Zielona Góra

Infobox Settlement
name = Zielona Góra
motto = Miasto przyszłości
City of the future

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imagesize = 250px
image_caption = Town Hall and Main Square

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image_shield = POL Zielona Góra COA.svg
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position = bottom
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = POL
subdivision_type1 = Voivodeship
subdivision_name1 = Lubusz
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Janusz Kubicki
established_title = Established
established_date = 13th century
established_title2 = Town rights
established_date2 = 1323
area_total_km2 = 58.32
population_as_of = 2006
population_total = 118221
population_density_km2 = auto
population_metro = 294000
timezone = CET
utc_offset = +1
timezone_DST = CEST
utc_offset_DST = +2
latd=51 |latm=56 |lats= |latNS= N
longd=15 |longm=30 |longs= |longEW= E
elevation_m = 71
postal_code_type = Postal code
postal_code = 65-001 to 65-950
area_code = +48 068
blank_name = Car plates
blank_info = FZ
website = http://www.zielona-gora.pl/UMZG/

Zielona Góra Audio-IPA-pl|Pl-Zielona Góra.ogg|zi|e1|'|l|o|n|a|-|'|g|u|r|a ( _de. Grünberg in Schlesien) is a city in Lower Silesia, in western Poland, with 118,730 inhabitants within the city limits (2004) and 294,000 inhabitants within the metropolitan area, including two neighbouring counties (2005).

Zielona Góra has been in Lubusz Voivodeship since 1999, prior to which it was the capital of Zielona Góra Voivodeship from 1975–98. It is the seat of Lubusz Voivodeship's elected assembly (sejmik) and executive (the seat of the centrally-appointed governor or voivode being Gorzów Wielkopolski). The city's name, in both Polish and German, means "green mountain".

History

The first settlement in the area of Zielona Góra was built in the valley near the Złota Łącza stream during the reign of Polish ruler Mieszko I. [http://www.zielona-gora.pl/umzg/index.php?id=185&lng=pl Municipal homepage] pl icon] The oldest settlement was agricultural and later developed into a trading point along routes from Poznań to Żagań and further to Łużyce. The written records of the Slavic settlement date to 1222 and an increase of its population by Henryk Brodaty. Other documents date the settlement to 1302.Weczerka, p. 164]

The region received an influx of German colonists in the second half of the 13th century during the medieval Ostsiedlung. [Westermann, p. 74] The settlement became a city with "Crossener Recht", a variation of Magdeburg rights, in 1323. The earliest mention of the town's coat of arms is from 1421, although it is believed to have been arranged since the beginning of the 14th century.Hupp, p. 154] A document in the town archive of Thorn (Toruń) dating from before 1400 used a sigil with the name "GRVNINBERG", an early form of the later German name "Grünberg".

In 1294 Henry III, Duke of Silesia-Glogau, founded a church in honor of Saint Hedwig, patron saint of Silesia. This building, the "konkatedra św. Jadwigi w Zielonej Górze", is today the oldest building in the city. A wooden castle near the city, built ca. 1272, was the residence of Duke John of Steinau from 1358–65; John had ceded his lands to Henry V, Duke of Glogau.Weczerka, p. 165] In 1477 the town defeated a 5,000-strong army from neighbouring Brandenburg which attempted to seize it during the succession war to the Duchy of Glogau. In 1488 John II, Duke of Sagan, destroyed the castle to prevent his enemies from using it.

After the collapse of the Duchy of Sagan, the town fell to the Kingdom of Bohemia. Grünberg converted to Lutheranism during the Protestant Reformation through the efforts of Paul Lemberg, Abbot of Sagan.Weczerka, p. 166] The city declined during the 17th century, especially during the Thirty Years' War (1618–48) and following decades. Grünberg endured plundering, debts, emigration of burghers, and fires. In 1651 during the Counter Reformation, the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria reintroduced Roman Catholicism and suppressed Protestantism. The city was subjected to heavy Germanisation and German craftsmen banned Poles from attending any practice allowing them to work as members of guilds. A rebellion caused by conscription ended with many Poles being imprisoned.

The city was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia by the 1742 Treaty of Breslau which ended the First Silesian War. The Prussians introduced religious toleration, leading to the construction of the Protestant parish church "Zum Garten Christ" from 1746–47; Catholic Poles were later discriminated against, however.The city's textile industry was booming by the end of the 18th century, and by 1800 large parts of the city walls had been dismantled to allow the city to expand. The textile industry suffered during the 1820s while adjusting to the Industrial Revolution and an import ban by the Russian Empire; The city's economy began to recover after many clothiers immigrated to Congress Poland.

During this time the Polish population was pushed by Germanisation to rural villages, although some remained in the town contributed to the economic revival of the city. A Polish church remained functional until 1809 and a Polish craftsmen association ("Towarzystwo Polskich Rzemieślników") was established by Kazimierz Lisowski in 1898.

Since 1816 after the Napoleonic Wars, Grünberg was administered within the district Landkreis Grünberg i. Schles. in the Province of Silesia. In 1871 it became part of the German Empire during the unification of Germany. English industrialists purchased some of the city's textile factories during the 1870s and 1880s. By 1885, most of Grünberg's population of 14,396 were Protestants. ["Meyers Konversations-Lexikon", 1885] The city was first connected to the Glogau-Grünberg-Guben railway line in 1871, followed by connections to Christianstadt in 1904, Wollstein in 1905, and a local line to Sprottau in 1911.

