Ceramics and Artists

Bolesławiec is a county seat of 40 thousand people, situated in the northwest part of the Dolnośląskie Province, along the Bóbr River and the edge of the extensive Dolnośląski Forest, at the intersection of important domestic and international transportation routes.
 In its immediate vicinity are numerous bodies of water, forested areas that include oaks that are hundreds of years old and boulders, including the DolnoĽarea in that part of the country.  The trail of the Piastowski castles runs through the city, including a XV century castle in Grodziec.  For a contrast, in Kliczków on the Kwisa is a late baroque palace worth seeing, and which includes a park in which there is one of few horse cemeteries in Poland.
 The most important transportation routes are the roads to Wrocław, Zgorzelec and Prague.  It is also an important fact that in the nearby town of Krzyżowa, the A-4 and A-12 highways will fork.  The city also has a direct link by rail with Warsaw
 

Krakow, Dresden and Frankfurt, as well as fibre-optic cable links to the whole world.  Its location in a border region (222 km to Berlin, 214 to Prague, 120 to Wrocław) as well as its proximity to splendid tourist areas create good perspectives for the further development of Bolesławiec.
 The city is a dynamic center for industry and services, of a supraregional importance.  It is known best of all for its stoneware, but numerous knit works, industrial fabric and metal constructions also come from here. The local supply of white-firing clay, kaolin, glass-making sand, and building stone provide a natural base for the production of building materials and fireproof goods.
 In the city, several economic organizations actively support local businesses and promote new initiatives, including the Bolesławiec Economic Society, The Craftsmen's  Guild, the Regional Employers' Union, and the Association of Bolesławiec Merchants.  The city has well-developed technical, social and economic infrastructure, which promotes all kinds of entrepreneurial activity, including investors from Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.  The local authorities also offer numerous discounts and preferences, guaranteeing building sites, and in exchange for new jobs, they offer reductions in real estate taxes.  This has already brought about results.  The city cooperates with the European cities, including Hobro in Denmark, Siegburg and Pirna in Germany.

Bolesławiec is a hospitable town, and tourists and businesspeople are always welcome.  It is particularly worth coming here at the end of May, when the Festival of Bolesławiec is celebrated with numerous concerts, events, cabarets, galas and sporting events.  It is a real city holiday.  A stay in August, however, is a must.  In the latter half of the month the largest blues workshops in Poland are held, the "Blues on the Bóbr", with the most famous names in blues in attendance.  In addition, the entire month is dedicated to the particular fascination with outstanding works of ceramic, an art practiced by craftsmen of old combined with modern technology.  In the second to the last weekend of August each year, the Bolesławiec Ceramic Holiday is celebrated, consisting of the presentation and sale of ceramic goods and building materials on the city marketplace.  For the last 36 years, at the beginning of the month ceramics and sculpture workshops have been organized by the Union of Polish Artists.  In the 1990ťs, it developed into an international event, which brings together the work of artists from literally all around the world.  The ceramics factories operating in the town and its environs make their workshops and materials available to artists.  In this way, it spontaneously led to the creation of a series of events called the "August of Ceramics in Bolesławiec" which does not only provide the city itself with fame, but also saves the beautiful old handicraft from being forgotten.
 Bolesławiec today also proposes entirely modern means of entertainment, as well.  The city for its
 

size has an excellent offering of sports, recreation and tourist facilities.  Visitors and local residents can make use of the sports stadium, tennis courts, gymnasiums, and fitness centers.  There is also a beautiful swimming pool with a sauna, a solarium and a physiotherapeutic clinic.  The picturesque surroundings entice one to enjoy an active holiday.(mar)