Orlica (Vrchmezí), Orlické Mountains

Emperor Joseph II, future US president John Quincy Adams and the young Fryderyk Chopin all once stood on the summit of Orlica. This border peak (1,084 m) is the highest point of the Polish part of the Orlické Mountains (Góry Orlickie) and of the Central Sudetes, and since 2021 a wooden observation tower has stood beside it, with a panorama reaching as far as Śnieżka. Thanks to nearby Zieleniec, it is one of the easiest peaks to reach on the Crown of Polish Mountains list.

A peak on two borders

Orlica (German: Hohe Mense, Czech: Vrchmezí) sits on the Polish–Czech border, about 11 km south of the spa town of Duszniki-Zdrój. The summit itself is on the Czech side, with the border running about 25 m to the east. The ridge carries the European watershed between the Baltic Sea and North Sea basins. The mountain is made of mica schist with bands of crystalline limestone. In Polish it was once called Międzywierch.

History: from a 1779 platform to a new tower

The first viewing platform was built here as early as 1779. Soon afterwards a road was built from Duszniki to Zieleniec, known as the Road to Happiness, and visitor numbers rose quickly. Below the summit stood a year-round mountain hut with a tower, run by Heinrich Rübartsch (1852–1930), a pioneer of hiking and skiing in the Sudetes who left the first ski tracks in the Orlické Mountains. After 1945 the hut never reopened; it burned down in 1946, and only traces of its walls remain. A new observation tower opened in October 2021.

The observation tower

The tower stands on the Polish side, about 50 m from the summit. It is 25.5 m tall, with the main viewing deck at 17.7 m and three resting platforms on the way up. It is built of wood, and the stone base, made of local schist, serves as a shelter for hikers with benches, tables and bike racks. From the top you can see the Orlické, Bystrzyckie, Table, Owl and Bardzkie Mountains and the Śnieżnik Massif, and on a clear day the Karkonosze (Giant Mountains) with Śnieżka, more than 60 km away.

Did you know?

On 21 September 2012 a monument was unveiled on the summit to three famous visitors: Emperor Joseph II (1779), John Quincy Adams (1800) and Fryderyk Chopin (1826), who came to Duszniki that year for a spa cure. About 200 m below the summit, on the eastern slope, lies a cave called Złota Sztolnia, the Golden Adit.

Tripto tip

The shortest route is the green trail from Rübartsch's Stone in the western part of Zieleniec; you can park in front of the Hotel Zieleniec. A longer option is the red trail, partly on the Czech side, over Šerlich; in spring and autumn you can shorten the climb with the Gryglówka or Nartorama lift, if running. The summit can also be reached by bike, and in winter cross-country ski trails lead here. Allow 1.5–2 hours for the walk and the views. Bring a windproof jacket: the deck is windy even on warm days.