Viewing platform below Wrona near Ostroszowice

The viewing platform below Wrona stands at about 429 m above sea level on a yellow-marked trail above the village of Ostroszowice, near Bielawa. Wrona itself (458 m) is the highest hill of the Niemcza-Strzelin Hills and one of the Crown of the Polish Sudetes peaks, but its summit is lost in the forest. The platform offers what the wooded top lacks: an open view above the treetops.

Wrona – a summit hard to find

The hill is a small dome with an almost level ridge, so its highest point is hard to pick out. It is made of gneiss covered by Ice Age clays, gravels and loess. On the south-western slope, a few metres below the ridge, there is a group of rock blocks several metres high. The twin hill of Orzeł, of the same height, rises right next to it.

Getting there

The platform is on the yellow trail from Mokrzyce to Puchacz Pass. From Myśliszów it is about 1.4 km on foot, and the trail continues through the pass below Wrona towards Góra Parkowa and Bielawa. Cyclists know the area from the climb to the pass from Ostroszowice: about 1.8 km at an average gradient of 3%, with views on the open section.

The area

Ostroszowice (German: Weigelsdorf) was first mentioned in 1219 in a document of Bishop Lawrence of Wrocław. The village has a Gothic church of St Hedwig from 1592–1600 and a ruined palace built in 1715–1718.

Tripto tips

Come on a day with clear air, ideally in the morning or late afternoon. A short walk from Myśliszów takes about an hour there and back; a loop via the pass below Wrona to Bielawa takes half a day. Access is free and there are no facilities.