A one-day trip around the Polish Sudetenland, focused on a ride along the former Prussian main line, today boasting the title of the most beautiful railway line in Poland. In addition, we visited the former German munitions factories of Dynamit Nobel AG, Nowa Ruda and Kłodzko.
As happens to me a couple of times a year, this trip came about by chance. It all started when I planned to spend a weekend in Wroclaw, Poland in the spring. I deduced that this city probably wouldn't be around for two days, so I started looking for things to do in the area. I came across Ksiaz Castle and the city of Wałbrzych. While searching for details about these places, I came across an article on trains.net about the former Prussian line connecting Berlin to Vienna. In addition, I read that there is a former German factory with a museum near the tracks and also a former coal mine nearby where you can go underground. My railroad and WWII history lover's heart was aflutter, and the program for the next weekend was decided.
At six in the morning Marek picks me up by car to take us to Nymburk, from where we will continue by train.
Early morning Nymburk hl.n.
We choose the car for this section because, to be honest, Mlada Boleslav can be described as a hole on the weekend in terms of morning and evening transport connections. In other words, we would have to leave an hour earlier for Meziměstí, which is near the Polish border, only to wait an unnecessary hour for our connection in Nymburk. We could have gone via Turnov with three changes. However, we all know Czech Railways and the more transfers the more chances of missing or being delayed. That's why we find ourselves in Nymburk by car to jump on the fast train from Prague. This will take us via Hradec Králové to Starkoč station, where we will change to the connecting passenger train to Mezimesti.
According to the idos, you'd end up here. Because neither from Mezimesti nor from nearby Broumov does idos show any connection to the Polish border area, and you can almost see the border from these towns. Even Náchod, with one bus exception, offers nothing. Too bad. However, I was saved by an article on vlaky.net, which discusses public transport in Wałbrzych, with the important information that line number 15 goes four times a day just to Mezimesti.
Timetable of line 15 from Mezimesti to Wałbrzyc
The bus stop is located next to the train station, which, judging by the size of the station hall, probably served larger volumes of passengers than today. At least part of the building is used as a railway museum.
Railway station building in Mezimesti (unfortunately I only have this blurred photo)
Railway station building in Meziměstí
Upon arrival we were greeted by heavy rain and cold. We spent the time waiting at the bus stop for the aforementioned line 15 to Wałbrzych.
Line 15 to Wałbrzych (how else but Polish Solaris :D)
We buy an hourly ticket from the driver for 3.3 Zloty and set off with seven people. In Mieroszów the bus fills up and continues quite full for the duration of our journey. This is where the bread will be broken, because for all the perfection of this cross-border connection, there is one major flaw, and that is that the bus does not go to the main train station in Wałbrzych. To get there you have to walk through the forest along the line from the Moniuszki - Koszarka stop. This wouldn't be such a problem, but you have less than half an hour to walk this two-kilometre stretch of forest. Once you miss the train, you're out of luck because the next one doesn't leave until 2pm. If you want to go the other way around, i.e. from the train to the bus, the situation is even worse, because the train arrives 2 minutes after the bus to Meziměstí leaves from the far stop. So no chance. For this reason I went home via Kłodzko and Ústí nad Orlicí, where the cross-border connection is better.
Let's go back to the bus. I have found on map.cz that the closest to the station is from the Moniuszki - Dom Dziecka stop. But despite the fact that we pressed the stop sign, the bus didn't stop there and took us to Moniuszki - Koszarka. Moreover, because a lot of people were buying tickets from the driver, we were a few minutes late. The rain stopped and we set off on a quick march. The route goes along the embankment where the railway to Jeleni Góra is located. The trail then turns away from the embankment according to the map. If we followed the map, we wouldn't make it. We will therefore use the path leading up the embankment to the railway track, where we weave between the tracks.
