Land of Extinct Volcanoes part 0/16 - Pogórze Kaczawskie (Katzbach Foothills)

I was on vacation (finally). In fact I returned two weeks ago, but as usual important stuff tends to pile up instead of going away, add HF20 trouble and that was enough to not write anything right away.

I visited Sudetes couple of times; this time instead of strict mountain hiking I decided to visit places where I could collect some minerals. Pogórze Kaczawskie, located just north of main mountain range of Sudetes, is ideal place for just that. It is a land with rich volcanic history. Remains of that history are diverse and numerous. There are spots of pillow lava produced when the area was a shallow sea. There are big granite mountains formed deep below surface and then uplifted and unearthed through erosion. There are greenshists and greenshist slates - metamorphic rocks formed by compression of old basalt. There are also remains of fairly new (Miocene) volcanoes made of mainly basalt. Finally the area contains quite rich deposits of various sedimentary rocks, both original and metamorphic, including crystalline limestone. People extracted all that goods for ages, also mined metals like copper, lead, even silver and gold. Even today people try their luck panning for gold (one of available tourist attractions) but there is not enough to make industrial scale mining profitable. Region still has some working quarries and mines. Thanks to human activity rocks that would normally be hidden deep in the ground, are exposed for public view, making this land attractive for mineral and rock enthusiasts.

I stayed in Villa Greta in Dobków. Normally I wouldn't even mention it, however they did a lot more than just provide accommodation. Their site is invaluable source of information on tourist attractions of the region (and is what inspired me to spend my vacation there). They cooperate with people that organize various events and tours. On site they have many guidebooks and offer help with choice of places to visit. They also have restaurant. Food is delicious (they offer vegan variety as well but it's not for me to judge if it is any good :o) ). You can order from menu but I always chose "meal of the day" - maybe it's just me, but this way I felt more like a guest than a customer.

Dobków seems to be in the middle of nowhere - road-signs pointing at Dobków start about 2km away from it, far after signs pointing at Villa Greta. In practice the place is in the very center - every place of interest is near it, to the point where determined walker could visit many attractions on foot.

People wanting to learn about geological history of the region should choose a guided tour of Sudecka Zagroda Edukacyjna.

You will see rocks and minerals that can be found in the area, learn about volcanic processes and erosion, see miniatures of the region as well as typical house in Sudetian architecture, maybe spend some time in a hundred year old kitchen? They even have earthquake machine and lava flowing under the floor ;o)

Unfortunately most pictures I took there contain people so I'm not publishing them, but don't worry - I've taken over 1600 pictures during vacation, there will be plenty to choose from for next parts of the article.