Stóg Izerski PTTK Mountain Hostel

The hostel on Stóg Izerski stands about 50 metres below the summit, at 1,060 m above sea level, and is the westernmost mountain hostel on the Polish side of the Sudetes. It opened on 24 October 1924 as the Heufuderbaude and stayed open without a break, even during the Second World War. From the stone terrace you can see Świeradów-Zdrój, the Kwisa valley and part of the Giant Mountains, and the top station of the gondola lift is right next door.

History: a doctor, a club and the counts

Construction was initiated by the German mountain club RGV (Riesengebirgsverein) together with the spa physician Dr Josef Siebelt, while the Schaffgotsch family donated the land and funds. The foundation stone was laid on 17 September 1922. The first hosts were the Kober family, who ran the hostel until 1945. After the war the building housed a Polish border guard post for a time, and the hostel was for a while named after the poet Jan Kasprowicz. Later interior modernisations kept the building's original character.

What to see

• The Silesian-Lusatian style building – two storeys, partly masonry and partly timber, with a gabled metal roof; it originally had rooms with 30 beds, a large viewing terrace, a common room and a kitchen.
• The viewing terrace – the panorama takes in Świeradów-Zdrój, Mirsk, Gryfów Śląski, Lubań, the Kwisa valley and part of the Giant Mountains.
• Traces of the old tower – a wooden lookout tower from 1892, destroyed in 1907 and rebuilt, was used until 2000; it was taken down because of its poor condition, but the foundations remain. A telecom mast was put up nearby in 2004.

Trails and surroundings

The red Main Sudetes Trail passes the hostel on its way from Świeradów-Zdrój to Hala Szrenicka. The yellow trail leads via Suchacz to Hala Izerska, and the green one runs north to Świeradów and south via Smrk to Czerniawa-Zdrój. The trail also takes you to the former tourist border crossing Stóg Izerski–Smrk and the lookout tower on Smrk on the Czech side.

Tripto tip

The easiest way up is the gondola from Świeradów-Zdrój, walking back down on the green trail. The hostel offers accommodation (nearly 50 beds according to turistika.cz) and meals; check current prices and terms directly with the hosts. Administratively the building is in the village of Stóg Izerski in Mirsk municipality, but it uses a Świeradów-Zdrój address. An hour is enough for a coffee on the terrace and a short walk to the summit; with a trip to Smrk, allow half a day.