Stożek Wielki in the Silesian Beskids

Seen from the north, Stożek Wielki (978 m) has an almost perfect cone shape, which gave it its name — "stożek" means "cone" in Polish. The Polish-Czech border and the red Main Beskid Trail run over its summit, and just below the top stands a PTTK mountain hut from 1922, the oldest surviving Polish hut in the Silesian Beskids. Its construction began with a political scandal that reached the parliament in Vienna.

History: a hut worth fighting for

The proposal to build a Polish mountain hut on Stożek was made in 1910 by Jan Galicz of the Polish Tourist Society "Beskid" in Cieszyn, then in Austrian Silesia. On 25 November 1910 Jan Kotas signed a preliminary contract in Wisła to buy a plot of half a morgen for 120 Austrian crowns, but the Cieszyn Chamber estate, informally protecting the interests of the German Beskidenverein, forced the landowners to withdraw by threatening their jobs. Father Józef Londzin raised the matter in a parliamentary question in Vienna, and the outbreak of the First World War put an end to the plans.

Construction resumed in 1919. The foundation stone was laid on 30 May 1920, the building was designed by Stanisław Chorubski, and it opened on 9 July 1922, having cost 2 million marks. In 1920 the new state border was drawn just a few metres from the hut. After the Second World War the building was badly damaged — in 1945 the dining room was covered in a thick layer of manure left by horses stabled there. The longest-serving warden was Jan Cięgiel, from 1949 to 1986. Until 21 December 2007, when Poland joined the Schengen area, a tourist border crossing operated beside the hut.

What to see

• Views from the hut across the Silesian Beskids and, in clear weather, the Żywiec Beskids and the Tatras; from the summit itself the views are partial, mainly towards the Moravian-Silesian Beskids.
• A rock outcrop with an overhanging slab just below the summit on the west side, described by Galicz as early as 1891.
• A rock wall with towers and pulpits at about 870–890 m, already on the Czech side, and on the western slope 10 boulders with 21 problems graded 4 to 7a+.
• The centenary plaque, unveiled at the hut entrance on 9 July 2022.

Trails

• Green from Wisła Głębce up the Łabajów valley — about 1 h 30 min, the shortest ascent.
• Blue from Głębce via Mraźnica — about 2 h.
• Yellow from Wisła Dziechcinka — about 2 h 05 min.
• Red from Wielka Czantoria via Soszów Wielki — about 2 h 10 min.
• Red from Kubalonka Pass along the Main Beskid Trail.

Tripto tip

The hut has 72 regular beds in rooms for 2–8 people (up to 90 guests in total), a 100-seat dining room and a buffet. A 780-metre chairlift runs from the Łabajów valley up to near the hut, also in summer — handy for families with small children. A ski area with a snow park operates on the eastern slope, and in summer there are downhill trails for mountain bikers. For a round trip from Wisła Głębce with a break at the hut, allow 3–4 hours.