Hauptmann did not merely live in the Karkonosze Mountains. These mountains were his inspiration, his place of creation and his refuge. The winner of the 1912 Nobel Prize in Literature was born in Silesia and felt himself to be a Silesian writer throughout his life. The Karkonosze were not a backdrop for him—they were a source of creative work and a place to live. The most important places of his life lie close to one another around Jelenia Góra—and Pakoszów Palace is a convenient base from which to visit them all in a single day.
Why Hauptmann Chose the Karkonosze
Hauptmann was born in 1862 in Szczawno-Zdrój, Silesia, and never stopped feeling connected to this region. He achieved his first successes in Berlin, where he lived and worked in the 1880s and 1890s—it was there that his play The Weavers caused a scandal and brought him fame. But it was not cosmopolitan Berlin that became his home. In 1901, Hauptmann moved permanently to the Karkonosze, to a villa in Jagniątków, and the Nobel Prize in Literature, which he received in 1912, found him already here, in the mountains.
Wiesenstein Villa in Jagniątków
Hauptmann lived in Wiesenstein Villa in Jagniątków from 1901 until his death in 1946. Berlin architect Hans Grisebach built the house in the neo-Renaissance style on a granite rock—the investment cost 200,000 marks and was surrounded by a 1.6-hectare park. In 1922, painter Johannes Maximilian Avenarius decorated the entrance hall with murals.
Hauptmann called the villa the mystical shelter of his soul. The massive round tower gave the building a castle-like character—the writer himself described it as a defense against modernity and a turning away from it. The house was both a studio and a meeting place, visited by artists from the surrounding area and from Berlin.
Today, the villa is a museum. Visitors can see the Paradise Hall, the writer’s study, the library and the fireplace room. The history of this house is also a Polish-German history: in 1989, Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki jointly agreed to establish a memorial institution funded by both countries, and the museum opened in 2001.
The Hauptmann Brothers’ House in Szklarska Poręba
Before there was Jagniątków, there was Szklarska Poręba. In 1890, Hauptmann bought an old house in the Valley of Seven Houses together with his older brother Carl. Their undertaking was inspired by the famous Worpswede artists’ colony near Bremen, which both brothers visited regularly.
The Hauptmann house quickly became the center of its own colony—the Silesian Worpswede. Writers, painters and scholars settled in the valley or visited it frequently, including Paula Modersohn-Becker and Otto Modersohn from the original colony near Bremen. The brothers’ community did not last forever, however—it fell apart in a quarrel between them. Carl stayed in Szklarska Poręba, while Gerhart built his villa a few hills away.
Today, the Carl and Gerhart Hauptmann House in Szklarska Poręba operates as a museum commemorating this artists’ colony. It is open to visitors.
Liczyrzepa—the Mountain Spirit as a Literary Legacy
No journey in Hauptmann’s footsteps bypasses the Mountain Spirit. Liczyrzepa—in German Rübezahl, though technically a nickname that is best not spoken aloud in his kingdom—is the mythical ruler of these mountains, deeply embedded in the literature of the Hauptmann brothers.
It was Carl Hauptmann who erected a literary monument to him. His 1915 book about the Mountain Spirit is regarded as the most complete literary version of the old legends. Local people, seeing Carl traversing the mountains, collecting legends and inventing new ones, called him the embodiment of the Mountain Spirit.
Pakoszów Palace as a Base for a Literary Journey
When taking a literary journey, you need a place to return to in the evening after a full day of sightseeing. It is hard to find a better one than Pakoszów Palace—a Baroque residence from the same region and almost the same era in which Hauptmann worked.
The palace was built in 1725 as the residence of a linen merchant. When Hauptmann was writing in Jagniątków, Pakoszów had already stood for nearly two centuries—a Baroque manor a few kilometers away, which the writer may have known from rides through the valley. From the palace windows, you can see Chojnik Castle, the same medieval ruins that had served as the literary setting for the region long before Hauptmann.
Hauptmann’s Route in One Day
From Pakoszów Palace, Hauptmann’s Karkonosze world can be explored in one long day:
Before noon—Jagniątków: Wiesenstein Villa in Jagniątków, the writer’s final home, with the Paradise Hall and his study.
Noon—Szklarska Poręba: The Carl and Gerhart Hauptmann House in Szklarska Poręba, the birthplace of the artists’ colony and the legacy of the Mountain Spirit.
Afternoon—Chojnik Castle: The castle ruins visible from Pakoszów’s windows, the literary setting for the entire surrounding area.
In the evening, you return not to an ordinary hotel, but to a genuine palace—for dinner at Stara Bielarnia Restaurant, a former linen bleaching house with a terrace overlooking the pond.
A Tragic End—the Farewell Hauptmann Did Not Live to See
Hauptmann’s Karkonosze story ends with a farewell that he himself did not live to experience.
At the end of the war, the ailing writer remained in his villa—a Soviet letter of protection allowed him to stay at home, even though all Germans were required to leave these lands. At the beginning of May 1946, Hauptmann learned that the Polish authorities were insisting on the expulsion of everyone without exception. A few weeks later, on 6 June 1946, he died. His last recorded words were a question: am I still in my home?
Against his clearly expressed wishes, he was not laid to rest in Silesian soil. A special train transported the coffin, his widow and the archive to the Soviet occupation zone. On 28 July 1946, the writer was buried in the cemetery of his beloved Kloster on the island of Hiddensee.
Plan a Literary Journey with a Base at Pakoszów Palace
A journey in Hauptmann’s footsteps is not sightseeing with a checklist to tick off. It is a way to understand the writer’s life and work, the landscape and a piece of European history. After a day on the route, it is worth relaxing in the palace SPA with a pool and sauna.
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FAQ—In Hauptmann’s Footsteps in the Karkonosze
Where did Gerhart Hauptmann live in the Karkonosze?
Gerhart Hauptmann lived from 1901 until his death on 6 June 1946 in Wiesenstein Villa in Jagniątków (formerly Agnetendorf), near Jelenia Góra. Earlier, from 1890, he lived with his brother Carl in a house in Szklarska Poręba. Both places are now open as museums.
What is worth seeing on Hauptmann’s route?
The key highlights are Wiesenstein Villa in Jagniątków (the Gerhart Hauptmann Museum), the Carl and Gerhart Hauptmann House in Szklarska Poręba, and Chojnik Castle as a setting for the region. All the sites can be reached from Pakoszów Palace within one day.
Who is Liczyrzepa, and what connects him with Hauptmann?
Liczyrzepa (German: Rübezahl) is the mythical Mountain Spirit of the Karkonosze—the central figure in local legends, which the Hauptmann brothers incorporated into their work. Carl Hauptmann devoted a 1915 book to him, and the museum in Szklarska Poręba has a separate section of its exhibition dedicated to the Mountain Spirit.
Is it possible to stay at the palace and visit Hauptmann-related sites?
Yes—Pakoszów Palace is a five-star palace hotel and an ideal base for a literary journey in Hauptmann’s footsteps. Wiesenstein Villa and the Hauptmann brothers’ house are nearby, and all the sites along the route can be reached within one day.