Niedokończona Kolej Izerska (Isergebirgsbahn) i granica potrzeb

The paper presents efforts to establish a railway route through the hard-toreach Jizera Mountains, as well as the factors which contributed to only partial accomplishment of that project (only the Mirsk–Świeradów Zdrój section was built). The planned elongation of this railway line from Świeradów-Zdrój to Szklarska Poręba (via Rozdroże Izerske – a mountain clearing 769 meters above sea level) was not particularly challenging for railway engineering at the turn of the 19th and 20th century, but providing a proper justification of the costly endeavor and securing adequate financing has proven to be a challenge. In a broader perspective, the present study raises two issues: critical assessment of the real transportation needs in the region, and the influence of railway investments on the development of mountain region in Silesia.