[1] The area, including the oldest spa district of Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój, is one of the most valued recreational and leisure spots in Poland.

[3] The city's history dates back to as early as the 10th century, but the settlement was granted town rights under Polish rule in 1288.

[4] Jelenia Góra was founded on important trade routes linking the Holy Roman Empire and Bohemia with Eastern Europe.

[5] The region flourished as a result of trade privileges that became the basis for the establishment of weaving and mining industries during the Late Middle Ages and early Renaissance periods.

The nearby Karkonosze National Park, visited by over 1.5 million tourists annually, has its headquarters in the southwestern neighbourhood of Sobieszów.

[23] When the Silesian Piasts lost inheritance and Agnes of Habsburg, the last duchess of Świdnica-Jawor died in 1392, the city passed to Bohemia, ruled by the House of Luxembourg.

One reason for the new boost was the creation of a merchant society in 1658, which secured the city's position as the most important center of linen and veil trade in the Silesian mountains during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The detachment from Austria and the new border in the mountains to the south badly damaged the economy as the merchants lost a large part of their customers.

Although Prussia took on substantial efforts to revive the economy, they never recovered completely and finally lost their position during the Industrial Revolution.

In 1800, John Quincy Adams, ambassador in Berlin at that time and future President of the United States, visited Hirschberg[22] and said: "Nothing can be more beautiful than the location of Hirschberg, a beautifully built city with numerous splendid buildings, in a valley surrounded by hills on all sides, with the magnificent view of the Giant Mountains".

[31] In the city, the Germans organized 19 labor camps in which they imprisoned mainly Poles, Czechs, Frenchmen and Belgians, but also Luxembourgers, Russians, Ukrainians, Greeks, and Estonians, including women.

[33] There were also two subcamps of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, whose prisoners were mostly Poles and Jews from various German-occupied countries, chiefly Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Hungary.

[36] According to the decisions of the Potsdam Conference, the city became again part of Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the 1980s.

[40] In 1945, Jelenia Góra became the seat of the Polish Dolnośląskie Towarzystwo Turystyczno-Krajoznawcze ("Lower Silesian Tourist and Sightseeing Society") founded in nearby Przesieka, and after its merger with the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society it remained a seat of its branch, which runs a number of mountain huts in the nearby Giant Mountains.

After the creation of Jelenia Góra Voivodeship in 1975 and connection to the city surrounding towns, including Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój, Population increased to 80 thousand.

[61] Jelenia Góra has a wide range of cultural institutions, including theaters, a concert hall, and cinema and art exhibitions offices.

Outstanding Polish and foreign artists gather to play pieces of famous composers inside the Garrison Church.

Along with many primary and secondary schools, there are three higher education institutions in Jelenia góra: The Wojanowska gate and tower were part of the medieval defence complex that protected the road to Wojanów.

There are also two 18th century figures on the church grounds – the Marian column is near the main entrance, and on the northern side, there is a sculpture of St. John of Nepomuk.

[65] The Exaltation of the Holy Cross Church was erected as a proof of the grace of the Catholic Emperor of Austria for the Silesian evangelicals.

Under the arrangement concluded in Altranstadt after a religious war they were granted the right to build six churches in Silesia which at that time was under Austrian rule.

The entire square is surrounded by Baroque tenement houses with arcades, which originally used to serve the merchants to sell their goods.

[67] The spa was then developed by the Cistercians from nearby Krzeszów in the 15th century, and since the 16th century its fame extended far beyond Silesia and managed to attract flocks of patients, Poles, Czechs, Germans and Lithuanians, including many eminent persons, such as Polish Queen consort Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien, her son Prince James Louis Sobieski, and Princess Izabela Czartoryska.

[68] Modern analysis shows that water therapeutic effectiveness is due to sulphur, silicon and fluorine compounds together with the high temperature reaching 90 Celsius degrees.

Therapeutic sessions used to be based mainly on baths, today a wide range of treatments in the field of hydrotherapy, inhalation therapy as well as phototherapy, physiotherapy, kinesiotherapy, and electrotherapy.

The Gallery and Zdrojowy Animation Theatre was built in 1797–1800 and designed by the architect Carl Gottlieb Geissler from Wroclaw.

This mountain rises to a height of 627 meters above sea level, and from the southeast side is a 45-meter cliff plunging into the so-called Hell Valley.

[74] Owing to natural factors the Jelenia Góra Valley boasts exceptionally good conditions for gliding and hand-gliding.

City organizes biking events: The FISU selected Jelenia Góra to host the 2014 World University Cycling Championship.

Majestic mountains surrounding the city, offers many great trails for visitors, including a route to the highest peak of the Karkonosze – Śnieżka 1602 meters above the sea.