Landmarks

The Beautiful Well in Nysa

A few steps from the market square of Nysa, at the start of Wrocławska Street, stands a work described as a masterpiece of Baroque blacksmithing. The Beautiful Well of 1686 is one of the oldest town wells in the country, commissioned by the municipal authorities under mayor Kasper Naas.

A wrought-iron crown over a marble shaft

Above the stone shaft rises an intricate casing of iron bars: over 5 m tall, 186 cm in diameter and weighing about 2,600 kg. Three bands hold the structure together; the middle one bears the inscription: “By the will of the praiseworthy Magistrate, Wilhelm Helleweg, master of the arsenal, made me in the year 1686”. At the top sits a gilded double-headed eagle of the Habsburgs — a reminder of the era when Nysa belonged to Austria. The decoration mixes plant motifs and water creatures, Baroque with Renaissance ornaments and Gothic finials.

Marble, angels and one of the first pumps in Silesia

The shaft is Sławniowice marble, decorated with cherubs' heads, dragons and fanciful creatures. Inside the well, 7 m deep, you can see a water pump — one of the first devices of its kind in Silesia. Despite years outdoors it shows no rust; in 1999 it underwent restoration.

A Swedish legend and a walk around Nysa

A legend from the Thirty Years' War says the besieging Swedes poisoned all the wells, and the townspeople found an underground water vein that fed this source. The well stands in public space, free to view. Combine it with a walk past the church of St James and St Agnes and the market square.