Happy Valley Resort

Gerhart Hauptmann, the Nobel Prize winner in literature who settled here at the end of the 19th century, took the decision to settle in Szklarska Poręba in a matter of hours. The famous German Nobel laureate is an example of how you can instantly fall in love with the tranquility of the local forests. What did he say? How long did it take him to buy a house? Scroll down below to find out the answers to these questions.

‘One day while hiking in the mountains, I noticed this valley [the Valley of the Seven Houses - note P.W.] from high up and thought to myself that it would be good to build a house here. Delighted and dazzled by the idea, I went down through the woods, ran down a path among the meadows and within a few hours had arranged to buy a country house with associated land, a meadow, with a beech grove and springs. I still recall the boundless joy of my wife and children when we claimed this beautiful corner as our own and began to rebuild the old crumbling cottage, which, transformed as best we could, was to become our cosy hearth of home.’ The Nobel laureate and one of the many famous residents of the area moved here nearly 20 years before receiving this prestigious award.