photo: Rauantiques / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

It was them who were the first to travel through the inaccessible areas of the Karkonosze, discovering the healing properties of the local herbs. The local people, based on their own traditions, and also from the experience of Walloons, learned to use the variety and richness of herbs and minerals available in these regions. With time, the interest in this issue was so great that in the Karkonosze Mountains – mainly in Karpacz – dynamic herbal centers developed. To this day, Karpacz has many traces of the old activity of laborants. The name came from Latin: laborare means to work, to prepare. In the Karkonosze National Park Information Center there is a garden and a Laborant House (Domek Laboranta). On a visit, you can see decorated laboratory boxes, vials, and a portrait of the last laborant from Karpacz – Ernst A. Zölfel, who lived in a house at ul. Konstytucji 3 Maja. The Karkonosze National Park also offers preserving the memory of ancient herbalists and encourages you to participate in the “Laborant” Day, organized every year, during which you can create your own herbarium card from local plants, see the prepared exhibitions, see the ingredients of medicines, or see the herbs and minerals in a magnified view.

KPN Information Center in Karpacz
ul. Lesna 9
Karpacz- Wilcza Poręba
tel. +48 607177637 or 514607299

Opening hours:
– January, February, June, July, August – open from Tuesday to Saturday, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm (last admission at 3:45 pm).
– March, April, May, September, October, December – open from Monday to Friday, 9.00 a.m. – 4.00 p.m.
Closed: November, December 24-26 and January 6