14 / 28 · Góry Sowie
Wielka Sowa
1015 m a.s.l.
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01 / 06
A tower from 1906
On the summit stands a 25-metre stone and reinforced-concrete observation tower opened on 24 May 1906. It was named after Bismarck; the post-war names of Sikorski and (in 1981) Mieczysław Orłowicz never caught on. Closed because of its poor condition, it reopened to visitors after renovation in 2006; it appears on the coat of arms of Pieszyce.
Source: Polish Wikipedia – Wielka Sowa (CC BY-SA)
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Between the Bystrzyca and the Nysa
The mountain lies in the Oder basin, on the divide between the catchments of the Bystrzyca and the Nysa Kłodzka, and is built of Precambrian metamorphic rocks. From the tower terrace people admired the panorama from Śnieżnik to Śnieżka. The massif lies within the Owl Mountains Landscape Park.
Source: Polish Wikipedia – Wielka Sowa (CC BY-SA)
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The oldest rocks of the Sudetes
Wielka Sowa is the highest summit of the Owl Mountains Landscape Park, created in 1991. The Owl Mountains are a block of gneisses and migmatites, considered the oldest rocks of the whole Sudetes. To the north-east the range ends in an escarpment 400–500 m high, marked by the Sudetic Marginal Fault. The highest parts of Wielka Sowa are covered by upper montane spruce forest, with patches of artificially introduced dwarf pine.
Source: Lower Silesian Landscape Parks – Owl Mountains Landscape Park
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Relief
The lowest point in the 8 × 8 km square around the summit lies at 377 m a.s.l. – 638 m below the peak. Precise data is missing for 11% of the area – the terrain model is less detailed there.
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Trails
37 marked trails run through the 8 × 8 km square. 7 trails lead to the summit itself: 2 red, 1 blue, 1 green, 2 yellow and 1 black.
- red4
- blue3
- green13
- yellow9
- black8
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The summit
Wielka Sowa (1015 m a.s.l.) represents the Góry Sowie range in the Crown of Polish Mountains.