Chrobry fortified village in Szprotawa

Remnants of the earthworks as seen from the west

December 2008 excavations by the Polish Academy of Sciences

The Chrobry fortified village (Polish: Gród Chrobry, German: Wallburg Chrobry), named contemporarily for king Boleslaw Chrobry, and located in the town of Szprotawa is an archaeological earthwork and a monument of Lower Silesia in Poland.

It dates from times not exactly yet known. The site lies in the old Bóbr river valley, in the Park Słowiański nature reserve.

The site comprises 4 ha, forming an even plateaum elevated at 6 m relative to its surroundings. Its surface is flat throughout, and its edges form regular, steep inclines. The shape is that of a polygon (see illustration).

The monument is lies between a bog and a marsh, both partly dried.

Until 1945 the site was known as The Nun Bush Hill (German: Nonnenbuschberg). As of 30 May 2007 it enjoys a new legal status of a protected, designated historical place, thanks to the efforts on its behalf by the local historical society, Towarzystwo Bory Dolnośląskie.

Historian August Gloger had described this structure as dating from the times these lands were still Polish, but without providing any evidence.

Recently, Maciej Boryna, who works at the local historical museum, Muzeum Ziemi Szprotawskiej, identified ceramic fragments from the site as dating from the Middle Ages, concluding that the structure was never completed, or if so, that it was inhabited briefly.

This ancient fortified village site is one of the largest of its kind yet found in Poland. Other, smaller archaeological earthworks can be found nearby.

References

• August Gloger: Beiträge zur Heimatkunde des Kreises Sprottau, 2nd edition, 1925
• Maciej Boryna: Szprotawa i okolice, 2nd edition, 2004
• Maciej Boryna: Gminna Ewidencja Zabytków Gminy Szprotawa, pos. nr. 49/2475, 2005

External links

• A medieval fort discovered in Szprotawa

Coordinates: 51°33′27″N 15°31′03″E / 51.5575°N 15.5175°E / 51.5575; 15.5175