The ruin of a 16th-century castle on the summit of Wielisławka above the Kaczawa river, with a viewpoint over the surrounding hills.
Wielisław Złotoryjski Castle is a ruin on the summit of Wielisławka, a hill above the Kaczawa river in the Świerzawa municipality. The building was erected in the 16th century on the site of an earlier stronghold from the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, surrounded by an earthen rampart. Today only fragments of the walls remain of the castle, but the place is still worth visiting, above all for the view from the summit.
The earlier stronghold on Wielisławka was destroyed in the 15th century. A castle was built on its site the following century, of which stone walls survive today, reaching up to 2.5 metres in height in places, visible in the eastern and northern parts of the hill. In the southern part the remains of a tower and a water cistern can be made out. A moat and earthen rampart survive around the whole complex. The castle was listed on the heritage register in 1967.
In the 19th century and until 1945 a tourist inn with twenty beds operated on Wielisławka, and the site was developed for rest and tourism. After the Second World War the inn and hostel were demolished, and the site was left without permanent infrastructure - it is an archaeological site, with no accommodation or catering facility here today.
From the summit of Wielisławka there is a view to the west towards Ostrzyca and the Sokołowskie Hills, and to the south-west towards the Okole, Gackowa and Skopiec massif and the Świerzawa Graben. Nearby it is also worth visiting the Church of St John and St Catherine in Świerzawa, and mountain lovers can continue their walk towards Ostrzyca Proboszczowicka and the neighbouring Ostrzyca Proboszczowicka nature reserve.
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