Seven walking trails, “In the Footsteps of Famous Europeans,” have been created in Bolesławiec. Their total length is approximately 14 km. The trails have been organized thematically around specific figures and phenomena in European history that had a particularly strong influence, at various times, on the shape, history and culture of both Bolesławiec and Česká Lípa, helping the towns develop their local distinctiveness. The “In the Footsteps of Famous Europeans” routes follow: the trail of gold diggers and medieval builders, the trail of Renaissance poets, the Napoleonic trail, the trail of architects and industrialists, the trail of natural scientists and garden architects, the trail of ceramicists and sculptors, and the trail of monks and chroniclers.
The trails begin in the city center (the Market Square) and end in recreational green areas. They were designed to include more than 40 places thematically connected with them. These places are highlighted through a network of 16 information boards. Each board presents, in four languages (Polish, Czech, German and English), historical information about the site or group of sites located in a given sector, supplemented by old and new photographs. The routes are marked on two large-format maps located at important points—by the railway station and at the city’s main intersection (Al. Tysiąclecia and ul. Chrobrego)—as well as on one illuminated large-format map installed in Bolesławiec’s Market Square.
The marking out of the trails is part of a larger project that includes the publication “In the Footsteps of Famous Europeans” by Anna Bober-Tubaj, Katarzyna Matoryn and Grzegorz Matoryn. The book is a guidebook and is available in four language versions, presenting both the routes and the individual sites located along them. All the information contained there can also be read on the website www.europejczycy.boleslawiec.eu
The information included in the publication makes it possible to learn many fascinating stories, including those about the Napoleonic era, which left a particularly strong mark on Bolesławiec’s history. Napoleon, Emperor of the French, visited the city five times. The most important figures who influenced the course of the war also stayed here: the Russian army’s commander-in-chief, Field Marshal Kutuzov; General Blücher, commanding the Prussian Army of Silesia; Tsar Alexander I of Russia; and King Frederick William III of Prussia. This is also where the famous story involving Rosalie von Bonin took place—she captured a French general. The city was involved in the military operations underway, which significantly influenced its later appearance.
(information: A. Gergont, Bolesławiec City Hall)