Tracks near the station Wałbrzych Główny
We arrive at the station less than 5 minutes before the scheduled departure time. But the train is nowhere to be found. On the timetable I quickly find out that there is a bus standing nearby. We get on it two minutes before departure. At the conductor's we copied a Bilet Sudecki ticket for 40 Zloty (240 CZK), which is an all-day ticket for two, valid for the entire length of the line from Wałbrzych via Kłodzko to Lichkov in the Czech Republic. A single ticket would have cost us each 7 Zloty more. If you are not a holder of the ČD IN 50 discount card and you are travelling from Central Bohemia, for example, you will find the weekend ticket + Polish border area sold at ČD ticket offices rather worthwhile, which is valid either in the whole Czech Republic or in any region and the whole Polish border area. Back to Wałbrzych. The bus leaves on time and takes us to Jedlina Górna station. There we are met by a modern motor unit, which I could imagine as a replacement for the Regionov. This deprives us of one of the best, as this particular section is run in the longest railway tunnel in Poland, which is a "breathtaking" 1601 m long. Currently, the track superstructure is being reconstructed here and therefore there is a closure.
In the distance, the end of Poland's longest railway tunnel
Stations Jedlina Górna
We change trains and finally get to the most beautiful railway line in Poland. Construction of this line began in 1876 and the first train on the 52 km long route left four years later. It was built as part of the Silesian Mountain Railway, which was intended to shorten the connection between Berlin and Vienna by 120 kilometres compared to the route via Dresden and Prague. Already in 1909-1912 it was double-tracked and modernised. Island platforms and subways became standard. The line reached its peak in the interwar period, when 27 passenger trains and an equal volume of freight trains ran daily. After the Second World War, the territory including the line fell to Poland and the line became more local. After 1989, the number of services on the line was reduced and, together with poor maintenance, journey times were extended. This led to an exodus of passengers, until in 2006 passenger trains stopped running on the line altogether. In 2009, after repairs to the most damaged sections of the line, passenger services returned and are now served by seven pairs of trains (source: vlaky.net). However, the fact that this line has seen its best days is soon demonstrated by Jedlina Zdrój station, which is in a really poor condition.
Jedlina Zdrój - Decline of Prussian glory in live broadcast
But once the train pulls away from this ghost station, the local landscape opens up before you and you will immediately understand why this is the most beautiful line in Poland. In addition, you can see how the line and its surrounding infrastructure is gradually deteriorating.
Section of the line Jedlina Zdrój - Bartnica
Bartnica Station - Broken windows are typical for the whole Polish Sudetenland
After half an hour's ride we get off at the Ludwikowice Kłodzkie station. We get off the train here to visit the German ammunition factory Dynamit Nobel AG in nearby Milków.
Station Ludwikowice Klodzkie
Ludwikowice Kłodzkie
Ludwikowice Kłodzkie - Railway bridge and Wlodyka mountain
Ludwikowice Kłodzkie - Railway bridge
From the train station, you can walk to the complex along the hiking trail. It takes about half an hour to get there and you pass through the former industrial area of the factory, where apart from a few passing cars you will not find a living soul.
Ludwikowice Kłodzkie - Signpost in front of the railway station
Milków - Former site of the Dynamit Nobel AG factory - remains of a railway siding
Milków - Former site of the Dynamit Nobel AG factory
Milków - Former site of the Dynamit Nobel AG factory - remains of the power station building
Milków - Former site of the Dynamit Nobel AG factory
The complex was part of the Riese project (although sources differ as to whether or not the complex belonged there), which led to the construction of extensive underground complexes in the Owl Mountains. The exact purpose of the project is not known, but one theory is that German industry was to be moved to these complexes from industrial areas hit by Allied bombing. In the Milków complex there is the Mölke Museum, which is famous for a mysterious reinforced concrete structure called the Toadstool. Polish writer Igor Witkowski gave it this name in his book Prawda o Wunderwaffe, where he describes it as a testing facility for a secret German wonder weapon called the Bell. This theory is undermined by the fact that the design is very similar to the base of the cooling tower in Siechnitz. However, the opposing side argues that there is not a single surviving image of the factory depicting the cooling tower.
