A historic spa park in Szczawno-Zdrój from 1812, laid out in the English style, with a monument to Wieniawski, a concert shell and trails into the Wałbrzych Mountains.
Henryk Wieniawski Spa Park occupies the spa part of Szczawno-Zdrój and is laid out in the English style, meaning winding paths and freely arranged groups of trees instead of geometric flowerbeds. It is the main green space of the town, bringing together medical, walking and concert facilities in one place.
The park was founded in 1812 on the orders of Dr August Zemplin, one of the doctors involved in the development of the local spa. As late as 1844 it covered a mere 3 hectares, concentrated mainly around the treatment buildings, so it was originally more a modest garden by the spa establishment than an extensive park. A larger-scale expansion began in the 1830s.
In the second half of the 19th century the area grew considerably and also came to include Gedymin Hill, rising above the spa's buildings. After the Second World War the park underwent a further rebuilding, adapting its layout to the post-war needs of those taking the cure. Today its area is 26.5 hectares.
The heart of the foundation is a mineral drinking well, where people taking the cure have drunk spa water for generations. Next to it stands a wooden walking hall, giving shelter from the rain during therapeutic walks, and a concert shell, used for outdoor performances. The area is enlivened by a water cascade, flowing down a small slope in the terrain.
In the park stands a monument to Henryk Wieniawski, the patron of the whole foundation, and next to it a small monument to the dog of Duke George II of Brzeg. Towering over the whole is a neo-Gothic tower built in 1817, commemorating Duchess Anna von Hochberg, one of the oldest architectural elements of the park.
The park has 38 varieties and species of coniferous trees and shrubs and 89 deciduous ones, which makes it rich in plant diversity for a spa park of this size. Among the rarer specimens grow noble fir, Chinese larch, bald cypress and maidenhair tree, brought here from North America, Asia and southern Europe as part of the 19th-century fashion for exotic species in spa parks.
The park hosts the Henryk Wieniawski Festival, referencing the monument to the composer standing on its grounds. Hiking trails run through the park, leading among others to Książ and to Chełmiec, where a viewing tower stands. Nearby, in the spa part of the town, is also the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and for families with children the Aqua Zdrój pool complex is available.
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