How it used to be tree-like, or the history of winter sports near Orlica

When the ski season in Poland is coming to an end, it is still at its best in Zieleniec. It's no joke: due to the unique alpine microclimate, conditions for downhill and cross-country skiing last longer here than anywhere else. And when the snow melts, cyclists and lovers of walks go out on the trails in the Orlickie Mountains. Zieleniec has a sports offer for everyone — regardless of age, condition and season, and its sporting history goes back decades.

From the article you will learn:

• How Zieleniec became one of the first ski resorts in the Sudetenland
• Who was the forerunner of skiing and winter tourism in the region
• Why Zieleniec survived as a sports resort despite dramatic turns of history‍

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‍Once Grunwald, and after the war Zieleniec is one of the most important mountain resorts not only in Lower Silesia, but also throughout Poland. Some will say that it is the birthplace of skiing in the region. Approaching this statement with some distance, the rich and interesting history of this place proves that for the development of winter sports in Lower Silesia Zieleniec was and is a place of very great importance and importance.

It's been beautiful here forever

Zieleniec was founded, or rather formally referred to as a colony, in 1719. Although it is in fact there are many theories about the actual formation of this once village, today part of the city of Duszniki-Zdrój.

One of the more interesting versions says that Zieleniec was founded by a certain Zimmerman from Dusznik, who built a furnace here because of the iron ore deposits located in the area. This was to attract settlers and contribute to the development of the whole place.The first years of the 18th century were the development of Zieleniec as a typically pastoral village, but already the middle of the century brought its further, quite dynamic development. Of course, no one at that time thought about building a ski jump, but more and more farms appeared here, and in 1762 a wooden church was erected in Zieleniec. A breakthrough occurred, as happened in many other regions of Europe, in the 19th century, and especially its second half. Zieleniec was already a large village at that time. Its potential was noticed by tourists - beautifully and picturesquely midwife, it was advertised as the highest located village in Prussia.In 1840, 83 buildings stood in Zieleniec, among them a chapel, a Catholic school, 4 water mills, a sawmill, a limestone quarry, and a Duszaz ironworks located on a meadow towards Nik.

From skiing, to jumping to cross-country

In the first half of the 19th century, Zieleniec was marked by disputes regarding the nature of the town, tourist traffic. However, it was mainly in summer and autumn - mainly patients from Dusznik Zdrój arrived here. The boom in winter sports came only at the threshold of this century, when climatic conditions, together with the terrain, attracted the attention of amateur skiers, which generally at that time experienced a dynamic, if not to say leap, development.It is worth at this point to lean on the figure of Heinrich Rübartsch (1852-1930), a Czech brewer from education, without which the sporting character of Zieleniec would probably not have been as strong as it is today.Heinrich Rübartsch was the owner of a well-known inn in the region located in Zieleniec. But that's not all - he was a pioneer of tourism in the Orlice area, where in 1881 he erected a small observation tower, next to which a year later he launched a small inn (Gasthaus zur Hohen Mense). However, this was not the end of his activity in terms of construction on the highest elevation of the Orlickie Mountains. At the beginning of the 20th century, he built a new, beautiful and quite large Hindenburgbaude shelter in Orlice. He led them until his death.

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But what is most important from the point of view of winter tourism, it was Rübartsch who was the forerunner of skiing in the Zieleniec region. Its activity, extraordinary energy and popularity attracted more tourists and skiers to Orlica, which had to translate into the further development of this beautiful town. The beginning of the 20th century brought the development of the slopes of the Orlice Mountains. The first ski slopes and a toboggan run were built. However, the biggest curiosity is the fact that in Zieleniec, a little below the Orlica Shelter, there was a ski jump with a construction point of 45 meters. It survived even until post-war times - it was one of the first facilities in Poland that was adapted for jumping. However, like many similar structures, the ski jump in Zieleniec did not stand the test of time.

In the meantime, a roadway to Zieleniec (Road to Happiness) was built, which solved one of its biggest problems - accessibility. So, of course, it continued its development, which reached its climax in the 1930s. It has become one of the most important and popular resorts of Silesia. It was visited by everyone - amateurs, professionals, beginners and those trained in ski combat. It attracted with its beauty, excellent conditions, harmonized well with the lower Duszniki. Competitions were held here, including those of the champion rank, meetings, feasts, sleigh rides.

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In 1928, the Ski Association (Ski-Verein Grunwald) was founded in Zieleniec, and two years later another — the “Hindenburgbaude” Ski Guild. New guesthouses and inns were established - in 1936 there were as many as 30 accommodation facilities, which was a really considerable number at the time. Winter lasted a long time, it was beautiful, snowy and frosty, making Zieleniec a real paradise for skiers. In 1932, the beautiful Orlica Way from the Polskie Wrota Pass was put into use, which was given the name Hindenburgstrasse. Even before the war, the construction of the Olympic ski resort began - unfortunately, the work was not completed.

A Difficult History Lesson

Just after 1945, Zieleniec was still a popular tourist destination. Former inns were converted into tourist shelters. In 1948 there were 4 private shelters (“Janosikowa Hala”, “Roadside Shelter” and “Dąbrowa”). Unfortunately, the following years brought progressive losses in the local, historic and extremely valuable architecture - the shelter on Orlice burned down in 1946 in unexplained circumstances, and in 1948 the beautiful building of the Hindenburgbaude shelter also burned down. The inclusion of slopes in the border areas, which became inaccessible to tourists, was the beginning of the end of the days of Zieleniec's heyday. The next chapter of this beautiful story had to wait almost thirty more years.

Bibliography:

Brygier W., Dudziak T., Chomiak I., Kłodzko Land, Pruszków: Revash Publishing House, 2010

Websites:

• http://web.archive.org/web/20140402071732/http://www.zieleniec.info/news-158.html
• http://visitduszniki.pl/zieleniec-kolebka-narciarstwa-w-sudetach/
• http://www.skisprungschanzen.com/PL/Skocznie/POL-Polska/D-Dolno%C5%9Bl%C4%85skie/Duszniki-Zdr%C3%B3j/1757-Zieleniec/