Trade and Industry along the Silesian Mountain Railway
17 May – 17 August 2025
Fot. Maciej Chyra [1], Rene Pech [2]
Curators of the exhibition: Joanna Kurbiel, Emilia Jeziorowska
The Silesian Mountain Railway, inaugurated in 1867, connected Görlitz and Węgliniec with Wałbrzych, enabling the further development of industry, and included Lower Silesia in the European railway network.
The exhibition comprises display boards presenting panoramas and maps of the historic Lower Silesia, combined with texts and captions in both Polish and German. Among the showcased exhibits there are models of locomotives and carriages, objects and products manufactured in places located along the route of the Silesian Mountain Railway: porcelain from Wałbrzych, folding tables made in Olszyna, batik prints (blaudruk) from Gryfów Śląski, lace from Jelenia Góra, and handkerchiefs made in Lubań.
In turn, the expansion of the railway also contributed to the development of mountain tourism, with the creation of trekking routes, mountain hostels, hotels and restaurants, accompanied by the birth of the souvenir industry and a growing popularity of sending picture postcards. The figure of Liczyrzepa – a character from the most popular regional legend – became an advertising product associated with the Karkonosze (Giant Mountains).
Exhibition organised in cooperation with the Silesian Museum in Görlitz.