Spa Park in Polanica-Zdrój

The Spa Park in Polanica-Zdrój is home to 19 tree species from North America – among them Weymouth pine, silver maple and Douglas fir – and 15 of its trees are protected natural monuments. Almost 13 hectares of greenery right in the centre of the spa town link the pump room, the spa theatre and the "Wielka Pieniawa" sanatorium into one long, quiet walk.

History: from fenced grounds to an open park

Polanica began to develop as a spa at the end of the 19th century. In 1873 the Wrocław industrialist W. Hoffman bought the spring and the land around it, from 1879 peat was used in treatments, and in 1899–1904 the then owner, von Goltz, drilled new boreholes that produced, among others, the Wielka Pieniawa spring. In the first decade of the 20th century a new spa house and a covered promenade hall were built, followed in 1925 by the Spa Theatre with 700 seats. After the Second World War the park was fenced in with wire mesh and locked at night; the fence came down around 1970.

Five parks in one

The park covers exactly 12.97 ha: 9.23 ha are managed by the town and 3.73 ha by the Kłodzko Spa Company. The whole area is protected and listed as a heritage site (1991). The spa's key buildings stand in and around the park: the pump room with its promenade hall, the wooden concert shell, the Spa Theatre and the "Wielka Pieniawa" sanatorium. The park has five parts:

• Central Park – the oldest and best-known part,
• Forest Park,
• Józef Park,
• Chess Park,
• the grounds around the cardiology centre.

Trees from four corners of the world

Botanists have recorded 28 plant families here. Alongside native limes, maples, hornbeams, horse chestnuts and ashes (27 native species in total) grow 19 North American species, 14 from the Far East and 13 European species that do not occur naturally in Poland, such as black pine. Most of the natural monuments are huge western red cedars, together with some poplars and ashes.

Tripto tip

Entry to the park is free. Start at the mineral water pump room, then follow the main avenue past the sanatorium and turn off onto the paths of the Forest Park. Fifteen minutes is enough for the main axis; allow about an hour for all the parts. Marked trails leave from the park: blue to Wambierzyce, yellow via Nowy Wielisław to Szczytna and Bystrzyca Kłodzka, and green to Batorów.