The area
Olszowa is situated on the eastern edge of Opole Voivodship, in the beautiful, hilly countryside roughly halfway from Gliwice to Opole. It is attractive not only in terms of investment, but also in terms of being a tourist destination. The surrounding area is extremely interesting, which increases its investment assets. In the village it is worth seeing the Sacred Miniature Park, and in the immediate vicinity you can see such interesting places as Saint Ann’s Mountain, Kamień Śląski, Toszek, Pławniowice or Gliwice Canal, one of the most interesting engineering facilities of this type in Poland.
Olszowa, as a small village just off the A4 is distinguished by the availability of transport connection, which makes it an excellent place to invest. Within a half hour drive there are about 3 million people residing, so Olszowa has superb human resources supply for unskilled as much as engineering and managerial staff. It is worth noting that the area of Upper Silesia is known for its high working culture that has its traditions for hundreds of years.
The excellent location of the investment area, with a substantial human resources potential and perfect transport accessibility makes Olszowa a good investment venue. Within a 90 minutes’ drive, there are four international airports - including Krakow-Balice, which is the second largest airport in Poland, and within a distance of 500 km – there are as many as six European capitals which are important industrial, commercial and cultural centres. Not surprisingly, Olszowa was chosen as a location of a logistics centre by such a well-known company as FM Logistic, and within its vicinity the next two big logistics centres are being built.
Olszowa itself seems like it is no different from many other villages, that we can come across in Opole region. In the 19th century, count Andreas Renard von Gaschin built a stud farm here and started breeding horses for racing. The stud functioned until the end of the 1990s. Currently within its boundaries, in the completely renovated premises there is an interesting tourist complex, which stands out for its Sacred Miniature Park. The main attraction is a beautiful garden with an area of 20 000 square metres in which there are several thumbnails of the most famous sacred buildings in the world. In addition, the tourist complex includes a 2-floor restaurant, a banquet hall and a conference room as well as nicely decorated guest rooms. In the village you can also see a beautiful wooden church from the 17th century.
A few kilometres further, towards the west of Olszowa, the area rises visibly to form a vast elevation of Chełm mountain of 400 m above sea level - this is the highest point of the entire Silesian Highlands. The area is one of the most picturesque corners of the Upper Silesia (which comprises Opole region). It is here that St. Ann’s Mountain is situated - one of the most famous Silesian sanctuaries, and the area associated with the fights during the Silesian Uprisings. The mountain itself used to be an active volcano, while the local St. Ann’s sanctuary forms a Gothic and Baroque St. Ann’s church, a complex of three little churches and 37 Calvary shrines. In 1921, at the foot of St. Ann’s mountain participants of the 3rd Silesian Uprising fought a fierce battle with the Germans. In a former quarry in the 1930s, the Germans cut out a huge Amphitheatre, which had the capacity of 7 000 people.
A little further away lies Kamień Śląski, famous primarily as the birthplace of St. Jacek, Czesław the blessed, and Bronislawa the blessed. In addition to the Odrowąż family, the Strzał, Larisch and Strachwitz families played an important role in the history of Kamień Śląski. They looked after the development and maintenance of the local castle, which with time took on the shape and function of the palace. The palace survived World War II almost fully intact. In 1958 the estate in Kamień Śląski was militarized, and the Palace was turned into housing for the military. In 1970, after having been totally destroyed, it was set on fire. In 1990, the ruins of the palace were passed over to the Diocese of Opole, which beautifully renovated it.
While heading the other way, it is worth paying a visit to a small Silesian town of Toszek. The most important and the most precious monument in the city, a popular tourists attraction is the former castle of the Silesian Piast dynasty. It combines elements of the Gothic and Baroque style. In fact, it is not the whole castle that has been preserved up till now, but only its fragments. It is partly available for exploring, for example the castle tower is a wonderful vantage point overlooking a wide area. In addition, the castle houses a stylish restaurant and a cultural centre. It is also worth taking a look at the Baroque church of St. Catherine, as well as a neat square with a 19th-century town hall.
To the south of the town, in the Kłodnica valley, there are two artificial lakes, above which Pławniowice is situated. The local palace with the man-made park landscape is one of the most beautiful mansions in southern Poland. The residence was built in the style of Dutch neo-mannerism with neo-gothic elements, characteristic for the eclectic, romantic historicism. In addition to the palace with a chapel, the palace and park complex includes also farm buildings, an outbuilding with the stables and the coach house, as well as the park itself.
Near the palace, the Kłodnica river flows and running parallel to it - Gliwice Canal - one of the most interesting engineering facilities in Poland, with high historical values. Its construction was completed in 1939, and it was open for navigation in 1941. It was mainly used to transport coal. It is 41.2 km long, has six locks, some of which are industrial monuments. The maximum load capacity of the vessels of Gliwice Canal is 750 tons. Part of Gliwice Canal is the old riverbed of the Kłodnica Canal - it is used not only for regular transport but also as an interesting tourist water trail.
These are just the attractions located the closest to Olszowa. But within the range of several dozen kilometres away, on the Oder river lies the picturesque Opole. It is also close to Gliwice with its interesting downtown, Palm House and the famous radio station. While visiting the area, you can also see the nearby palace in Moszna - one of the most scenic in the country, or the Dinosaur Park in Krasiejów, built on the site where dinosaur bones were in fact found in old limestones.