Green Trail – Radomice – Klecza – Wleń – Góra Zamkowa (Castle Mountain) & Wleński Gródek – Klecza – Radomice

From Radomice we follow the green trail – the Trail of Piast Castles in the direction of village Klecza. On our way we pass an old limestone quarry in the form of a picturesque rocky amphitheatre and a lime kiln – an old lime burner built with the hewn sandstone blocks. From the upper edge of the quarry we can admire the panorama of Karkonosze.

From under the Wietrznik there is a panoramic view of Klecza and at a distance a characteristic cone of Ostrzyca Proboszczowicka, a geological remainder from the tertiary volcanism. At the cross-roads near village Klecza there is a stone pole and a penitential cross. Next in the direction of Wleń we enter an interpretive trail. Along the trail there are several boards informing about selected species of plants and trees, animals living in surrounding forest and curiosities of the inanimate nature. On the trail we can see: a big stone with a man-made hollow cavity in the shape of a bowl (perhaps it was a watering trough?); a scree of big boulders – Izerskie Gołoborze; a high rocky precipice – Białe Skały (White Cliffs); ruins of a synagogue –difficult to find because it is considerably overgrown by trees and bushes; continuing along the railway tracks, just before Wleń, a tunnel cut through the rock – Melafirowa Skała ( Melaphyre Rock) – a volcanic rock with small quartz concretions, some of them could be little agates. We are reaching Wleń. At present Wleń is a small town, picturesquely located in the bend of the Bóbr River in the central part of the Bóbr River Landscape Park, at the foot of the Castle Mountain. It is one of the oldest towns in Lower Silesia. The beginning of Wleń as a town dates from year 1214.

It is worthwhile to visit the market surrounded by houses, the town hall with a pigeon girl statue next to it, commemorating the best known in Silesia and taking place in Wleń pigeon fairs, and the Saint Nikolai Church – currently in the neo-Gothic style with a medieval tower.

Ascending the Castle Mountain, which dominates over the town, we pass two more penitential crosses. On the top of the Castle Mountain there is one of the oldest, built in-stone Piast structures from the beginning of the 12th century. Unfortunately, the tower is currently inaccessible due to continuing preservation works.

The Castle Mountain consists of lava, which erupted from the Earth on the ocean bottom and hardening under water created typical shapes of blobs, or pillows, therefore it is called ‘pillow lava’.

At the base of the castle there is a Palace-Park Complex, created in the 17th century and transformed in the Baroque style in the 18th century. Due to the thriftiness of a new Belgian owner, the palace is regaining its former splendour. Visiting Café Lenno (www.pensionlenno.be) we can enjoy a delicious piece of cake and see the palace inside.

On our return way to Radomice through Klecza we can notice an interesting and rare geological curiosity – sandstone xenoliths enveloped in basalt. In the mass of volcanic basalt rocks there are fragments of sandstone sedimentary rocks, entrained by magma, which due to thermal stress during the cooling process cracked the same way as basalt is cracking, i.e. into pentagon or hexagon distinct columns, but in a smaller scale.