Szczawno-Zdrój Spa

Twice a day, at 12:00 and 20:00, Henryk Wieniawski's "Polish Song" rings out from the neo-Gothic Anna Tower above the spa park – the signature sound of Szczawno-Zdrój, a spa town at the foot of Chełmiec (850 m) in the Central Sudetes. Formerly known as Bad Salzbrunn, it once drew emperors and kings, and it has kept a listed ensemble of spa buildings dating from 1822–1894: a promenade hall with a pump room, a theatre, the White Hall and a former Grand Hotel.

History: from a Hochberg village to a resort for emperors

The village is mentioned in the Book of Henryków as early as 1221, and from the late 14th century it belonged to the Książ Castle estate. The healing properties of the local carbonated waters were confirmed in 1597 by Caspar Schwenckfeldt, physician to the Hochberg family. The real boom came in the 19th century: the doctor August Zemplin expanded the spa, and a spa park, a theatre and new pavilions followed. The Hochbergs owned Szczawno until 1934, and in 1946 the present Polish name was adopted (for a while "Solice Zdrój" was also used).

The heyday was the Belle Époque. In 1908–1911 Prince Hans Heinrich XV Hochberg von Pless built the luxurious Grand Hotel, its interiors overseen by his wife, the famous Princess Daisy. Guests included Emperor Wilhelm II, King Constantine I of Greece and Winston Churchill. In 1924 the princely couple opened a 24-hole golf course here. Today the former hotel is the Spa House, used as a sanatorium; between the wars it served as the model for the Grand Hotel in Sopot.

What to see

• The Promenade Hall with the pump room – the first hall, named after Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria, was designed in 1830 by Joseph Raabe; after a fire in 1893 the present Neoclassical hall opened in 1896.
• The sgraffito on the White Hall next to it – Asclepius receiving a cup of "Mieszko" mineral water from Hygieia.
• The Henryk Wieniawski Spa Theatre of 1892 – a Neoclassical façade and a neo-Rococo auditorium with three boxes and a historic chandelier.
• The Anna Tower of 1818, about 15 m high, with a viewing terrace; nearby, a mineral water intake almost 2,000 years old was discovered.
• The Henryk Wieniawski Spa Park – the largest park in town – and the Swedish Park.

Did you know?

• The Anna Tower was designed by Joseph Raabe, known as "Goethe's painter", and its clock has been keeping time since 1835.
• Since 1966 the spa theatre has hosted the International Henryk Wieniawski Festival every June.
• The local waters are bicarbonate–sodium–calcium "szczawy", or acidulous waters – which is where the Polish name of the town comes from.

Tripto tip

Allow 2–3 hours for a walk around the spa quarter – hall, pump room, White Hall, theatre and the park with the Anna Tower – and time it so you are under the tower at noon to hear Wieniawski's tune. Check the theatre programme and festival dates before you go. Szczawno borders Wałbrzych (city buses run here), and a visit combines easily with Książ Castle, the former seat of the spa's owners, and a hike up Chełmiec.