Historic sites
a former secret uranium mine from communist times, now a route with an underground exhibition of glowing uranium glass
For children
miniatures of Lower Silesian monuments at a scale of 1:25 on the grounds of a former carpet factory, with a guide
Museums
an underground route in a former uranium mine, 1,200 metres long, with radiation monitoring along its whole length
an indoor play centre with inflatables and a ball pit right next to the Miniature Park in Kowary
seventeen recreated interiors from the communist era, from a kitchen to a school classroom and a cinema on VHS tapes
Mountains
a granite peak above Kowary with a viewing platform and a panorama over the Rudawy Janowickie Mountains
Historic sites
a former fluorite and uranium mine, today a 1,200-metre underground route with a Cold War history
Churches and monasteries
a 19th-century synagogue vandalised during the war, today a warehouse building with surviving semicircular windows
Mountains
an unassuming peak of the Kowary Ridge, built of gneisses from the eastern envelope of the Karkonosze granite
a summit of the Karkonosze in the Lasocki Ridge with hairpin-bend roads and a monument from a hundred years ago
Mountains
a peak of the Kowarski Grzbiet in the Karkonosze at 1041 metres, a popular paragliding launch site
a forested conical summit above Kowary with a former landscape park from the time of Frederick William III
Churches and monasteries
a 511 m summit above Kowary with the Baroque, elliptical-plan Chapel of St Anne from 1727
a pseudo-Gothic palace from the 16th century surrounded by a park with exotic trees, today a holiday home
Things to do in Kowary: former uranium mines, a miniature park, a Communist-era museum and summits close by. Plans for half a day or a full one.
Kowary had uranium mines and several can be visited today. The Podgórze Mine worked in 1950-1958 and was the only mine in Kowary built entirely after the Second World War. Under communism its existence was secret, and today the route includes an exhibition of glowing uranium glass.
Kowary Adits is an underground route in the former Liczyrzepa mine, open to visitors since 2000. It is about 1200 metres long and radiation is monitored along the whole route. The uranium mined here was sent to the Soviet Union. The history of the same mine is told by the Liczyrzepa Mine: fluorite was mined here in 1850-1858 and larger uranium deposits were found later. Visits are guided. The three mines differ in character, so pick one or two.
The Park of Miniatures of Lower Silesian Monuments stands on the grounds of a former carpet factory. Models of churches, castles, palaces, town halls and mountain huts were built mostly at a scale of 1:25 and are shown on a guided visit. Next door is the Palace Playroom, an indoor play hall with inflatables, a boat pool and a relaxation zone for carers.
Adults and teenagers usually prefer the Museum of Sentiments. It is a private collection of recreated Communist-era interiors: 17 themed rooms and 5 corridor displays across about a thousand square metres, from a kitchen to a classroom. The visit takes longer than a single room.
There are several targets of different height. Lowest, right above town, is Góra Parkowa (550 m) with the remains of a landscape park from the early 19th century. Kapliczne Wzgórze is 511 m and has a Baroque chapel of St Anne from 1727. For a viewing platform with benches go up Brzeźnik in the Rudawy Janowickie. Higher are Łysa Góra (946 m), Sulica (942 m) and Wołowa Góra (1041 m), a launch site for paragliders. We gathered them on the page about mountains in Kowary.
In the Radociny district stands the Radociny Palace from around 1570, rebuilt in 1861 in a pseudo-Gothic style and used today as a holiday home. On Poprzeczna street is the 19th-century Synagogue, devastated during the war and used as a warehouse today. See it as a witness to the history of the Jewish community.
Looking for more plans? Check rainy-day attractions in Kowary, Kowary solo and nearby Karpacz.
