Lasówka is a small village in Bystrzyckie Mountains, once famous for its glassworks. Nowadays it's a quiet place inhabited by more or less 100 people. Our house is located 761 m above sea level and 400 m above the level of the so-called Sudete Highway. Such a location guarantees calm and peace.
We are here (enter the place you depart from)
Should you use a navigation device, enter the following parameters: 50o 18'18.18"N, 16o 27'27.27"E or N 50.30394o, E 16.45350o and choose a preferable route - the quickest or the shortest one.
Directions for visitors coming from Zieleniec
Drive through Zieleniec and follow the road in the woods. Pass the road sign denoting the end of the Zieleniec village and exactly after 6 km from that sign (after ca. 2 minutes' drive) you will see a church on your left. Take a left turn 100 m after the church. You will find our house on the hill, on your right. ATTENTION: if you drive after sunset, drive slowly, despite the fact that the road surface seems to be perfect. It's 100% certain you will meet some deer on the road.
Directions for visitors coming from Bystrzyca Kłodzka
Follow the road sings directing you towards Spalona, than follow the Mostowice and Lasówka sings. You will see a church on your right, in front of you. Take the right turn 100 m before the church. This route is not advised in winter season, especially if you are an inexperienced driver. It's very crooked and difficult, even though it's very picturesque at the same time.
ATTENTION!
Make sure you have snow chains, towrope and a shovel.
Some history...
Lasówka's beginnings...
Most probably it used to be a forest watchtower at first. It was founded in 1589, when the border between County of Kladsko and Czech lands was shifted. The inhabitants were given a task of guarding county's forests by the border. The settlement the watchtower evolved to was first mentioned in writing at the beginning of 17th century. It was inhabited by loggers and glassworks' employees. The settlement started to develop in 1612, when the glassworks was founded in Lasówka. Unfortunately the factory was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. The production was re-launched in 1656 by Adam Peterhansel. It is believed that he founded the settlement (today's Lasówka) in 1622 as well. The settlement was named after the nearby forests - Kaiserswalde, meaning "Ceasar's Woods".
Glass business
Glassworks in Kaiserswalde became one of the biggest factories of the type in the region, shortly after it was founded. The settlement developed together with the factory. Even the fact that Kaiserswalde changed its owners several times wasn't able to impede the development. The factory flourished in the second half of the 18th century - it was managed by Rohrbach brothers these days. In order to help you picture the scale of activity, it's enough to say that factory produced ca. 600 tons of cut glass, 400 tons of drawn glass, 300 tons of glass panes and 200 tons of lenses per year. In the middle of 19th century the great factory started to specialize in cut glass production. Lead glass was produced in the glassworks and the cutting shop nearby put the finishing touch to it. 315 people lived in Kaiserswalde in 1840. Potash manufacture, brewery, distillery and a small match manufacture were founded. A. von Pangratz became the factory's owner in 1857. His family owned the glassworks until 1945.
Summer resort
By the end of 19th century Kaiserswalde began to attract tourists. An inn was opened and it's believed a small post-office agency with a telephone line was founded as well. In 1910-1912 a church was built - you can still visit it and admire its original decor. The number of inhabitants exceeded 600 at the time.
Lasówka after the war
The inhabitants of the village were evicted after the 2nd World War and were replaced with the settlers from the East. Unfortunately, the newcomers had no skill necessary to cultivate land in the difficult mountain environment. The uneasy realm of the borderland added to it as well. Nobody was able to re-launch the match manufacture after the war and the glassworks decreased production turnover. In 1950 the village was inhabited by as little as 168 people. Over time glassworks did worse and worse - it was finally closed by the end of 1950s.
Lasówka today
In practice, there's no trace of the previous Lasówka left. Some of the beautiful glassworks' products remained somewhere out there as well as in the inhabitants' collections. You have to pay considerable prices for Kaiserswalde "crystals" today. An astute observer may still be able to find the scarce remains of the glassworks and cutting workshop. The mountains, sparse persistent inhabitants and the newcomers - "refugees", who abandoned huge Polish and foreign cities - is everything that still remains.