castle
Ksiaz Castle
Lower Silesia's largest castle, perched dramatically on a rock above a gorge, riddled with WWII tunnels.
14 km · about 25 min drive
EuropePolandLower Silesia
Świdnica
Lower Silesia, Poland · Europe
About Świdnica
Świdnica is worth a stop: 15 minutes from Jaworzyna Śląska, 36km from Adršpach-Teplice Rocks.
Świdnica is in Lower Silesia, Poland, with about 60,000 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Jaworzyna Śląska, about 9 km away.
Świdnica (Polish: [ɕfidˈɲit͡sa] ; German: Schweidnitz [ˈʃvaɪtnɪts]; Czech: Svídnice [ˈsviːdɲitsɛ]; Silesian: Swidnica) is a city on the Bystrzyca River in south-western Poland in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. As of 2021, it has a population of 55,413 inhabitants. It is the seat of Świdnica County, and also of theRead more
smaller district of Gmina Świdnica, though it forms a separate urban gmina. It is the seventh largest city of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Świdnica became part of the Wałbrzych agglomeration on 23 January 2014.
A city with almost a thousand years of history, recorded in 1070, Świdnica was one of the main cities of Silesia and southwestern Poland in the Middle Ages, the second most important center of culture and art in the region (after Wrocław), a famed brewing center, and in 1291–1392 the capital of an eponymous principality ruled by a local line of the Piast dynasty. The city has a preserved Old Town with several Gothic and Baroque churches, including the St. Stanislaus and St. Wenceslaus Cathedral and the Church of Peace, two landmark churches listed as Historic Monuments of Poland with the latter also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Świdnica?
Within an hour or so of Świdnica: Ksiaz Castle (14 km), Osówka Underground City (20 km), Adršpach-Teplice Rocks (36 km), Szczeliniec Wielki (41 km).
Are there any good drives near Świdnica?
The nearest famous roads are Road of a Hundred Bends and Cervenohorske Sedlo.
Where is Świdnica?
Świdnica is in Lower Silesia, Poland, about 9 km from Jaworzyna Śląska.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 60,351
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- Poland
- Region
- Lower Silesia
- Timezone
- Europe/Warsaw
- Coordinates
- 50.8438, 16.4886
Tags
Worth the detour from Świdnica
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
museum
Osówka Underground City
The largest visitable complex of Nazi Germany's Project Riese: 3.1 km of tunnels bored into the Owl Mountains in 1943–45 for a purpose still debated. Partly flooded sections are toured by boat.
20 km · about 25 min drive
natural wonder
Adršpach-Teplice Rocks
A mesmerizing labyrinth of towering sandstone rock formations sculpted by millions of years of erosion into surreal shapes.
36 km · about 40 min drive
scenic viewpoint
Szczeliniec Wielki
The highest summit of the Table Mountains (919 m): a sandstone plateau of eroded rock labyrinths, chasms and terraces reached by a historic stone stairway from Karłów, with views into Czechia on clear days.
41 km · about 50 min drive
famous road
Road of a Hundred Bends
Route 387 between Radkow and Kudowa-Zdroj corkscrews through the surreal rock labyrinths of the Table Mountains, packing dozens of hairpins into a forested drive beloved by Polish motorists.
42 km · about 50 min drive
photogenic
Błędne Skały
A rock labyrinth at 853 m in the Table Mountains where a marked trail squeezes between mushroom-shaped sandstone blocks and metre-wide corridors: a filming location for The Chronicles of Narnia. Car access via a timed toll road from Karłów.
43 km · about 50 min drive
landmark
Skull Chapel, Czermna
A small Baroque chapel (1776–1784) in Kudowa-Zdrój whose walls and ceiling are lined with 3,000 human skulls and bones, with 21,000 more in the crypt below: Poland's only ossuary of its kind.
47 km · about 55 min drive
landmark
Wrocław Bronze Dwarfs
Over 300 whimsical bronze dwarf figurines scattered throughout the city streets, each with a unique character and story.
48 km · about 55 min drive
Driving roads near Świdnica
- 41 kmSzczeliniec WielkiThe highest summit of the Table Mountains (919 m): a sandstone plateau of eroded rock labyrinths, chasms and terraces reached by a historic stone stairway from Karłów, with views into Czechia on clear days.
- 42 kmRoad of a Hundred BendsRoute 387 between Radkow and Kudowa-Zdroj corkscrews through the surreal rock labyrinths of the Table Mountains, packing dozens of hairpins into a forested drive beloved by Polish motorists.
- 54 kmSnezkaCzechia's highest peak in the Krkonose, reached by chairlift and ridge trails with views into Poland.
- 54 kmSniezkaHighest peak of the Karkonosze range at 1603 metres on the Polish-Czech border, topped by a distinctive disc-shaped meteorological observatory.
Driving in Poland
- Drives on
- the right
- Petrol
- ~€1.42/litre
- Motorway tolls
- ~€5.00/100km
When to drive here
April to October
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