Sokołowsko

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Sokołowsko (German: Görbersdorf), a village and climatic health resort romantically situated in a deep and well-wooded valley in Silesia, Poland, Dolny Śląsk Voivodship, Wałbrzych county, Mieroszów commune.

[edit] Location

Sokołowsko is the largest village in Suche mountains (Central Sudetes) in valleys of Sokołowiec stream and Dziczy Potok. Its altitude is 540-590 m above sea level.

Sokołowsko is surrounded by: from north-west Stożek Mały 750 m above sea level, from north-east Masyw Bukowca 898 m above sea level, from south-west Garbatka 797 m above sea level, from south and south-east Włostowa 903 m above see level, and from east Radosno 776 above sea level.

[edit] History

It’s difficult to indicate the exact date of establishing of Görbersdorf (since 1945 Sokołowsko). The first record of Görbersdorff appears in 1357 as an existing village most probably founded by Benedictines Order in Bohemian Braunau (today Broumově, Czech Republic). It was a village connected to Freudenburg castle (today zamek Radosno). Until the end of XV century Görbersdorf had several owners. In 1509 Görbersdorf together with south part of Schweidnitz (today Świdnica) principality was purchased by count von Hochberg-Fürstenstein, who established his family residence in Fürstenstein castle (today zamek Książ). Since 1348 part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, Silesia passed to the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria in 1526. Since 1742, when Silesia was seized by King Frederick the Great of Prussia in the War of the Austrian Succession, Görbersdorf was situated in the Prussian Province of Silesia.

Görbersdorf didn’t differentiate from neighbouring villages until it was visited in 1849 by countess Maria von Colomb, a niece of Prussian General von Blücher. The countess delighted in scenery of Görbersdorf, persuaded her brother-in-law Dr. Hermann Brehmer to create in the village a health resort to treat curates with Priessnitz method. First in the world sanatorium for consumptive was open in Görbersdorf in 1855. In the sanatorium a precursory method of climatic-dietetic treatment was applied. Centre of consumption treatment in Davos was modelled after Görbersdorf. The resort was relatively expensive, but it was well organised. Yet before 1888 it had post office and phone lines. In 1887 it hosted 730 curates. At the beginning of the XX century scandinavian guests introduced snow skiing. In 1930 a ski jumping hill was opened in Görbersdorf.

In 1945 Görbersdorf, now belonging to Poland, was named Sokołowsko in honour of the merits of the Polish internist Professor Dr. Alfred Sokołowski who had been a close co-worker of Hermann Brehmer. After World War II Sokołowsko operated as an anti-consumptive resort. Under pressure of Dr. Stanisław Domin its treatment profile was changed to air-passages diseases. In 1970s the settlement was being transformed into Provincial Centre of Winter Sports, but due to lack of sources the project wasn’t completed. After WWII Sokołowsko didn’t regain its village status until the beginning of XXI century.