Skórnik

Skórnik, in German Riemannhöhe, is an artificially raised elevation on Koszycka Street, in the Partynice estate in Wrocław. Its absolute height is 129 metres above sea level, and today it survives only in a fragmentary form.

Where the mound came from

The mound was formed at the end of the 19th century from surplus earth left over from building the embankment of the Wrocław Freight Ring Railway - at the same time and for the same reason as Mała Sobótka and Wzgórze Bendera. The initiator of raising the artificial elevation was the Breslauer Verschönerungsverein, the Wrocław Beautification Society, which developed several mounds along the railway line in a similar way.

A sledging hill with a pavilion

From the start the hill served recreational functions, above all in winter, when it was used as a sledging hill. A wooden pavilion stood on the summit, destroyed over the following years and never rebuilt. The German name Riemannhöhe commemorates Paul Riemann, a merchant and activist of the Breslauer Verschönerungsverein, who died on 11 November 1905.

What remains today

At the end of the 1960s, during the construction of a single-family housing estate, a significant part of the earth from which Skórnik had been raised was removed. The hill now has no recreational or scenic value - it is more a trace of a former use of the land than a destination for an outing.

Practical information

• Location: Wrocław, Ołtaszyn estate, on Koszycka Street
• Getting there: approach from the Partynice-Ołtaszyn estate
• What to expect: a small, heavily altered elevation without a viewpoint