As a rule, pastoralism entered the areas abandoned by steel mills or cleared for their needs, followed by permanent settlement, related to arable farming. Initially, deforested areas were used, but as the number of inhabitants increased, new plots of land above the village were cleared, up the valley. In this way, the most common type of Sudeten village was developed – chain (forest fiefs), characteristic of mountain areas in general. It is made up of single farms stretching along a chain (hence the name) along the stream and road. Years later, such villages could reach mountain passes in the ridges, where other villages from the opposite side met. Many kilometers of settlement lines were created, composed of interconnected villages, but it is characteristic of the later stages of settlement development.
W XV w. villages were still established, which, due to lack of space in the Jelenia Góra Valley, began to enter the Karkonoskie Foothills. W 1406 r. Broniów was mentioned, however in 1412 r. it was damaged by a flash flood, and some of its inhabitants later founded Płóczki, listed as a village already in 1418 r. Their creation was associated with the mining center–metallurgical plant in Kowary.
The period of the Reformation brought enormous changes at the foot of the Karkonosze Mountains. Most of the inhabitants converted to Protestantism, which the counts von Schaffgotsch favored anyway, themselves being Evangelicals. However, Silesia then belonged to the Habsburg monarchy, in this area, the Reformation proceeded virtually without hindrance, to this level, that they were tormented by a lack of religious persecution, Religious émigrés from the Czech Republic began to come and settle here.
Already in 1559 r. the first group of such exulants settled in the area of today's Karpacz, giving him a beginning, a w 1578 r. a certain Maria Pluch, she also came from the Czech Republic, founded Marysin in the area of Szklarska Poręba, above Szklarka, created earlier in connection with the location of one of the "wandering" glassworks.
It was not for nothing. Anabaptists were very active in Silesia, waldensi, beginki, here a strong group of Kaspar Schwenckfeld supporters remained. There were also famous and passionate local preachers, such as Peter Riedemann, a fellow lazy man.
Mountains, especially high, they have always had the ability to attract the minds of the enlightened, seeking, but they also favored mysticism, contemplation and shelter in case of danger. Perhaps a specific genius loci plays a role in the Karkonosze Mountains and their surroundings, because various religious reformers have come and settled here for a long time, sections, creators of new denominations. They were active during the Reformation, and especially during the Thirty Years' War. It was then that the "prophet" from Witoszy nad Staniszów, Hans Rischmann, gained wide fame. His prophecies were holyly believed, he even managed to persuade his followers, that he can fly. In the 18th century, a local Protestant sect was established in nearby Leszczyniec and Ogorzelec, who even built her own church. W 1837 r. A group of religious immigrants from Tyrol came to Mysłakowice. Even today, this area is of interest to various religions and denominations. The parish of the Evangelical-Augsburg Church has survived in Karpacz, in Dąbrowica we are witnessing the creation of a new Marian sanctuary, one of the main centers of the Krishna Consciousness Society operates in nearby Czarnów, and in Głębock there is the center of the yogistic sect Ahanda Marga.