The à ÂlÃÂà ¼a (; ) is a high mountain in the Sudeten Foreland in Poland. The mountain is built mostly of granite and is covered with forests.
The top of the mountain has a PTTK tourist mountain hut, a television and radio mast, the Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, some poorly visible ruins of the castle and an observation tower. The area of the peak is protected as the Góra à ÂlÃÂà ¼a nature reserve. The wide area around the mountain forms the à ÂlÃÂà ¼a Landscape Park protected area.
à ÂlÃÂà ¼a is located in the territory of Sobótka in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland, about southeast of Wrocà Âaw. Geomorphologically it is situated in the à ÂlÃÂà ¼a Massif mesoregion of the Sudeten Foreland macroregion.
During the Neolithic Period and at least as far back as the 7th century BC Mount à ÂlÃÂà ¼a was a holy place of the tribes of the Lusatian culture. The Silingi, a subpopulation of the East Germanic tribe known as the Vandals are the earliest inhabitants of Silesia known by their name, however the greater part of them moved westwards after the 5th century AD and the remainder were slowly replaced in the 6th century by Slavic tribes who assimilated the few remaining East Germanic inhabitants. The name of the territory Silesia either derives from the à ÂlÃÂza River, or from Mount à ÂlÃÂà ¼a, which themselves derive their name from either, according to Germanist authors the Silingi people. or, according to Slavisist authors, the à ÂlÃÂà ¼anie people.
The Slavic à ÂlÃÂà ¼anie tribe settled in the area around the 6th century AD. In the 10th century, Mieszko I incorporated Silesia into the Polish state. The etymology of the mountain is highly disputed between a Slavic, Germanic, or other Indo-European origin. The name has been recorded in several forms, as monte Silencii, in 1108, or as monte Slez in 1245.
Mount à ÂlÃÂà ¼a was an ancient holy place for local Lusatian tribes dedicated to a sun deity, and remained a holy place during Christian times. In the first half of the 12th century, the owner of the place was the Polish dukes' governor, Piotr Wà Âostowic, who founded there an Augustinian convent which was subsequently moved to Wrocà Âaw in 1153.
On à ÂlÃÂà ¼a there is a facility for FM and TV transmission, which uses a free-standing (with additional guying) lattice tower. The current tower which was built in 1972 replaced a tower built in 1957, which was partially guyed.