Wałbrzych is located in South West Poland in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in the central part of the Central Sudeten Mountains, near the border with the Czech Republic and Germany. The city is located by the Pełcznica River at 450 - 500 m above sea level in a picturesque structural basin of Wałbrzych above which there are wooded ranges of the Wałbrzych Mountains. Wałbrzych has the status of the municipality, its administrative borders encompass the area of 85 km2, which is populated by 115 thousand inhabitants. With the area of 85km2 Wałbrzych is the second largest city in Lower Silesia in terms of the number of inhabitants. In the years 1975-1998 the city was a seat of the Wałbrzych Voivodeship, and after the administrative reform of the country it became a city with district rights. On January 1, 2003 Wałbrzych lost the status of a district city and for the next 10 years, i.e. until Wałbrzych regained its township district rights (January 1, 2013) it was the largest city with commune status.

Within the radius of 70 km from Wałbrzych there are large cities, including: Wrocław, Legnica, Jelenia Góra, Kłodzko and Świdnica. Details related to distances:

Distances from European capitals:

• Warsaw - 420 km,
• Prague - 200 km,
• Vienna - 434 km,
• Berlin - 494 km.

MINERAL RESOURCES

By the district road no. 3362D within 9 km from Wałbrzych leading from Rybnica Leśna to “Andrzejówka” shelter there is a multi-level melaphyre (trachybasalt) stone pit together with a concentrating plant and “Rybnica Leśna” overburden storage site that belongs to KSS Bartnica Sp. z o.o. which mines the “Rybnica Leśna” deposit by means of open-pit mining. Exploitation of the melaphyre deposit is conducted in an open-pit manner with the use of explosives. The deposit is exploited by means of hillside longwall mining. The sources of noise that shapes the acoustic climate of the area which operate in the mine are:

• jaw and cone crushers,
• screens,
• belt conveyors,
• machines and devices for conducting excavation works in the mining excavation,
• self-unloading technological vehicles of high load capacity,
• hydraulic loaders, heavy goods vehicles.

THE WAŁBRZYCH SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE

Enterprises operating in the Wałbrzych sub-zone invested almost PLN 4.8 bn and created altogether 7.120 workplaces. the industry in Wałbrzych that operates outside the zone is mainly represented by the ceramic, glass, textile, clothing, construction materials, chemical, metal, electronic, automotive and food industries.

The most important companies of these industries are as follows:

1. PORCELANA “KRZYSZTOF” Sp. z o. o.,
2. WAŁBRZYSKIE ZAKŁADY KOKSOWNICZE „VICTORIA” S.A.,
3. ENITRA Sp. z o. o.,
4. FABRYKA WKŁADÓW ODZIEŻOWYCH „CAMELA” S.A.,
5. LEGIPOL Sp. z o. o.

LABOUR MARKET

1. Total population
   2015 - 115 453
   2016 - 114 568
2. Population in the working age
   2015 - 71 364
   2016 - 69 808
3. Unemployment rate 
   2015 – 10.4%
   2016 - 9%

Average gross monthly salary in the City of Wałbrzych:
2015 – PLN 4 036,65
2016 – PLN 4 180,67

Average gross monthly salary in the City of Wałbrzych in relation to the country’s average (Poland=100)
2015 - 97,2 %
2016 – 97,4 %

RAILWAY

In the area of the Agglomeration there are TWO MAIN DIRECTIONS OF PASSENGER RAIL SERVICES available, which include: Wrocław – Wałbrzych – Jelenia Góra (no. 274) and Wałbrzych – Kłodzko (no. 286).

HOUSING FACILITIES

There are 50 582 residential units in Wałbrzych. Over 12 thousand of them are managed by Miejski Zarząd Budynków sp. z o.o. (commune-owned enterprise). Piaskowa Góra and Podzamcze are the largest districts. In recent time there have been 7 residential buildings with 250 residential units being built in the Wałbrzych Commune. One-family houses located in the Rusinowa and Podzamcze districts in Wałbrzych are being extended.