In 1919 Grünberg became part of the Province of Lower Silesia within Weimar Germany. On 1 April 1922 it became a district-free city, but this status was revoked on 1 October 1933 while part of Nazi Germany.

The Soviet Red Army occupied Grünberg with little fighting in 1945 during World War II. It was placed under Polish administration according to the post-war Potsdam Agreement. The remaining German inhabitants who had not fled from the Eastern Front were expelledFact|date=August 2008 by Soviet and PolishFact|date=August 2008 troops, and the town was partly resettled with Poles transferred from Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union. The city was officially renamed from the German name "Grünberg" to the Polish name "Zielona Góra", and the 18th century Protestant church was reconsecrated as a Catholic church ("Kościół Matki Boskiej Częstochowskiej").

The University of Zielona Góra was opened in 2001. The city is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Zielona Góra-Gorzów.

Wineries

Zielona Góra has been known for its wines for centuries. It is now one of two places in Poland with wine grape cultivation mainly for white wines, (another one is the wine growing region near the town of Warka in Masovia). The first wineries around Zielona Góra were built in 1314. At Paradyż ("Paradis") Abbey near Zielona Góra, monks have been making wine since 1250. The number of vineyards at peak production is estimated at 4,000 in the region, and 2,500 in Zielona Góra itself. The most famous wine is called "Monte Verde". During the communist era wine production was reduced, but since 1990 it has recovered. However, nowadays wine is no longer produced in Zielona Góra itself (the last factory was closed in the early 1990s). Since 1852 an annual Wine Festival has taken place in the town.

Education

The city has a university and a College of International Trade and Finance. Currently there are 18,000 students studying in the city.

econdary education

Secondary education is based on the Lyceum type of educational facility.
* [http://www.jedynka.zgora.pl/ 1st General Lyceum]
* [http://www.lo3.pl/ 3rd General Lyceum]
* [http://www.lo4.zgora.pl/ 4th General Lyceum]
* [http://www.vlo.zg.pl 5th General Lyceum]
* [http://www.7liceum.internetdsl.pl/ 7th General Lyceum]
* [http://www.zse.zgora.pl/ Schools of Electronics]
* [http://www.zsek.zgora.pl/ Schools of Economics]

Universities and colleges

* University of Zielona Góra [http://www.uz.zgora.pl/|]
* [http://www.zwshifm.zgora.pl/ College of International Trade and Finance]

Politics

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from the constituency:http://www.sejm.gov.pl/poslowie/mapa5/4a.htm

Airport

Zielona Góra Airport is located at Babimost, north-east of the city. It is currently the 10th busiest airport in Poland. Formerly a military base, it has become an important transport hub for western Poland. LOT Polish Airlines currently offers daily flights to Warsaw.

Events

* June/July: Busker Bus Festival
* August: Folk Song and Dance Festival [http://www.zgora.pl/rcak Folk Festival ]
* September: Winobranie (Wine Fest)

People

* Bartholomaeus Pitiscus (1561-1613), astronomer
* Rudolf Haym (1821-1901), philosopher
* Wilhelm Foerster (1832-1921), atronomer
* Otto Julius Bierbaum (1865-1910), writer
* Maryla Rodowicz (born 1945), singer
* Tomasz Lis (born 1966), journalist

ister cities and twin towns

*flagicon|Slovakia Nitra (Slovakia)
*flagicon|France Troyes (France)
*flagicon|Germany Verden (Germany)
*flagicon|Germany Cottbus (Germany)
*flagicon|Netherlands Helmond (Netherlands)
*flagicon|Italy L'Aquila (Italy)
*flagicon|Romania Bistriţa (Romania)
*flagicon|USA Aurora, Colorado (USA)
*flagicon|Serbia Kraljevo (Serbia)

Gallery

Notes

References

*cite book|last=Hupp|first=Otto|authorlink=Otto Hupp|title=Königreich Preußen: Wappen der Städte. Flecken und Dörfer|year=1896 and 1898|publisher=Verlag von Heinrich Keller|location=Frankfurt|pages=185|isbn= de icon
*cite book|last=Stier|first=Erich|authorlink=|otherauthors=Ernst Kirsten, Wilhelm Wühr, Heinz Quirin, Werner Trillmilch, Gerhard Czybulka, Hermann Pinnow, and Hans Ebeling|title=Westermanns Atlas zur Weltgeschichte: Vorzeit / Altertum, Mittelalter, Neuzeit|year=1963|publisher=Georg Westermann Verlag|location=Braunschweig|pages=170|isbn= de icon
*cite book|last=Weczerka|first=Hugo|authorlink=|title=Handbuch der historischen Stätten Deutschlands, Schlesien|year=1977|publisher=Alfred Kröner Verlag|location=Stuttgart|pages=699|isbn=3-520-31601-3 de icon

External links

* [http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=topicdetails&subject=408922&subject_disp=Germany%2C+Preu%C3%9Fen%2C+Schlesien%2C+Gr%C3%BCnberg+%28KrSt%2E+Gr%C3%BCnberg%29+%2D+Church+records&columns=*,0,0 Grünberg church records] of births, marriages and deaths since 1582
* [http://www.zielona-gora.pl/ Municipal website]
* [http://www.uz.zgora.pl/index_en.html Zielona Góra University]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n8Us6YEC-c Guided walk around the centre]