Radomice – Maciejowiec – Wild Canyon – Pilchowice Dam & Lake – Pilchowice – Radomice

From Radomice to Maciejowiec we follow the green trail and can admire a giant, very impressive oak or in the summer pick delicious cherries from the trees along our way. In Maciejowiec we may see, unfortunately at this moment from outside only, an interesting but considerably damaged Renaissance manor from the 16th - 17th century with farm buildings. There is a classicistic palace and chapel by the manor. The chapel is separated from the palace by dense double row of rhododendrons, which blossom beautifully at the end of May. A neo-Renaissance mausoleum, devoted to the daughter of the last owners before World War II, was erected not far away from the palace. The palace is surrounded by a beautiful and exceptional park complex located over the Bóbr Valley from north-east and over the Wild Canyon from south. Many valuable and rare species of trees and shrubs grow there, a lot of them not appearing normally in our climate conditions. It is the most interesting park complex in Lower Silesia.

A steep path, partially with stone steps, leads from the park to the bottom of the Wild Canyon, near the roaring Wild Waterfalls on the Maciejowiecki Stream. Eeriness of this place is increased by steep walls of the canyon and numerous rocks, with the stream winding amongst them. Continuing along the Wild Canyon we can reach a significant river: the Bóbr.

When walking upstream on the river bank it is possible to observe on the ledges interesting structures of gneiss and granite-gneiss, metamorphic rocks of the Izerskie Plateau. The path leads to the bridge across the river, located downstream of a large dam. The Pilchowice Dam is the second largest structure of this kind in Poland; at the base of it a hydroelectric power plant was built. The dam is 62 m high and 301 m wide at its crest. The Pilchowice Dam, together with the railway Jelenia Góra – Lwówek Śląski, was constructed in years 1904-1912. It was the biggest project in Germany at that time. The fundamental role of the dam is to restrain the waters of the Bóbr River and generate electricity. In the past the swollen river flooded many times neighbouring towns and villages. The dam created a picturesque Pilchowickie Lake, where we can enjoy various water activities. From the dam crest and the lookout point above we can admire the surroundings. Walking on the blue trail along the lake banks we reach the Stanek Mountain, where among rocks a lookout point called the Captain’s Bridge was created. From the dam we return to Radomice along the paved road through the village of Pilchowice.