Karkonosze


Miejsce: Granite boulder H. Mende
GPS: 50.789797571872 , 15.826111581276
Adres: Kowary , ul. Parkowa
WWW: www.kowary.pl


In the northern part of the City Park, among trees and shrubs, we can easily find a large sized rock with a carved inscription in German. The rock commemorates Hendrich Mende who probably lived in Kowary at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Unfortunately, not too many sources of information about this man survived, but it is believed that he was posthumously appreciated for his contribution to the development of the city, tourism in Kowary and the Giant Mountains, and philanthropy that he had successfully practiced in life. The end of the 19th century was a time when there was a trend for activity for the development of tourism and social activities. Organisations dealing with the subject matter were created then. A good example is the old "Giant Mountains Association" (R.G.V.) (Riesengebirgsverein). This organisation, founded in 1880 by Theodore Donat – accountant at the Linen Factory in the nearby Mysłakowice and a great lover of hiking, dealt, for instance, with the construction and maintenance of tourist paths and trails, and the organisation of weekly mountain excursions in the neighbourhood. Its members also designated nature protection guards to save the most valuable habitats of plants and animals in the Giant Mountains.