Milków - Mölke Museum - Flytrap
The entrance fee to the museum is 12 Zloty. For this price you can visit 300 m of corridors through the underground factory and also the weapons and cars on display. Where the most interesting exhibit is a manned version of the V1 rocket called the Reichenberg, which draws inspiration from the Japanese kamikaze. The pilot can aim it at a given target and die in the process.
Milków - Mölke Museum
Milków - Mölke Museum - Original appearance of the Dynamit Nobel AG factory
Milków - Mölke Museum - German Reichenberg missile
Milków - Mölke Museum
Milków - Mölke Museum - Underground factory complex
We leave the museum and follow the mining trail around the Wlodyka peak to Nowa Ruda. On the way there are still a few remains of the factory. Dilapidated buildings and former ammunition depots in the forest.
Milków - Remains of the Dynamit Nobel AG factory site
Milków - The ammunition depots are camouflaged from the road
Milków - The ammunition depot
The trail is marked with a black tourist sign and leads us out of the forest to the Nowa Ruda - Zdrojowisko train station, where we meet the railway line again, which is only single-track in these places.
Nowa Ruda - Zdrojowisko
We don't get on the train yet, because we want to walk to the centre, where there is the Górnictwa Museum with the possibility to go underground and ride the mining train. Next to the mine there is a tailings heap, so it looks like Ostrava.
Nowa Ruda
Nowa Ruda - Museum Górnictwa
Unfortunately, we didn't arrive until after two o'clock, which meant that we would miss our train due to the delay. Therefore, instead of going underground, we walked to the centre of Nowa Ruda. On the way we were still delayed by the Biedrunka supermarket, where we bought some snacks. On the way to the centre we were passed by a local gang of twelve-year-old scooter riders, riding their masters along the cycle path and listening to loud disco music. The centre of Nowa Ruda leaves you in no doubt that this is originally a German town. It's just a shame it's falling into a bit of disrepair. We take photos almost on the fly as the train is about to leave, so we have to hurry.
Nowa Ruda
Nowa Ruda - Town Hall
Nowa Ruda
From Nowa Ruda to Kłodzko takes about 20 minutes. The line here is double track, although it is clear that only one track is used. In Kłodzko we have two hours before the train to Bohemia. We want to spend it exploring the centre and the adjacent fortress. But it is already closed, so we just wander through the historic centre looking for some refreshments, of which there are not many.
Klodzko Center
Kłodzko Fortress
Klodzko Center
Finally, we'll anchor it in a kebab place. After dinner we go shopping in the opposite supermarket and then we walk slowly to Kłodzko Miasto railway station. There, a modern Impuls arrives, in which we settle comfortably, only to learn a quarter of an hour later that, due to a breakdown in the overhead line, we'll be taking a bus. The disruption is somewhat comical. For a unit with a capacity of about 200 people, a minibus arrives that is no match for a Ukrainian shuttle. Fortunately, there aren't that many people on it, so we can just about fit in. But we don't leave right away. We have to wait for the driver to lock the train and start the journey with us. It's already certain that we won't make our two-minute change in Lichkov. To add to the comedy, the driver in Dlugopoli asks us where the station actually is. The locals shake their heads and navigate. An empty unit was waiting for us in Domaszków, which the driver had to revive, so it took another ten minutes before we were on our way. We arrive in Lichkov half an hour late. We wait half an hour for another passenger train to take us to Ústí nad Orlicí. There we change to another passenger train to Pardubice. From the city of gingerbread we continue by Railjet to Kolín. In Kolin we change to a passenger train to Nymburk, where fortunately a car is waiting for us. This example shows how difficult Poland is to access by public transport.
To sum up, I was pleasantly surprised by the Polish border region. It may look like a week after the removal of the original German inhabitants, but it impresses you all the more with its unique Genius Loci. Moreover, this area is not just the few places we visited. The Riese project offers far more and larger underground complexes that are now museums. The Kłodzko area is also not just the coal mine in Nowa Ruda, but there are plenty of other attractions, so there are many more reasons to return.
