Parks and nature
sandstone rock formations up to thirty metres high, the highest in the Sudetes outside the Table Mountains
Places with character
a medieval market square from the 13th century at the meeting point of nine streets, one of the largest in Lower Silesia
Museums
a Gothic-Renaissance town hall with a clock from 1588, today housing the town authorities and a museum branch
Museums
a museum in the cellars of a historic brewery with around 400 exhibits and a beer tasting at the end
Historic sites
a medieval defensive tower from the 13th century, the tallest of the surviving town towers of Lwówek Śląski
Historic sites
a Renaissance castle from the 16th century built by Ramphold Talkenberg, today a Baptist church centre
For children
a three-level play room with trampolines and a ball pit, in a building with a banquet hall
Places with character
the oldest of three fountains on the market square, converted from a town well in the 18th century
Historic sites
a Renaissance bastion designed by an Italian architect, adapted to firearms and artillery
Historic sites
an 18th-century residence of the von Schmettau family on a hill, destroyed by fire in 2006
Churches and monasteries
a Neo-Gothic former Evangelical chapel, today one of the oldest Pentecostal congregations in Poland
Cemeteries and monuments
a cemetery opened in 1815, levelled in 1968, still without a commemorative plaque in the park
Historic sites
a Neo-Gothic villa from 1880 built to resemble a medieval defensive castle
Parks and nature
a 19th-century English-style park with retention ponds and a former Jewish cemetery on its grounds
riding centre in Lwówek Śląski with an offer that could not be precisely established
Places with character
a sandstone fountain with an owl sculpture by the town hall, the youngest of the market square's three fountains
Churches and monasteries
an Art Nouveau burial rotunda from 1908 of the family that owned the town's brewery
Places with character
two historic water towers of the former railway station, one brick, one reinforced concrete
Historic sites
a town fortification tower predating 1261, currently being renovated as a future tourist information point
Places with character
barely visible ramparts of a former Lusatian culture settlement on Skałka Hill
Cemeteries and monuments
a collective necropolis from 1947, where 172 Soviet soldiers from Lwówek County rest in 42 mass graves
Cemeteries and monuments
a monument from 1922 with a figure of a reclining warrior and a German inscription commemorating those who fell in the First World War
Culture
a county library in the historic town hall on the market square, operating since 1946
Lwowek Slaski attractions: a square with a town hall and fountains, medieval towers, a beer museum and sandstone rocks above the Bóbr.
Lwówek Śląski works in two rounds: first a compact, walkable centre with a medieval street plan, then short trips to rocks, a castle and a palace on the edge of town. This page covers both and ends with what lies further out in the county.
Start at the market square, the heart of the town since the 13th century. Officially it is now Freedom Square, though locals still say "rynek". From here the town hall, three fountains, towers and the brewery museum are all within a short walk.
The square is a tapering rectangle of about 200 by 60 metres and one of the largest in Lower Silesia. The King's Road, or Via Regia, the main medieval trade route, ran straight through it. Before the war the square was split into the Upper Market near the town hall tower and the Lower Market by the Clothiers' Fountain, a division that survives only informally.
The town hall is one of the oldest of its kind in Lower Silesia and a first-class monument. Its Gothic-Renaissance shape dates from 1522-1524, and in 1902-1905 the architect Hans Poelzig extended its trading arcades. Today it houses the town authorities, a library and a historical museum.
Three fountains stand on the square, each different. The Clothiers' Fountain is the oldest and grandest, while the Owl Fountain is the youngest and smallest.
The first was made from an old town well, rebuilt in the 18th century by the Wrocław architect Paul Schulz. A director of the Norddeutscher Lloyd shipping line in Bremen paid for the work, and the fountain carries a monument to the clothiers. The second stands at the south-eastern corner of the town hall. It is sandstone, with an oval canopy and a sculpture of an owl, designed by the same Hans Poelzig who reworked the town hall.
Walk all the way around the square and you will also pass a neo-Gothic former Protestant chapel, now the Betania Pentecostal church, one of the oldest in Poland. Check access to interiors in advance, as each site keeps its own hours.
From the square, head toward the fortifications. The Lubań Gate Tower, from the 13th century, is the tallest surviving defensive tower and was once one of three guarding the gates. A few dozen metres away stands the Łupinowa Tower, part of the inner ring of walls built before 1261 and now being renovated. They are two different towers, so do not confuse them.
The third stop is the Archonatti Bastion, a Renaissance bastion from the mid-16th century designed by Hieronymus Archonatti the Elder of Milan. It is only about three metres high today because part of it was buried, but its length and wall thickness give a sense of the old defences.
For something different, two water towers stand on Towarowa Street by the former railway station: a brick one from the 19th century with a working pump inside, and a younger reinforced-concrete one. On Kamienna Street look at the Lwówek Little Castle, a neo-Gothic villa from 1880 built to resemble a fortress.
Go underground at the Lower Silesian Brewing Museum, set in the cellars of the brewery on Traugutta Street, in a neo-Renaissance former malthouse from the late 19th century. The collection covers the history of beer in the town and across Lower Silesia: bottles from several dozen breweries, tankards, labels, signs, crates, a beer cooler from 1905 and a barrel made by Krupp. The route also passes through the production department.
Children have the Grawitacja play room, built on three levels with trampolines, slides and a ball pit. It is on the first floor of a building shared with a banquet hall. When the sun is out, try the English-style City Park, revitalised in 2019.
The shortest trip out of town leads to Szwajcaria Lwówecka, sandstone rocks southeast of the centre inside the Bóbr Valley Landscape Park. It is the tallest natural sandstone formation in the Sudetes outside the Table Mountains, with cracks and cliffs up to 30 metres high. Entry is free and it fits easily into a short stop.
In Płakowice, part of Lwówek, stands the Renaissance castle from the 16th century, one of the largest defensive buildings of its kind in Silesia, still under renovation. On Wietrznik hill rises a baroque palace from 1745, largely a ruin today. On Skałka hill you can make out faint earthworks left by a Lusatian culture settlement.
The wider county offers plenty for half a day. Wleń has the ruins of the oldest masonry castle in Poland, and the Pilchowice Dam on the Bóbr is the tallest stone arch dam in the country. In Lubomierz you can see the Kargul and Pawlak Museum with props from the comedy "Sami swoi". A bigger town nearby is Jelenia Góra, and the full list is in the historic sites category.
The square with its town hall and three fountains, then the Lubań Gate Tower and Archonatti Bastion, and finally the Brewing Museum in the brewery cellars. With more time, add Szwajcaria Lwówecka.
The Lower Silesian Brewing Museum operates in the cellars of the brewery. The visit covers the cellar exhibition and the production department. Check the museum's own website for entry times.
No. The name refers to similar rocks in Saxon Switzerland in Germany, while the Lwówek formations lie in the Bóbr Valley Landscape Park. They are also called the Lwówek Rocks.
Yes: the Hochberg Mausoleum in the municipal cemetery, the Soviet Soldiers Cemetery on Staszica Street and the First World War monument on the town promenade. The former Jewish cemetery lies in the southern part of the city park. Please visit them quietly and with respect.
