With a grain of salt, one could say that we are sitting on a vein of gold. As early as in the Middle Ages, mining was carried out in our village, and there were tons of tin, copper, cobalt, cassiterite, quartz and garnet underground. Even in the 1960s, the Reicher Trost and Hundsrücken excavations operated here, later combined into one mine "Gierczyn". Nothing, however, lasts forever, and intensive exploitation over the centuries has made what remained underground, from an economic point of view, worthless. It is even better for us, because the former mining village of Gierczyn is now a quiet village in the Jizera Mountains valley, where instead of the sound of pickaxes, you can hear the noise of the Czarnotka stream. The remnants of ancient times are the educational path leading through the old workings and tunnels as well as the minerals that can be found in their surroundings.
But let's come back to earth, because the real treasure is here. Green hills, beautiful forests, wild animals and a few houses on the northern slope of the Kamienicki Ridge. It is here, in the place of the old habitat, that we have built a house whose architecture refers to the Sudeten style. It has an old soul and a new structure. 100-year-old bricks on the floor, ancient tiles on the walls stuck with faded newspapers and reprints of old maps of the Izera Mountains. It also has the Dark Sky Park above it and a few steps to the Kufel hill, from where you can admire the panorama of Izerbaijan. We invite you to our part of the world. We will show you Chojnik Castle at night, we will discover the secrets of the Sokole Mountains, we will go to Rudawy Janowickie and visit the surrounding palaces. The Izerbaijan passport is waiting for you.
We have built a house on the site of the former habitat. Completely new, though fitting into history. We found out from almost excavation works that a very large house once stood here. Perhaps half-timbered, and certainly made of brick - wooden, but the only trace of it was a buried stone cellar. We dug it up and hope it will store local specialties someday. During the opencast work, we also found small treasures - old tiles stuck to old newspapers. One cannot ignore such a trophy, so it decorates the living room of our house. There are also old maps of the Jizera Mountains on the walls, on which you can see a marked house that once stood right here, where is now the Jizera Place.
The new house is inspired by Sudeten architecture, built in a half-timbered structure with a brick part. So it is contemporary, but traditional at the same time. We used natural materials for construction and finishing - wood, stone, brick. The latter covers the floors on the ground floor, and was previously part of a 100-year-old building.
The house is suitable for 8 guests. Two additional people can sleep on extra beds in the bedrooms or a large sofa in the living room. It has an open part downstairs: a large kitchen with a dining room and a living room with an old Norwegian stove and three bedrooms upstairs: a 4-person and two double bedrooms. There are also two bathrooms in the house - one with a shower and one with a bathtub.
We have a lot of tourist guides and books about the region, family board games, and right outside the window, forests, beautiful views and spaces of the Jizera Mountains. We do not have TV sets, but we are convinced that this is good news for you. By coming to us, you will rest from civilization. Although if you want to use the Internet, there is Wi-Fi throughout the house.
The house has a real kitchen, large, spacious, equipped as needed. The kind to which parties move, night chats, which you don't want to leave. The one where the day begins and ends. An extension of the kitchen is the dining room, the table where the whole team gathers, which is bent from the tableware, and sometimes serves as a place for board games. So you can make yourself at home with your shopping, pack cooling drinks in the fridge and set the coffee in the coffee machine. Cooking can be divided into relay races, you can also draw matches or go to a restaurant in Świeradów-Zdrój or Mirsk.
If the hosts (tadam!) Are guides and owners of the Lower Silesian Travel Agency Discover SIlesia, there is no excuse what to do. We organize niche trips in small groups, we can take you on a night tour of the park in Bukowiec, during which we will see the most romantic park in Lower Silesia with lamps in our hands, we will go to Rudawy Janowickie and discover the secrets of the Sokole Mountains. We will set off for the evening exploration of the Paulinum Hill or a night walk along the Walloon Trail in Szklarska Poręba. And these are just a few suggestions for our unique excursions.
Besides, you can enjoy the silence. Our neighborhood is a few houses, and apart from that, unspoiled nature and wonderful undulating landscapes to the horizon. Forest animals under the window are almost our everyday life, so during your morning coffee, keep an eye out for deer through the kitchen windows. We also often see the Eagle of Bielik. We haven't seen the wolf yet, but we have traces of it over our house. The Jizera Mountains are also a land of herbs. Some are found only here, such as the mountain louse, which is popular here and is stepped on underfoot in every meadow. Take herbariums with you, dry them in the sun or make fresh infusions for drinking.
The house is situated in the Jizera Mountains, and it is an ideal place for hiking, biking and cross-country skiing in winter. When we leave the house, we have access to it immediately. Marked hiking trails are 300 meters away. This part of the Jizera Mountains is not crowded with tourists. It is almost guaranteed that you will not meet a soul during the tour.
The picturesque health resort of Świeradów-Zdrój is only 7 km away, and there is an amazing historic walking hall in the Dom Zdrojowy. In Świeradów there is a gondola lift to Stóg Izerski, which in summer takes skiers and snowboarders to the slope, and in summer it allows tourists to get high into the mountains and start hiking along the hiking trails.
In the vicinity of Świeradów there is an extensive network of Single Tracks - these are fancy one-way bicycle paths of various difficulty. You can try your hand at forest single track routes, you can rent bikes, including electric ones. There are also educational paths for children and the Izerska Łąka environmental education center.
The area of the Jizera Mountains is considered to be the Dark Sky Park. There is no light "pollution" in the form of big city glow or lantern lights. It is an ideal place for star gazing.
Near the Jizera Place, halfway to the house where we live (about 500 m from the Jizera Place), there is a hill called Kufel, from which there is a beautiful view of the entire area, called Izerbaijan by the locals. The Central Border Post of Izerbaijan was also located there. It may sound absurd, but this is what it is meant to be! You will understand the atmosphere of Izerbaijan when you feel it upon arrival. It is a unique land made up of views, people, legends, nature and secrets. We will be happy to help you delve into the artistic climate of Izerbaijan.
Near the Izerskie Place, there is an educational trail leading through the former workings of the tin and cobalt mines. Gierczyn is a former mining town, so there are many remains of mines that operated here since the Middle Ages. You can even enter one of the seventeenth century. It is the fossil of St. Jan in Krobica, approx. 3 km from us.
Lower Silesia is primarily monuments. We are close to the Valley of Palaces and Gardens - it is the largest collection of 19th century residences in Europe. It is also close to the town of Lubomierz, where the film Sami Swoi was filmed. There is also an amazing former Benedictine nunnery with the largest collection of relics in Poland.
What else? We are close to Szklarska Poreba, Czocha Castle and the newly opened highest path among the tree crowns Sky Walk in Świeradów Zdrój. However, it is best to go there after the season, when these places are not drowned in an avalanche of tourists.
What’s there for children?
When asked if there is a TV set, we answer: there are board games, books and our knowledge about the region. You can go to the river with the kids and look for tadpoles or frogs, soak your feet in the icy water, eat provisions from your backpack on the shore, check in spring if the crocuses have already broken through the ground and look for traces of wolves at the house. To admire the stars in the Dark Sky Park, it is enough to go out to the terrace, but to find out more about it, it is worth going to the Center for Ecological Education "Izerska Łąka" - you will find out there what flora species occur in this area, what species of animals live in them, life in the hive looks like thanks to the cameras installed inside it and you will observe the summer night sky over the Jizera Mountains thanks to telescopes and visualizations.
Take your kids on trips organized by us (https://discoversilesia.pl/), it will be great - we promise!