Expansion may destroy the former health resort. “There were great hotels here.”

Opolno-Zdrój could have become the pearl of Lower Silesia, but today the small village is on the verge of survival. Before it was incorporated into Poland in 1945, there was a health resort here, eagerly visited by Czechs and Saxons. Over the next decades, lignite mining began to gradually develop in the area. However, you can still see examples of spa architecture here.

There used to be a beautiful health resort here

Opolno-Zdrój no longer attracts spa guests like Bad Oppelsdorf used to. The German resort, where waters with a high content of beneficial iron and sulfur were discovered in the 19th century, has not been shining its former glory for years. The spa function was completely replaced by mining activities in the 1950s, after its annexation to Poland. “There were great hotels and restaurants here. In 1956, a decision was made to build an energy and mining plant,” says Dr. Hab., quoted by TVP Wrocław. engineer arch. Grażyna Kodym-Kozaczko from the Faculty of Architecture of the Poznań University of Technology. Traces of history can still be found here today. We can see them passing villas, guesthouses, bathhouses and the former spa park.

The specter of an open-pit mine

The Turów Brown Coal Mine, located right next to Opolno-Zdrój, was supposed to absorb the village of about 1,000 people a few years ago. “There was a regulation which streets were to be taken over by the mine. Ours was supposed to be in 2021, it’s already 2024,” says one of the residents in an interview with TVP Wrocław. Ultimately, the village still exists, but it is unknown what the future will look like. The specter of an open-pit mine means that no actions are taken to renovate the spa buildings. “It is an interesting town in every respect and with enormous development potential, provided it is not destroyed by neglect or abandonment,” says Kodym-Kozaczko. “If someone took care of it, a lot of people would come here just because of the architecture. Residents are in limbo, waiting whether there will be extraction or not, it would be best if they clearly defined it,” comments one of the residents in the TVP material.