Since I was a child, I dreamed of living in my grandmother's house in Bukowiec, once a famous Prussian summer resort called Buchwald. I came on holiday to the vast valley, surrounded on three sides by the Rudawy Janowickie hills. I ran barefoot across a lush green meadow and stroked Lotka, my grandmother's horse. I jumped from the barn beams onto the hay and threw my shoes at the rooster chasing me, trying to scare him away. Time has dusted these memories. It revived the dream of a house in the countryside, which Jacek and I began to nurture. We were drawn to respite, space and freedom to explore the world for our children. Especially from our apartment in a block of flats, on the 4th floor. First we went to Bukowiec. I just wanted to show Jacek the old farm, but it ended with 3 years of hard work, constant tests of patience and a lot of determination to make my grandmother's house our home. There is an orchard here, planted by German owners, and the views have calming properties. That's why we wanted to share our dream come true here.
Two cozy houses were built in the meadow, their terraces facing the forest, which is part of the Rudawy Landscape Park. Today, horses run here - Luis, Bunia, Kuki and the Hutsul girl Jagoda. At the entrance, you will be greeted by Bruno wagging his tail, our free-roaming chickens will certainly come to visit you, and when you sit comfortably on a terrace armchair, one of our 7 cats may appear on your lap. Right next to us there are trails to follow, bicycle routes to ride, rocks to climb, slopes to slide down, waters to cool down or swim in, and the entire cultural wealth of Lower Silesia to discover and get to know. All that remains is to come and taste.
In a meadow in an old German orchard, where apple, pear, and cherry trees bloom in spring, we've built two wooden cottages. They're so close to nature that you couldn't get any closer. Panoramic windows overlook even more meadows and the forest, which is part of the Rudawy Landscape Park. From their windows and terraces, you can also see our horses and our herd of chickens, and sometimes even deer, foxes, hares, and the neighbor's cows. We also have goats, seven cats, and Bruno, a dog who will greet you upon arrival. And this place is picturesque Bukowiec, located 7 km from Karpacz.
You can reach us via the road that runs along the Main Sudeten Trail. It's a dead-end road with little traffic. You can reach the cottages – Mieszka (the cottage closer to the forest) and Jagoda – across the meadow. There's so much space that everyone will have their own space.
Our cottages are 70 m² each, and include:
– a living room with a large corner sofa that sleeps two people, a spacious kitchen, and a bathroom with a shower downstairs,
– a large bedroom upstairs with four single beds that can be converted into a double,
– a travel cot is available for an extra bed,
– a children's play area in the bedroom,
– stairs leading to the first floor, which are safe for the little ones,
– panoramic windows for 24-hour viewing of the nature channel unfolding beyond,
– a terrace for sitting with coffee, tea, a book, and gazing at the spring and summer greenery, autumn mists, or winter white,
– a hammock to hang from the pergola,
– stable internet connection (fiber optic) and a TV with access to streaming platforms.
The Mieszko cottage also has a washing machine.
The cottages are available year-round, with underfloor heating downstairs and an electric heater upstairs. During the fall and winter seasons, we set the temperature at 21 degrees Celsius.
The interiors are bright and cozy. We didn't want to create cottages for rent, but spaces where you can feel at home. They are decorated with paintings created during plein air painting sessions, because our settlement fosters creativity and can inspire creative endeavors.
A designated fire pit area with benches and a grill surrounds the cottages. You'll need to gather your own firewood (we'll show you the spot and provide you with an axe). At the back of the cottages, we have a natural pond where wild ducks fly, toads live, and newts and dragonflies visit.
We have an open space here, so if you'd like to bring your dogs, please note the lack of fencing and the fact that many animals live on our property. Please arrange such a visit in advance.
We say about the kitchen in the cottages: a kitchen like at home. At the design stage, I told Jacek that I wanted to equip the houses with a kitchen that would allow me to prepare 12 dishes for the Christmas Eve dinner. And so it happened. Both are fully equipped with: full size induction cooker, electric oven, large fridge/freezer with three drawers, dishwasher and microwave. Do not take bottled water with you, a filter kettle is waiting on site. For fans of pancakes, we left mixers in the houses to make the dough in no time. You will not run out of cups, glasses, glasses, bowls or plates. In cabinets and drawers you will find a whole arsenal of kitchen accessories: grater, colander, cutting boards, peeler, corkscrew. We have eggs from our free-ranging hens, which we like to offer to guests. We warn you that sometimes our chicken flock falls on the terraces of houses or burrows in the ground right next to them. In the season, we will also be happy to treat you with goat milk straight from our goats.
You can enjoy your meals at a 6-seater table indoors or on the terrace. Next to the houses there is also a place for a bonfire with a grate.
