Cieplice-Zdrój Spa (Bad Warmbrunn)

Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój (say "chyeh-PLEE-tseh SHLON-skyeh ZDROO-y") is the spa district of Jelenia Góra and Poland's oldest spa town: therapeutic bathing in its hot springs has continued since the 13th century. Known in German as Bad Warmbrunn, it offers a leafy spa park, a Baroque main square with the Schaffgotsch Palace, a natural history museum and a modern thermal water park, all at the foot of the Giant Mountains (Karkonosze).

A spa with eight centuries of history

Legend says Duke Bolesław the Tall found the springs around 1175 when a wounded deer leapt into the hot water and recovered. The first reliable record dates from March 18, 1281, when a local duke granted the village, then called Calidus Fons ("warm spring"), to the Knights Hospitaller. Cistercian monks arrived in 1403, and the Schaffgotsch counts owned Cieplice until 1945, using the local palace as their main residence from the 17th century. Famous guests included Queen Marie Casimire Sobieska (1687). The town received a municipal charter in 1935 and became part of Jelenia Góra in 1976, after the region had passed from Germany to Poland in 1945.

The hot springs

The water is low-mineral, rich in fluoride and silica, and genuinely hot: up to 37°C in shallow intakes and as much as 87°C in deep wells, the hottest springs in Poland. Today's spa company, part of the Polish Spa Group, treats musculoskeletal, urinary and voice disorders, with stays bookable directly.

Things to do in Cieplice

• Plac Piastowski: a pedestrian promenade with the Church of St. John the Baptist (1712–1714) and the Schaffgotsch Palace (1784–1809), part of a national Historic Monument covering the palaces and parks of the Jelenia Góra Valley.
• Spa Park (Park Zdrojowy): flower beds, a fountain, a wooden concert shell and the Spa Theater, founded in 1836.
• Norwegian Park with its 1906 Norwegian-style pavilion.
• Natural History Museum (ul. Cieplicka 11A), with exhibits on world fauna and the legendary mountain spirit.
• Termy Cieplickie, a thermal water park open daily.
  Allow 2–3 hours for the parks and square, or a full day with the museum and pools.

Practical information (as of October 2026)

The parks and promenade are free and open year-round. The Natural History Museum opens Tuesday–Sunday, 9:00–17:00 through October and 9:00–16:00 from November to March (last entry 30 minutes before closing). The thermal park is open daily 8:00–22:00. Prices are in Polish zloty (PLN).

Getting there

Jelenia Góra is about 110 km west of Wrocław, with direct trains and a 1.5–2-hour drive; Wrocław airport (WRO) is the nearest major airport. Cieplice lies a few kilometers southwest of the city center on the roads toward Szklarska Poręba and Karpacz, served by city buses.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes, as a relaxing counterpoint to mountain hikes. Combine it with Chojnik Castle above Sobieszów, the Gerhart Hauptmann House in Jagniątków, or the restored palaces of the valley at Wojanów and Łomnica.