27 / 28 · Masyw Ślęży
Ślęża
718 m a.s.l.
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The Mountain of Silence
The oldest record of the name – Silensi – comes from Thietmar’s chronicle of 1017, and in 1108 it was written ‘in monte Silencii’, on the Mountain of Silence. The name is linked with the Ślężanie, the Silingi and Silesia, although none of the theories of its origin is certain.
Source: Polish Wikipedia – Ślęża (CC BY-SA)
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The floor of an ancient ocean
According to the latest interpretation, most of the massif is an ophiolite – a remnant of an ocean floor about 350 million years old. The summit and the southern and eastern slopes are built of gabbro, the northern ones of younger granites. The massif rises more than 500 m above its surroundings.
Source: Polish Wikipedia – Ślęża (CC BY-SA)
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A sacred mountain
The mountain was a centre of a solar cult whose beginnings go back to the Bronze Age. Stone sculptures have survived – among them the Bear and the Maiden with a Fish – as well as fragments of stone ramparts. Probably in 1110 Piotr Włostowic founded a monastery of canons regular on the summit.
Source: Polish Wikipedia – Ślęża (CC BY-SA)
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Relief
The lowest point in the 8 × 8 km square around the summit lies at 142 m a.s.l. – 576 m below the peak. Precise data is missing for 4% of the area – the terrain model is less detailed there.
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Trails
14 marked trails run through the 8 × 8 km square. 5 trails lead to the summit itself: 1 red, 2 blue, 1 yellow and 1 black.
- red2
- blue2
- green4
- yellow4
- black2
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The summit
Ślęża (718 m a.s.l.) represents the Masyw Ślęży range in the Crown of Polish Mountains.