People come to our settlement to immerse themselves in nature. Stare at goats and chickens, make cat wraps, stroke our dog and spend time in the company of two horses and a pony. Allow children to be carefree, explore freely and contact animals, and watch the spring-summer greenery, autumn grays and fogs or winter white from the terrace or sofa in front of the panoramic window. You can swing in a hammock, eat fruit straight from the trees, taste milk from goats (in season), go on a trip to get wood and light a fire, run barefoot on the grass and slow down.
We are located among the hills and forests of the Rudawy Landscape Park, in the picturesque town of Bukowiec. In the 19th century, it was a summer resort and an important cultural center of the then Prussia, which was taken care of by Fryderyk Karolina née von Riedesel, a patron of the arts. Mementoes of those times are: the palace and park complex, where you can see, among others a palace in a classicist style from the 16th century, the ruins of an abbey, a teahouse - a pavilion (called the temple of Athena) from 1804, built for Countess Frederica and being her library, and a circle of druids. In our village there is also a building of a former brewery and a gardener's house from 1797 (it is in private hands, so you can only look at it from a distance). You can come to the Cafe in the Artistic Stodola for a cake, weekend workshops and from there go for a walk with a guide in the season. There is an observation tower in the park (the artificial ruins of Kesselburg), from which there is a view of the Giant Mountains and Rudawy Janowickie.
The Main Sudety Trail runs next to our settlement. The entire route is 443 kilometers long and the estimated time to complete it is 120 hours. You can start one of its stages from us.
With guides from the Sudetenland you can go on one of the evening walks with kerosene lamps. They are intended for adults and children. You can find the calendar on their website.
From Bukowiec, you can go on a 10-kilometer trip to Kowary (where there is a reservoir and the unusual building of the Wysoka Łąka hospital, which was built in the years 1900-1902, and its shape refers to the sanatorium in Swiss Davos) and back. During it you will pass through the Klöber rock gate. Other noteworthy trips are the route to the Sokole Mountains (Rudawy Janowickie massif) and visits to the Szwajcarka shelter. It is a historic wooden building in the Tyrolean style from 1823, built as a hunter's cottage on the model of a building from the Bernese Highlands in Switzerland, commissioned by Wilhelm von Hohenzollern. After a stop at the shelter, you can move on to Krzyżna Góra or Sokolik (the second highest peak of the Rudawy Mountains, if you want to climb the highest one, it is the south-western peak of Skalnik - Ostra Mała).
In the village of Janowice, hidden in a dense forest, stands on a rocky, granite ledge, about 561 m above sea level, the Bolczów Castle.
Which way to the slopes? We have 10 km to Karpacz, 16 km to the Czech Mała Upa, where you can admire the well-preserved folk architecture and take a ride in a horn sleigh.
We recommend the picturesque Przesieka and the Podgórna Waterfall to lovers of winter swimming.
You can visit Huta Julia in Piechowice for sightseeing and creative workshops (e.g. in painting or engraving on glass) - for children and adults. In the same town there is a water dam - the second largest in Poland, after Solina.
Sudecka Zagroda Edukacyjna in Dobków, supporting sustainable tourism and local production, organizes numerous interesting events (especially for children). Her initiative is Kaczawski Travel Festival "We wake up extinct volcanoes".
Colorful lakes will appeal to both small and large. After watching them, you can still get the Great Kopa. In four mine workings, left over from German pyrite mines, the water has unusual colors: yellow, purple, blue and green.
The Sudeten Festival of Minerals takes place in Lubań.
We try to keep up to date with local events and know what's in the grass, we will be happy to share it with you.
The Krasne settlement is the fulfillment of our dream that children could live in harmony with nature and in contact with animals. This is what our children and the children of our guests experience here. This is what I remember from my childhood and these are the best memories for me.
The following attractions await the little ones:
- feeding horses, petting cats and cleaning a pony,
- eating fruit straight from trees and bushes,
- in winter sledding down the hill opposite the houses, building walls, making snowmen and igloos from snow,
- a large, green area in summer for free play,
- the possibility of sleeping in a tent in the meadow.
In each of the houses, there is a space for children to play with a table, chairs and a shelf full of toys, books and board games.
For parents of small children, we have several amenities:
- a barrier mounted at the top of the stairs,
- a travel cot,
- a high chair,
- a bathtub,
- a toilet seat cover,
- a step,
Just let us know what you need before you arrive.
If you're wondering if you can work comfortably from our Village, the answer is: yes. We have fiber optic, and each cottage has a connection with a bandwidth of 100 Mb/s download and 100 Mb/s upload. In practice, this means you can easily watch movies or participate in video conferences.
When it comes to cellular coverage, the networks operate on LTE.
