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Kluczbork

Coordinates:50°59′N18°13′E/ 50.983°N 18.217°E/50.983; 18.217
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Kluczbork
Town hall
City park
Our Lady Help of Christians Church
Kluczbork monastery
Church of Christ Saviour
  • From top, left to right: Town Hall
  • City Park
  • Our Lady Help of Christians Church
  • Kluczbork monastery
  • Church of Christ Saviour
Flag of Kluczbork
Flag
Coat of arms of Kluczbork
Coat of arms
Kluczbork is located in Poland
Kluczbork
Kluczbork
Coordinates:50°59′N18°13′E/ 50.983°N 18.217°E/50.983; 18.217
CountryPoland
VoivodeshipOpole
CountyKluczbork
GminaKluczbork
Established13th century
Town rights1252
Government
• MayorJarosław Kielar (OKS)
Area
• Total
12.35 km2(4.77 sq mi)
Elevation
190 m (620 ft)
Population
(2019-06-30[1])
• Total
23,554
• Density1,952.3/km2(5,056/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1(CET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+2(CEST)
Postal code
46–200, 46–203
Area code+48 77
Car platesOKL
National roads
Websitehttps:// kluczbork.eu

Kluczbork[ˈklud͡ʐbɔrk]ⓘ(German:Kreuzburg O.S.,Silesian:Kluczborek) is atownin southernPolandwith 23,554 inhabitants (2019), situated in theOpole Voivodeship.It is the capital ofKluczbork Countyand an important railroad junction.

In Kluczbork the major rail line fromKatowicesplits into two directions – westwards toWrocławand northwards toPoznań.It is also connected withFosowskie.

History

[edit]
Kraków Gate Tower

Archaeologistshave determined that a settlement existed at the location of present-day Kluczbork by 1000–800 BCE. The GermanicSciriandBastarnaesettled in the vicinity, and were followed c. 100 BCE byCeltsand various Germanic tribes, includingSilingiandVandals.The latter leftSilesiac. 400 andWest Slavscame to the region in the 7th century (seeSilesians). In the late 10th century the Silesian territory was included in the emerging Polish state by its first historic rulerMieszko I.

In the 13th century theKnights of the Cross with the Red Staracquired territory in Silesia, including the villages ofMłodoszów,Kuniów,andChocianowice.The Knights built a settlement on 2 November 1252[citation needed].Named Cruceburg (later spelled Creutzburg, Creuzburg, Kreuzburg), it receivedMagdeburg rightson 26 February 1253, now accepted as the official date of the town's foundation. The Knightsadjudicatedin the town until 1274, when it started to be administered by avogtof local Silesian dukes andjurieswere introduced. As a result of thedynastic fragmentation of Poland,Kluczbork was part of various Polish duchies ruled by thePiast dynasty:Duchy of Silesiauntil 1293,Duchy of Głogówuntil 1312,Duchy of Oleśnicauntil 1323 andDuchy of Legnicauntil 1341, when it came under direct rule of the King of Poland,Casimir III the Great.[2]In 1356 it passed to theCzech Crown,[2]and continued to belong to various duchies ruled by thePiast dynasty.From 1536 it was part of the Piast-ruledDuchy of Brzeguntil its dissolution in 1675.[2]Afterwards it was incorporated into theHabsburg monarchy,as part of the Habsburg-ruled Czech Kingdom.

Renaissance-BaroqueKluczbork Town Halland townhouses

Amintoperated in Kluczbork during the reign of DukeBolesław III the Generous,in the early 14th century.[2]In 1426 DukeLouis II of Brzeggranted Kluczborkprivilegesof a salt market.[2]For centuries the town was inhabited by a predominantlyPolish-speaking populace. Thetextile industrybegan to grow in importance in 1553, but suffered a fire in 1569. Another great fire destroyed many houses on 8 December 1562. On 25 January 1588, the day after theBattle of Byczyna,Polish troops underJan Zamoyskiplundered the city. The townspeople accepted theProtestant Reformationin 1656 and converted the localRoman Catholic Churchinto aLutheranone. ThePolish Brethrensettled in the city after 1660, and organized theirsynodsin the city in 1663 and 1668.[2]The town had a population of approximately 1,000 in 1681.

A fire on 23 April 1737 almost completely destroyed the town, leaving only a few houses and the castle unscathed. Several years of rebuilding passed before it reached its previous size.

In the 18th century Kreuzburg was annexed by theKingdom of Prussiain 1741 during theSilesian Warsand became part of the PrussianProvince of Silesia.Under Prussian rule the town and the region saw a large influx of German-speaking settlers.

The town became part of theGerman Empireupon theunification of Germanyin 1871. It had a predominantlyGerman-speaking population of 5,238 in 1875, although it was located in a Polish-dominated district.[3]The population grew to 8,750 by 1895 and 10,236 by 1900.

