Viewpoints
a red sandstone tower from 1913 with a panorama of the whole of the Kłodzko Land
Mountains
a dome-shaped peak above Nowa Ruda with a stone observation tower, a Baroque church and plague chapels
Viewpoints
a masonry observation tower of red sandstone, one of several similar towers in the Central Sudetes
Mountains
a peak of the Włodzickie Hills with a viewpoint, neighbouring its own observation tower
a play centre with birthday rooms, a food bar and free parking right by the entrance
a bowling alley with arcade games, billiards and a place for children's birthday parties
Museums
underground route through a former coal mine, ending with a ride on a vintage mining railway
Places with character
19th-century railway bridge over the Woliborka, once the highest in Germany
Museums
the home of the theologian and writer Joseph Wittig, with the reconstructed study where he worked
over 2,700 specimens of minerals, rocks and fossils, including the first dinosaur bones ever found in Poland
Cemeteries and monuments
a former kirkut with no surviving traces, its exact location is still being determined
Cemeteries and monuments
town communal cemetery, open for residents of Nowa Ruda and the surrounding area
Historic sites
a neo-Gothic former Evangelical church and school from 1903-1904, today an ordinary residential house
Places with character
a bronze fountain with a scene of the baptism of Jesus, cast in 1909 at a foundry in Lauchhammer
Churches and monasteries
a house-shaped chapel from 1826 with a relief of the face of Jesus and a sandstone bench
Churches and monasteries
the only surviving Loreto chapel in the Kłodzko region, built in 1765-1767
Places with character
a Baroque column from 1712 by the entrance to the cemetery on Loretańska Street
a municipal library operating since 1949 in a former brewery building from around 1880
Culture
Branch No. 3 and Branch No. 4 of the municipal library in Słupiec, for adult and young readers
Nowa Ruda attractions: an underground route in a former coal mine, two stone lookout towers and small museums. What to see in one day?
Nowa Ruda is a former mining town, so its strongest points are below ground and high above it. On one side there is a mining gallery and a railway viaduct, on the other two hills with towers visible from afar. In between you get museums, chapels and a market square with a fountain.
Begin with the mine at the Mining Museum, then climb one of the lookout towers, and finish on the market square by the fountain of 1909. This order ends the day with a stroll rather than a climb.
The fountain carries a bronze group of St John the Baptist and Jesus in the scene of baptism. The figures were cast at the Lauchmann foundry in Lauchhammer in Lusatia, and the design came from professors Albert Werner-Schwarzburg of Wrocław and Fritz Schaper.
The Mining Museum occupies the former Nowa Ruda hard coal mine. It is privately run and has a surface exhibition and an Underground Tourist Route that you visit with a guide. The tour ends with a ride on a historic mine train.
Above ground, in the former control room, you can see historic mining tools, work clothes and models of old buildings and machines. The "Lech" shaft structure stands here too. The underground route is 700 metres long and runs through the "Lech" adit in a former mining field. The museum idea was born in 1992, based on the training adit of a mining school.
A similar atmosphere surrounds the railway viaduct over the Woliborka stream, which locals call the Black Bridge. It was built in 1879-1880 on the Kłodzko-Wałbrzych line, on two stone piers with riveted steel spans totalling 148 metres. When it opened it was the tallest railway bridge in Germany at the time.
There are two good options, both free. The tower on St Anne's Hill stands in the southern part of town, and the tower on All Saints' Hill stands in the Słupiec district. The first is a listed monument, and the second is about 15 metres high.
St Anne's Hill is 647 metres above sea level and rises in the southern part of the town. On top is a red sandstone tower from 1911, and below it a baroque church of St Anne from the 17th century and three chapels built after the plague of 1680 as a votive offering. A mountain hut from 1903 stands here as well.
All Saints' Hill is 648 metres high and lies in the same Włodzickie Hills range. The red sandstone tower was finished in 1913 with money from the Klodzko Mountain Society, and a relief of Field Marshal von Moltke sits above the entrance. Before that, a wooden mini-tower 2.8 metres high stood here. From the top you get a panorama of the Kłodzko Land.
If this is your first trip, choose St Anne's Hill: the church and chapels come with it. Similar towers also stand on Kalenica and Wielka Sowa.
When the weather turns, try the small museums. The Joseph Wittig Museum is housed in the home that the theologian and writer designed himself and lived in. You will see a biographical exhibition and a recreated study of the writer. It opened in 1997 on the initiative of the Foundation for the Renewal of the Nowa Ruda Land.
The Museum of Minerals is a private collection of rocks, minerals and fossils by Robert Borzęcki, shown in former mine buildings on Obozowa Street. It opened in 2001 in Złoty Stok and moved to Nowa Ruda over time.
Children can go to Bajkolandia on Piłsudskiego Street, a play room with three birthday rooms, a snack bar and free parking. The same building houses the Nowar Bowling Alley with billiards, arcade machines and a bar. The municipal library works from a former brewery built around 1880, a rare case of an industrial building in town now serving culture.
The most interesting is the Loreto chapel on Cmentarna Street, a baroque building from 1765-1767, the only one of its kind in Kłodzko county. A small Calvary was laid out beside it in 1773-1841. The chapel stood unused for decades and was renovated and reconsecrated in 1994.
At the cemetery entrance from Loretańska Street stands the Marian column of 1712. Its Latin inscription is a chronogram, meaning a text in which selected letters read as Roman numerals give the date.
In Słupiec, on Kasztanowa Street, there is a small house chapel from 1826, and on Piwna Street a neo-Gothic building of 1903-1904, a former Protestant church and school, now a residential house. Nothing visible remains of the old Jewish cemetery, and its exact location is uncertain, so do not look for it on your own.
Further out the higher mountains begin. Szczeliniec Wielki in the Table Mountains has viewing terraces and a trail from 1814, while Wielka Sowa (1015 m) has a lookout tower and a place in the Crown of Polish Mountains. In Kłodzko you will find the fortress, and near Kudowa-Zdrój the rock maze of Błędne Skały. Neighbouring town pages are Kłodzko and Kudowa-Zdrój.
The Mining Museum with its underground route, the viaduct known as the Black Bridge and the market square with the fountain. With more time, add the tower on St Anne's Hill.
Yes. The Underground Tourist Route is 700 metres long, runs through the "Lech" adit with a guide and ends with a ride on a historic mine train.
Both are free to use. The tower on St Anne's Hill has a church and chapels nearby, so it makes a more interesting first visit.
Yes. Children have the Bajkolandia play room, with a bowling alley next door that also organises birthdays. Older ones can climb a tower and see the panorama of the Kłodzko Land.
