Lądek-Zdrój ( cs, Landek; german: Bad Landeck), known in English as Landek, is a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He ...

situated in

Kłodzko County __NOTOC__ Kłodzko County ( pl, powiat kłodzki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999 as a result of the Polish local govern ...

, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, southwestern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. It is the seat of the administrative district ( gmina) called Gmina Lądek-Zdrój, close to the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

border.

History and culture

It lies in the Sudetes approximately south-east of

Kłodzko Kłodzko (; cz, Kladsko; german: Glatz; la, Glacio) is a historic town in south-western Poland, in the region of Lower Silesia. It is situated in the centre of the Kłodzko Valley, on the Eastern Neisse river. Kłodzko is the seat of Kłodzko ...

, and south of the regional capital

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

. As of 2019, the town has a population of 5,572. A picturesque

with rich historical architecture ranging from

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

and Baroque, numerous sanatoriums, parks and gardens, including an arboretum, considered one of the oldest spa towns in Poland. Located within the historic

Kłodzko Land Kłodzko Land ( pl, Ziemia kłodzka; cs, Kladsko; german: Glatzer Land) is a historical region in southwestern Poland. The subject of Czech-Polish rivalry in the High Middle Ages, it became a Bohemian domain since the 12th century, although with ...

, it was granted

town rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1282 by Duke of Wrocław and future

High Duke of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16th ...

Henryk IV Probus Henryk IV Probus (Latin for ''the Righteous'') ( pl, Henryk IV Probus or ''Prawy''; german: Heinrich IV. der Gerechte) ( – 23 June 1290) was a member of the Silesian branch of the royal Polish Piast dynasty. He was Duke of Silesia at Wro ...

of the Piast dynasty. Lądek-Zdrój became famous in Poland because of

Stanisław Bareja Stanisław Sylwester Bareja (5 December 1929 – 14 June 1987) was a Polish filmmaker. Some of his films (mostly comedies) have reached cult status in Poland. His most famous film is ''Teddy Bear'' (''Miś''), filmed in 1980. His last work was ...

's cult film ''

Teddy Bear A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy b ...

'' (''Miś''). In 1949–1950 Greeks and Macedonians,

refugees of the Greek Civil War During and after the Greek Civil War of 1946–1949, members and or supporters of the defeated Communist forces fled Greece as political refugees. The collapse of the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) and subsequent evacuation of the Communist Party o ...

, were temporarily admitted in Lądek-Zdrój, before new homes were found for them in other towns.Mieczysław Wojecki, ''Ludność grecko-macedońska na Dolnym Śląsku'', "Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka", No. 1/1980, p. 84 (in Polish) Each year, the town is host to the

Andrzej Zawada Andrzej Zawada (born Maria Andrzej Zawada; 16 July 1928 – 21 August 2000) was a Polish mountaineer, pioneer of winter Himalayism. Zawada was an organiser and leader in numerous high-mountains expeditions. Author of movies and photographs ...

mountain film festival.

Gallery

File:Ladek-Zdroj wiosna.jpg, Lądek-Zdrój in spring File:Rynek w Lądku-Zdroju - 4.jpg, Northwestern corner of the Market Square (''Rynek'') with the Baroque Holy Trinity statue File:2014 Lądek-Zdrój, park zdrojowy 02.JPG, Spa house "Wojciech" File:2014 Lądek-Zdrój, ul. Ostrowicza 1-2, Nowy Jerzy 01.JPG, Sanatorium "Nowy Jerzy" File:2014 Lądek-Zdrój, kościół Narodzenia NMP 02.JPG, Baroque Church of the Nativity of Virgin Mary File:Lądek Zdrój, kaplica NMP Na Pustkowiu, 01.JPG, Spa gardens with the Saint Mary chapel File:Lądek Zdrój, pl. Staromłyński 5, 01.JPG, Centre of Culture and Recreation File:2014 Lądek-Zdrój, ul. Ostrowicza 1-2, Stary Jerzy 02.JPG, Sanatorium "Stary Jerzy"

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Lądek-Zdrój.

References

External links

Jewish Community in Lądek-Zdrój
on Virtual Shtetl Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Kłodzko County Cities in Silesia Spa towns in Poland {{LowerSilesian-geo-stub