Memorial plaque at the site of the former German Oflag VIII Aprisoner of war campand Ilag VIII/Z camp

Following theTreaty of VersaillesafterWorld War I,Kreuzburg was involved in theUpper Silesianreferendumin 1921. 95.6% (37,957 votes out of 39,703 participants) voted to remain withinWeimar Germanyinstead of joining theSecond Polish Republic.It became part of theProvince of Upper Silesia;to differentiate between other places namedKreuzburg,it was known asKreuzburg O.S.(referring toOberschlesien,orUpper Silesia). By 1939 the town was the seat ofLandkreis Kreuzburg O.S.and had 11,693 inhabitants. After theNazi Partytook power in Germany in the 1930s,anti-Polishandanti-Jewishsentiments became more visible. In 1936, the Germans changed the Polish-sounding street names, and in 1938, during theKristallnachtthey burned down the synagogue, built in 1886.[2]Local Polish leader Paweł Widera was arrested in May 1939.[4]

DuringWorld War II,in 1939, the Germans established the Oflag VIII-Aprisoner-of-war campinitially for Polish and later forFrenchofficers.[5]In 1942, it was dissolved and the POWs were relocated to theOflag VIII-FPOW camp inMoravská Třebováin German-occupied Czechoslovakia.[5]In 1943, the Germans founded theIlagVIII/Z camp for interned citizens of theUnited Kingdomand theUnited States.[2]The Germans evacuated the populace before the advancingSoviet armyin January 1945 to then German-speaking parts of Bohemia.[6][2]In January 1945, sick POWs from theStalag Luft 7were moved to Ilag VIII/Z, whereas the remaining POWs passed through the town in a German-perpetrateddeath march.[7]The town was captured by theSoviet Union'sRed Armyon 20 January 1945 toward the end of the war. After German surrender, the German population returned.[6]

Following the war in 1945, the town became part of Poland. In July 1945, the Polish administration issued a decree that all Germans are to wear on their clothing a discriminatory mark with "N" on white background.[8]In the following, the German native population wasexpelled.

Between 1975–1998, the town was administratively part of the former Opole Voivodeship. A monument ofJan Dzierżon,pioneering and world-famous Polishapiarist,was unveiled in 1981.[9]

Economy

[edit]
Kluczbork budget income's sources as of 2015.

Kluczbork's economy is dominated by the production ofmachinery,knitwearand construction material, alongside newly emerging industries, namely: the transport sector, trade, agriculture and the food production sector as well as being the centre for theKluczbork County's banks and other financial institutions. TheGmina Kluczborkhas some 1800 businesses (1300 of which are located within the city's boundaries). The largest factories in Kluczbork are: Fabryka Maszyn i Urządzeń „Famak” (machinery production), PV „Prefabet - Kluczbork” S.A. (concretematerials) and Wagrem sp. z o.o. Kluczbork (weighing scalerepairs).

The part of the town of Kluczbork, around Ligota Dolna, is part of theWałbrzych Special Economic Zone(area of 53939ha). The current investors in the Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone are:Marcegaglia Poland,[10]Inpol-Krak Tubes Service Center and theGermanSeppeler Gruppe Ocynkownia Śląsk (galvanisationcompany).[11]

Sport

[edit]

MKS Kluczborkis a professionalassociation footballclub founded in 2003 as a result of a merger of two local clubs.

Notable people

[edit]
Jan Dzierżon,Polishapiaristand "father of modernapiculture",was born inŁowkowice, Kluczbork County
See also:Category:People from Kluczbork

Twin towns – sister cities

[edit]

Seetwin towns of Gmina Kluczbork.

[edit]
  • Market Square (Rynek)
    Market Square (Rynek)
  • Railway station
    Railway station
  • Church of St. Mary of Help
    Church of St. Mary of Help
  • Park Miejski (Municipal Park)
    Park Miejski (Municipal Park)
  • Monastery of the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth
    Monastery of theSisters of Saint Elizabeth
  • The grave of Polish soldiers killed in World War II in 1939
    The grave of Polish soldiers killed inWorld War IIin 1939

References

[edit]
  1. ^"Population. Size and structure and vital statistics in Poland by territorial division in 2019. As of 30th June".stat.gov.pl.Statistics Poland. 2019-10-15.Retrieved2020-02-14.
  2. ^abcdefghi"Najważniejsze daty z historii miasta".Urząd Miejski w Kluczborku(in Polish). Archived fromthe originalon 22 September 2020.Retrieved14 February2020.
  3. ^Felix Triest,Topographisches handbuch von Oberschliesen,1865, p. 145 (in German)
  4. ^Cygański, Mirosław (1984). "Hitlerowskie prześladowania przywódców i aktywu Związków Polaków w Niemczech w latach 1939-1945".Przegląd Zachodni(in Polish) (4): 28.
  5. ^abMegargee, Geoffrey P.; Overmans, Rüdiger; Vogt, Wolfgang (2022).The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV.Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. p. 254.ISBN978-0-253-06089-1.
  6. ^abRosemarie Dette.Kreuzburg: Stadt und Kreis in Oberschlesien; Geschichte und Erinnerung; ein Heimatbuch.Heimatkreisverband Kreuzburg, Oberschlesien.
  7. ^Stanek, Piotr (2015). "Stalag Luft 7 Bankau i jego ewakuacja na Zachód w styczniu 1945 r.".Łambinowicki rocznik muzealny(in Polish).38.Opole: 64–65.ISSN0137-5199.
  8. ^Nitschke, Bernadetta (2004).Vertreibung und Aussiedlung der deutschen Bevölkerung aus Polen 1945 bis 1949.Oldenbourg. p. 98.
  9. ^"Kluczbork - Pomnik ks. dr Jana Dzierżona".PolskaNiezwykla.pl(in Polish).Retrieved14 February2020.
  10. ^"Marcegaglia Poland".marcegaglia.pl.Retrieved31 January2017.
  11. ^"BAZY BIBLIOTEKI NARODOWEJ".mak.bn.org.pl.Retrieved31 January2017.
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