 92 09, 866 94 75, phone/fax: +48 74 866 94 76, wwww.duszniki.zdroj.pl/chemik, e-mail: chemik@duszniki.pl – Spa Resort ‘Zimowit’, 3 Chopina Alley, phone: +48 866 94 64, phone/fax: +48 74 866 92 19, e-mail: biuro.zimowit@sanatoria-dolnoslaskie.pl – Rehabilitation and Holiday Centre ‘Belweder’, 4 Zielona street, phone: + 48 74 866 94 44 – NATURAL HEALTH ESTATE, 23 Zielona street, phone: + 48 74 866 93 20