Polish plot twist

In what seems like a plot taken from Hollywood, an entire 90-ha Polish village will be put up for sale in September. Rogożka, an uninhabited village located in the Sudetes mountains, about 10 km from Stronie Śląskie, is expected to fetch around zł.13 million when sold by tender.

"We could divide the village into separate plots, but we would have to pay more administrative fees," explained Zbigniew Łopusiewicz, the mayor of Stronie Śląskie. "Only one plot has been exempted from the tender, because an inheritor is claiming rights to it and the lawsuit is ongoing," he added.

The new owner of Rogożka will have the right to rename it. A referendum will not be necessary since the village is uninhabited and a resolution passed by local council members would be sufficient. The authorities hope that the new owner will rejuvenate the area and attract tourists throughout the year.

It has been suggested that Rogożka would be good for hotel and spa development, or for tourism based on seasonal activities such as hiking and skiing. The village's main features are a quarry and thick forest, the latter of which has attracted investors' attention. 

The media have reported that one potential buyer for Rogożka is Grażyna Kulczyk, the richest woman in Poland according to Forbes. She already owns a few hectares of land in neighboring Konradów. The local authorities have not confirmed these reports, however, and Mayor Łopusiewicz expressed his unwillingness to talk about possible investors until the start of auction in mid-September.

The history of Rogożka reportedly dates back to the 15th century. The village includes 17 ha of area that was once used for residential purposes, 30 ha of agricultural land and a little over 30 ha of forest. Rogożka went into decline after World War II, when it was annexed to Poland. The last villagers left in the 1970s.