Dzierżoniów

Infobox Settlement
name = Dzierżoniów


imagesize = 250px
image_caption = Town Hall

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image_shield = POL Dzierżoniów COA.svg
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position = bottom
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = POL
subdivision_type1 = Voivodeship
subdivision_name1 = Lower Silesian
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Dzierżoniów County
subdivision_type3 = Gmina
subdivision_name3 = Dzierżoniów (urban gmina)
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Marek Mieczysław Piorun
established_title = Established
established_date = 12th century
established_title3 = Town rights
established_date3 = before 1290
area_total_km2 = 20.07
population_density_km2 = auto
population_as_of = 2006
population_total = 34678
timezone = CET
utc_offset = +1
timezone_DST = CEST
utc_offset_DST = +2
latd=50 |latm=43 |lats= |latNS= N
longd=16 |longm=33 |longs= |longEW= E
elevation_m = 261
postal_code_type = Postal code
postal_code = 58-200 to 58-205
area_code = +48 74
blank_name = Car plates
blank_info = DDZ
website = http://www.um.dzierzoniow.pl/

Dzierżoniów [IPA-pl|dź|e|r|'|ż|o|ń|u|f] ( _de. Reichenbach IPA| [ˈʁaɪ̯çn̩bax] ; former _pl. Rychbach) is a town in southwestern Poland. It is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (from 1975–1998 it was in the former Wałbrzych Voivodeship). It is the seat of Dzierżoniów County, and of Gmina Dzierżoniów (although it is not part of the territory of the latter, since the town forms a separate urban gmina).

Dzierżoniów covers an area of 20.1 km², and according to official figures for 2006 has a population of 34,678.

History

In its early history, the town was known as "Reichenbach"; composed of the German words "reich" (rich, strong) and "Bach" (stream), it refers to the current of the Piława River. [Adrian Room. "Placenames of the World". McFarland & Company, 2005. ISBN 0786422483] The name was rendered in Polish as "Rychbach". To differentiate between other places named Reichenbach, the Lower Silesian town became known in German as "Reichenbach im Eulengebirge", or "Reichenbach in the Owl Mountains".

Reichenbach was first mentioned in a document dating to 13 February 1258."Um.Dzierzonow.pl". " [http://www.um.dzierzoniow.pl/en/site/informacje_miasto/historia_miasta/ History] ". Accessed December 7 2006.] The parish Church of St. George was also noted early on. ["Urlaub-Polen.de" " [http://www.urlaub-polen.de/dzierzoniow.shtml Dzierzoniów / Reichenbach] ". Accessed December 7 2006. de icon] The coat of arms, depicting Saint George slaying a dragon, was used by 1290 at the latest. The town passed successively from the Bishopric of Wrocław (Breslau), to the Duchy of Ziębice (Münsterberg), and to the Duchy of Świdnica-Jawor (Schweidnitz-Jauer). Reichenbach became part of the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1325 and the Knights Hospitaller built a school and hospital in the town in 1338. It was plundered by the Hussites during the 15th-century Hussite Wars.

The Habsburg Monarchy of Austria inherited the Bohemian throne in 1526 and became the town's new lords. Reichenbach developed into a trading center, especially for textiles and linen, during the 16th century. ["Um.Dzierzonow.pl". " [http://www.um.dzierzoniow.pl/de/site/informacje_miasto/historia_miasta/ Geschichte] ". Accessed December 7 2006. de icon] After the First Silesian War in 1742, most of Silesia, including Reichenbach, became part of the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1762 during the Seven Years' War, the region between Reichenbach and Schweidnitz (Świdnica) was the setting for the Battle of Burkersdorf between Prussia and Austria.

In 1790 representatives from Austria, Prussia, Holland, and Poland met at Reichenbach to discuss the Ottoman wars in Europe. In 1813 Tsar Alexander I of Russia met with King Frederick William III of Prussia. From 1816–1945 Reichenbach contained the district office for Landkreis Reichenbach. Until 1820 the town was the seat of a Prussian district president. Reichenbach was connected to a rail network in 1855. It became part of the Prussian-led German Empire in 1871.

Reichenbach was transferred from Germany to Poland in 1945 after World War II. The majority of its German inhabitants had fled earlier in 1945 before the war, while a few remaining thousands unable to flee were subsequently expelled and replaced with Poles.

Rather than be known by its traditional Polish name "Rychbach", the town was renamed "Dzierżoniów" in 1946 after the apiarist Jan Dzierżon. It was also the site of a Jewish commune of 50,000 led by Jakub Egit from 1945-1948. [Bożena Szaynok, "Żydowscy żołnierze z Bolkowa", Odra 1999, 9, p. 22-26, in Polish]

Town twinning

* Bischofheim (Germany)
* Lanškroun (Czech Republic)
* Crewe and Nantwich (United Kingdom)
* Alushta (Ukraine)
* Serock (Poland)

References

External links

* [http://www.um.dzierzoniow.pl/en/site/ Municipal website]