Treasure Hunters

Today, they are colloquially called Walloons, although they have nothing in common with Wallonia, having migrated here from Italy, Venice, France, and Spain. They were mineral prospectors who searched for precious ores and minerals in the Karkonosze and Jizera Mountains.

German-speaking mountain dwellers called them Venediger or Walen. This name comes from the word "Welsche," which refers to foreigners—usually people speaking Romance languages.

The gold and gemstone prospectors not only spoke a foreign language but also had a different culture. In the mountains, they left behind hundreds of incomprehensible signs and symbols carved on the rocks. They are credited with creating the so-called Walloon Books, which contain descriptions of how and where to search for treasures hidden in the mountains.

Many legends arose around them, especially in the 19th century, when tourism began to develop in the area. One of the researchers into the history of treasure hunters was the Silesian ethnologist Professor Will-Erich Peuckert, a scholar of legends and folk tales, who recounted how an old resident of Kobyla Łąka in the Jizera Mountains suddenly became animated when talk of hidden treasures arose. The Golden Pits under Wysoka Kopa, he said, had already been searched, but "The Old Castle!" It must be an enchanted castle, and the gold must be buried there.

Records of gold can also be found in the Sobieszów Walloon Book. Here's one: "In the Jizera Meadow, you'll find many grains of blue gemstone, good ore, pure gold and silver, and other curiosities. Also, in Bukovec, near the settlement of Jizerka, stands an abandoned castle, and in the stone is carved the figure of a man, pointing a cross on a rock with two fingers, while water flows to the left and right. Look for gold there.

So be vigilant, wanderer, and look around. Who knows? Perhaps somewhere in the forest backwoods and wilderness, treasure or... destruction awaits you."