Pstrążna Open-Air Museum

On the slope of Pstrążnica hill, between 515 and 595 m above sea level, lies the only open-air museum in Lower Silesia dedicated to wooden folk architecture – the Museum of Folk Culture of the Sudeten Foothills in Pstrążna, a district of the spa town of Kudowa-Zdrój. On the slope stand a post mill, an inn, cottages and a belfry moved here from villages of the Kłodzko region and beyond. The hillside offers a view of the Karkonosze (Giant Mountains) and their highest peak, Śnieżka.

History: a museum in the "Czech corner"

The museum was founded in 1984 on the initiative of the regional heritage conservator and the District Museum in Wałbrzych, and its first exhibition opened in 1991. The site was chosen for good reasons: a historic building with a smithy, a steep plot next to it, the nearby spa of Kudowa and the Błędne Skały rock labyrinth, today part of the Stołowe Mountains National Park. Since 1 January 2006 the museum has been run by the town of Kudowa-Zdrój.

Pstrążna itself has an interesting past. It lies in the so-called Czech corner, 2.5 km from Machov in the Czech Republic, and its name probably comes from the Czech word pstruh – trout. According to a 19th-century account by the pastor of Czermna, the village was founded in 1461 by Hussites, and later became a stronghold of the Bohemian Brethren and Reformed Protestants.

What to see

• The post mill from Jabłów – the most recently rebuilt building (2007); inside are quern stones and wooden milling tools.
• The inn from Szalejów Dolny – recently given a new shingle roof.
• The alarm belfry from Gołaczów – belfries like this were used to warn villagers of danger.
• Cottages from Nowa Łomnica and Kudowa-Zdrój and a wooden barn, with furnished interiors showing rural life from the 18th to the early 20th century.

Interesting facts

Of the 17 buildings once selected to be moved to the museum, seven have been rebuilt here. Some of the others no longer exist, and others are in poor condition. In 2025 the heritage conservator approved moving another cottage to the museum – an early 19th-century house from ul. Słone 102 in Kudowa, which its owners want to donate.

Tripto tip

The museum is open all year, Tuesday to Sunday, and there is an admission charge – check current hours and prices before you go. Allow about an hour. School groups can take part in the lesson "From grain to flour to loaf", and in summer the museum hosts events such as the "Róża Kłodzka" folk ensemble festival and Midsummer Night celebrations. Pstrążna is about 7 km from the centre of Kudowa; drive via Czermna, or walk from Błędne Skały along the road through Bukowina.