Łaskawy Kamień Lime Kiln in Stara Morawa

On the road from Stronie Śląskie to Kletno, the route to the Bear Cave, stands an old lime kiln with a hexagonal base. The Łaskawy Kamień Lime Kiln in Stara Morawa is at once an industrial monument, a printmaking gallery, a Japanese garden and a summer bat observatory. For almost half a century it has been shaped by a family of artists who in 1978 began rescuing a ruin that then stood in the middle of a rubbish dump.

History: a Rumford kiln and a rescue in 1978

The owners date the kiln to around 1850 and link its design to the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel and to Count Rumford, who devised the continuous-firing system used here. It was a revolutionary idea: the shaft kiln worked without interruption, turning stone into quicklime for building and farming. The lime was burnt from marble and dolomite quarried around Kletno and Stronie. Production probably ended around 1920, and the kiln fell into ruin. The dating is not certain – older sources even suggest the 18th century.

In autumn 1977 Professor Jacek M. Rybczyński (1939–2016), a printmaker who taught at the Poznań art academy, came across the ruin. In 1978 he and his wife, the artist Barbara Erna Rybczyńska, began rebuilding it and turned the kiln into an arts centre. According to the owners, it is the only preserved and restored original Rumford lime kiln in Poland and the third in Europe.

What to see

Visits are guided and last about 60 minutes. The tour covers:

• the kiln interior – the hexagonal shaft and traces of the old technology,
• printmaking studios and a permanent show of Professor Rybczyński's work from 1962–2016; temporary exhibitions are held in summer,
• the Japanese garden, laid out since the late 1990s and constantly reshaped by the artists,
• the bat observatory – in summer a colony of rare lesser horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus hipposideros) lives in the building,
• a viewing terrace above the garden and its surroundings.

Curious facts

• Technologically identical Rumford kilns from near Berlin were shown at the EXPO 2000 world fair in Hanover.
• Since 1978 the kiln has hosted blues, jazz and classical concerts, author evenings and open-air performances.
• In 1999–2000 the journal "Stronica Śnieżnicka", devoted to the culture and nature of this part of the Kłodzko region, was published here.

Tripto tips

• Season: according to the kiln's website it opens in the summer season (May–August), 10:00–17:30, with entries every 30 minutes, closed on Mondays (as of October 2026). In autumn and winter, visits only by phone booking for groups of more than 4.
• Tickets: standard PLN 45, pensioners and students PLN 40, children and teenagers aged 3–18 PLN 30; under-3s free.
• Getting there: Stara Morawa 29, on the Stronie Śląskie – Kletno road. Easy to combine with the Bear Cave in Kletno and a hike in the Śnieżnik Massif.
• It is a private site with tours on the hour and half hour – on summer weekends, allow some spare time.