Paczkow – Polish Carcassonne

On the Sudeten route leading from Nysa to Kłodzko, not far from the border with the Czech Republic is a small town – Paczków. This old fortified settlement, also known as the Polish Carcassonne, is the administrative centre of the municipal locality, which lies in the southwestern part of the Opole province. The locality covers an area of 79.69 square km, and close to 14,300 people live in the locality. It is attractively placed on the tourist route from Małopolska to the Kłodzko Valley in Silesia. The territory of the locality is crossed by two important national roads. The first of these is the so-called Sudeten route, running from Gliwice through Nysa and Kudowa Zdrój to the Czech Republic, whereas the second leads to Wrocław through Zabkowice Slaskie and Swidnica. A railway line running through the town and locality links Gliwice with Jaworzyna Slaska and Kłodzko. The Paczków locality is an industrial – agricultural region. Agricultural land takes up over 80% of the surface area and is of mainly well maintained soils of classes III and IV.