Perched on a hill at the northern edge of the village of Posada, right next to the Marienthal convent, stands one of the most intriguing abandoned buildings in the Izera Foothills - a former Evangelical chapel combined with a school. This spot is a must for fans of forgotten architecture and the history of the Polish-German borderland, where time seems to have stopped somewhere in the mid-20th century.
Though heavily damaged, the building still impresses with its distinctive silhouette - the taller chapel section, topped with a small turret, is joined to the lower part that once housed the school. Fragments of decorative details survive: arched windows with tracery, cornices, friezes and pilasters. In spring and summer the surrounding greenery gives the ruin a picturesque, if melancholic, character, while in autumn and winter its stark outline against the hillside is even more striking. It is a quiet, rarely visited place, perfect for those seeking unusual destinations off the main hiking trails.
How to get thereFun fact: witnesses recall that even after the war the chapel still had its original stained-glass windows and school benches, before falling into ruin under a series of private owners.