Grabowiec Hill and St. Anna’s Chapel - charming place and legends

grabowiec hill and st annas chapel charming place and legends

There is a place in which we organize trekking expeditions endings, and also is the destination of easy and pleasant walks at the end of the tour. It is also a great place for rest, lunch and got beautiful viewpoint for the Jeleniogórska Valley. The place calls St. Anna’s Chapel and is located on the slope of Grabowiec Hill. The first wooden chapel was erected in this place at the beginning of the thirteenth century at the spring beside the road leading from the Pagan Valley to the Good sources called Babia Path or the Path of Witches on the site of ancient Slavic pagan worship center, dating back to Neolithic times. The first mention of a chapel on Grabowiec Hill was recorded in 1212 in the parish chronicle of Sobieszów village. Chapel initially looked after the Hospitallers, Knights nun. The chapel was maintained with funds from the Swidnicko –Jaworski Duke Bolek II.

The medieval building was destroyed during the Hussite Wars. Rebuilt in the fifteenth century by Friedrich Liebenthal of Sosnówka and Konrad von Schaffgotsch of Podgorzyn. Again suffered destruction during the Thirty Years War. The present brick chapel. St.Anne, placed in the Baroque style was founded by Count Hans Anton von Schaffgotsch of Teplice. The construction of the chapel began in 1718 and was completed in 1719 by designer and builder Joseph Anton Casper Jentsch (1699-1757). In 1812 t from another chapel of St. Lawrence located on Snieżka Mountain (1602 m asl), baroque altar with a statue of St. Lawrence was brought. After World War II, the chapel fell into oblivion. Now it is renovated, and its general appearance of the eighteenth century for over 350 years has not significantly changed.

The altar stands directly above the source, and slightly mineralized water with low radioactivity (anti-inflammatory, analgesic and diuretic) is drained outside the chapel by channel. Paintings for the chapel were painted on a copper plate due to the found in spring water noble gas radon, which caused the disappearance of paint on canvas paintings.

Legend says it that its waters have extraordinary properties. If you get a sip from the creek and run around the chapel 7 times, your wish will be fulfilled

On the water intake of the source is carved image of a deer, under which is the inscription: „Der gute Born” (good source), and after both sides appear subtitles: „1212 wurde diese Quelle heilkraftige erwahnt” (in 1212 it was mentioned sacred and medicinal source) and „1920 neu gefasst durch Reichsgrafen Schaffgotsch” (in 1920, renovated by Count Schaffgotsch).

Grabowiec Hill (784 m) is itself an interesting place. On the slope, at the blue trail leading to Karpacz, is the entrance to the underground corridors that go into the mountain. They were built by the Germans in 1927, and were to serve as a water supply system for a nearby shelter and preventorium. Water flowing from the mountains had and has in todays days the therapeutic properties, because it is saturated with radioactive radon. There are stories that German soldiers had hide valuables during World War II. Despite many attempts, so far no team has failed to explore this undergrounds, because the transition to another sections are completely flooded with water.