Bielawa [bʲɛˈlava] ( German : Langenbielau ; Silesian : Bielawa ) is a town in southwestern Poland . Since 1999, it has been situated in Dzierżoniów County , Lower Silesian Voivodeship . From 1975 to 1998, it was part of the Wałbrzych Voivodeship . As of January 1, 2023, it has a population of 28 344.
12-744: Bielawa lies in the central part of Lower Silesia, along the Bielawica stream in the Owl Mountains region. The town covers an area in excess of 36 square kilometres (14 sq mi). Bielawa lies at an altitude range of 280 and 964 m above sea level, in the Owl Mountains. The town is a year-round tourist destination; its outdoor attractions include four major hiking trails of varying difficulty in an 80 km (31 sq mi) park, as well as cycling trails and ski lifts . The oldest known mention of Bielawa dates back to 1288, when it
24-778: A network of tourist trails, including the "red trail", leading through most of Europe. Other destinations include: the Stone Tower on Wielka Sowa and the viewing tower on Kalenica, Fort Srebrna Góra , Grodno Castle in Zagórze Śląskie, the adit complexes of Project Riese near Walim and the Mining Museum in Poland. Major towns at the foot of the Owl Mountains include Bielawa , Dzierżoniów , Głuszyca , Jedlina-Zdrój , Nowa Ruda , Pieszyce , and Srebrna Góra . Silesian Lowlands Too Many Requests If you report this error to
36-574: A vast tunnel system was driven into the mountains near the village of Wüstewaltersdorf (present-day Walim) at the behest of the Nazi German government. Presumably meant to serve as a Führer Headquarters replacing Wolf's Lair in East Prussia, the adits are linked to another tunnel complex beneath Książ Castle ( Schloss Fürstenstein ), about 30 km (19 mi) in the northwest, built according to plans by Hermann Giesler . Parts of
48-725: The Bardzkie Mountains ( Góry Bardzkie ). In the north, the border is on Kotlina Distrabiekenstein and in the south on Obniżenie Noworudzkie and Włodzickie Hills. In the southwest, the broad Kłodzko Valley stretches to the Table Mountains ( Góry Stołowe ), the Stone Mountains ( Góry Kamienne ), and the border with the Czech Republic . Seen from the Silesian Lowlands in the northeast,
60-746: The Greek Civil War , settled in Bielawa in the 1950s. There are numerous historical buildings in Bielawa. At its center is the 19th-century Neo-Gothic Church of the Assumption with a 101 m tall tower, the third tallest in Poland. Other buildings include a late- Renaissance palace originally built as a fortified manor house ; the Church of the Corpus Christi , erected in 1743; and numerous 18th-century Baroque houses that were restored in
72-589: The 19th and early 20th centuries. It is also a home to a number of medieval penitential crosses. Bielawa is twinned with: Owl Mountains The Owl Mountains ( Polish : Góry Sowie ; Czech : Soví hory ; German : Eulengebirge ) are a mountain range of the Central Sudetes in southwestern Poland . It includes a protected area called Owl Mountains Landscape Park . The Owl Mountains cover an area of about 200 km (77 sq mi) and stretch over 26 km (16 mi) between
84-557: The Owl Mountains constitute the oldest part of the Sudetes and are among the oldest in Europe. Other deposits include migmatite rocks, to a lesser extent also amphibolite , serpentinite , granulite , and pegmatite . Except for the summit clearings and the mountain passes, the Owl Mountains represent the spruce-clad type of mountains. There may be also observed a rare natural occurrence of beeches and European yew . In World War II ,
96-522: The Owl Mountains form a comparatively steep edge of the Central Sudetes, though the range is very diversified in terms of height. The highest peaks are Wielka Sowa ("Great Owl", at 1,014 m (3,327 ft) in altitude) and Kalenica (964 m (3,163 ft)) with their observation towers . Other peaks reach heights from about 600 m (2,000 ft) to 980 m (3,220 ft) metres above sea level. The Precambrian gneiss rocks of
108-503: The extended complex are accessible and can be visited as part of a guided tour. Located about 75 km (47 mi) south of the regional capital Wrocław , the picturesque Owl Mountains are a popular destination for hikers and day-trippers. At the foot of the range are well-known tourist places, like: Rzeczka , Walim at the Wielka Sowa massif, Sokolec , Jugów , Sierpnica , and Zagórze Śląskie . The mountains are covered by
120-479: The historic Lower Silesian region and Kłodzko Land . Apart from the main ridge, the subdivisions of Garb Dzikowca and Wzgórza Wyrębińskie can be distinguished. The range is bounded by the valley of the Bystrzyca river in the northwest, forming a natural border with the adjacent Waldenburg Mountains ( Góry Wałbrzyskie ). In the southeast, the border is marked out by Srebrna Góra pass, separating them from
132-496: Was part of fragmented Piast -ruled Poland . Its name is of Polish origin and is derived from the word biela , bila , current Polish biała ("white"). In 1720 the first brick house was built in the village and in 1741 it was captured and afterwards annexed by Prussia . In 1805 Christian Dierig founded a weaving company ( Christian Dierig AG ). During the Napoleonic Wars , the village was occupied by France . In 1844 it
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#1732782723783144-853: Was the site of the Weavers' Uprising , brutally crushed by the Prussians. From 1871 to 1945 it was part of Germany. In 1891 the Dzierżoniów –Bielawa railway line opened. In 1924 Bielawa obtained town rights . During World War II the Germans established the FAL Langenbielau II subcamp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp in the town. In 1945 it was captured by the Soviets and eventually reintegrated with Poland. Greeks , refugees of
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