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83-542: The gmina covers an area of 86.37 square kilometres (33.3 sq mi) and, in 2019, its total population was 6,721. Gmina Miłkowice is bordered by the town of Legnica and the gminas of Chojnów , Krotoszyce , Kunice , Lubin and Złotoryja . The gmina contains the villages of Bobrów , Dobrzejów , Głuchowice , Gniewomirowice , Goślinów , Grzymalin , Jakuszów , Jezierzany , Kochlice , Lipce , Miłkowice , Pątnówek , Rzeszotary , Siedliska , Studnica and Ulesie . This Legnica County location article

166-656: A vassal of the Kingdom of Bohemia during the 14th century and was included within the multi-ethnic Holy Roman Empire , however remained ruled by local dukes of the Polish Piast dynasty . In 1454, a local rebellion prevented Legnica from falling under direct rule of the Bohemian kings. In 1505, Duke Frederick II of Legnica met in Legnica with the duke of nearby Głogów , Sigismund I the Old ,

249-472: A 1600-metre runway, the remains of a former Soviet air base, but it is (as of 2007 ) in a poor state and not used for commercial flights. In recent years Legnica has been frequently used as a film set for the following films as a result of its well preserved Old Town, proximity to Germany and low costs: Legnica tends to be a left -of- center town with a considerable influence of workers' unions . The Municipal Council of Legnica ( Rada miejska miasta Legnica )

332-635: A majority ethnic Polish population, was awarded to Poland, becoming the Silesian Voivodeship . The Prussian Province of Silesia within Germany was then divided into the provinces of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia . Meanwhile, Austrian Silesia , the small portion of Silesia retained by Austria after the Silesian Wars , was mostly awarded to the new Czechoslovakia (becoming known as Czech Silesia and Trans-Olza ), although most of Cieszyn and territory to

415-559: A network of forced labour camps solely for Poles ( Polenlager ), subcamps of prisons, POW camps and of the Gross-Rosen and Auschwitz concentration camps. The Potsdam Conference of 1945 defined the Oder-Neisse line as the border between Germany and Poland, pending a final peace conference with Germany which eventually never took place. At the end of WWII, Germans in Silesia fled from

498-999: A new mixed Polish dialect and novel costumes . There is ongoing debate about whether the Silesian language , common in Upper Silesia, should be considered a dialect of Polish or a separate language. The Lower Silesian German dialect is nearing extinction due to its speakers' expulsion. The names of Silesia in different languages most likely share their etymology— Polish : Śląsk [ɕlɔ̃sk] ; German : Schlesien [ˈʃleːzi̯ən] ; Czech : Slezsko [ˈslɛsko] ; Lower Silesian : Schläsing ; Silesian : Ślōnsk [ɕlonsk] ; Lower Sorbian : Šlazyńska [ˈʃlazɨnʲska] ; Upper Sorbian : Šleska [ˈʃlɛska] ; Slovak : Sliezsko ; Kashubian : Sląsk ; Latin , Spanish and English: Silesia ; French: Silésie ; Dutch : Silezië ; Italian : Slesia . The names all relate to

581-586: A period of intense immigration from Silesia to the United States), considered Silesian as a geographical (not ethnic) term, denoting the inhabitants of Silesia. It is also mentioned the existence of both Polish Silesian and German Silesian dialects in that region. Modern Silesia is inhabited by Poles , Silesians , Germans , and Czechs . Germans first came to Silesia during the Late Medieval Ostsiedlung . The last Polish census of 2011 showed that

664-694: A result of immigration from German-speaking states of the Holy Roman Empire . The first granting of municipal privileges in Poland took place in the region, with the granting of rights for Złotoryja by Henry the Bearded. Medieval municipal rights modeled after Lwówek Śląski and Środa Śląska , both established by Henry the Bearded, became the basis of municipal form of government for several cities and towns in Poland, and two of five local Polish variants of medieval town rights. The Book of Henryków , which contains

747-443: A thriving agricultural sector, which produces cereals (wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn), potatoes, rapeseed, sugar beets and others. Milk production is well developed. The Opole Silesia has for decades occupied the top spot in Poland for their indices of effectiveness of agricultural land use. Mountainous parts of southern Silesia feature many significant and attractive tourism destinations (e.g., Karpacz , Szczyrk , Wisła ). Silesia

830-542: A time interval about year 1000 BC. A settlement of the Lusatian culture people existed in the 8th century B.C. After invasions of Celts beyond upper Danube basin, the area of Legnica and north foothills of Sudetes was infiltrated by Celtic settlers and traders. Tacitus and Ptolemy recorded the ancient nation of Lugii (Lygii) in the area, and mentioned their town of Lugidunum, which has been attributed to both Legnica and Głogów . Slavic Lechitic tribes moved into

913-522: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Legnica Legnica ( Polish: [lɛɡˈɲit͡sa] ; German : Liegnitz , pronounced [ˈliːɡnɪts] ; Silesian : Ligńica ; Czech : Lehnice ; Latin : Lignitium ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia , on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda . As well as being

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996-507: Is a city with rich historical architecture, ranging from Romanesque and Gothic through the Renaissance and Baroque to Historicist styles. Among the landmarks of Legnica are: There is also a monument of Pope John Paul II and a postal milestone of King Augustus II the Strong from 1725 in Legnica. In the 1950s and 1960s, the local copper and nickel industries became a major factor in

1079-635: Is also rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. The largest city and Lower Silesia's capital is Wrocław ; the historic capital of Upper Silesia is Opole . The biggest metropolitan area is the Katowice metropolitan area , the centre of which is Katowice . Parts of the Czech city of Ostrava and the German city of Görlitz are within Silesia's borders. Silesia's borders and national affiliation have changed over time, both when it

1162-560: Is different from Upper Silesia in many respects as its population was predominantly German-speaking from around the mid 19th century until 1945–48. In the fourth century BC from the south, through the Kłodzko Valley , the Celts entered Silesia, and settled around Mount Ślęża near modern Wrocław , Oława and Strzelin . Germanic Lugii tribes were first recorded within Silesia in the 1st century BC. West Slavs and Lechites arrived in

1245-466: Is generally well forested. This is because greenness is generally highly desirable by the local population, particularly in the highly industrialized parts of Silesia. Silesia has been historically diverse in every aspect. Nowadays, the largest part of Silesia is located in Poland; it is often cited as one of the most diverse regions in that country. The United States Immigration Commission, in its Dictionary of Races or Peoples (published in 1911, during

1328-636: Is noted for its parks and gardens, and has seven hundred hectares of green space, mostly along the banks of the Kaczawa ; the Tarninow district is particularly attractive. To the south of Legnica is the A4 motorway . Legnica has also a district, which is a part of national road no 3 . The express road S3 building has been planned nearby. In the city there are 20 regular bus lines, 1 belt-line , 2 night lines and 3 suburban. The town has an airport (airport code EPLE) with

1411-695: Is now part of the Czech Republic, forming part of the Moravian-Silesian Region and the northern part of the Olomouc Region . Germany retains the Silesia-Lusatia region ( Niederschlesien-Oberlausitz or Schlesische Oberlausitz ) west of the Neisse , which is part of the federal state of Saxony . The region was affected by the 1997 , 2010 and 2024 Central European floods. Most of Silesia

1494-664: Is relatively flat, although its southern border is generally mountainous. It is primarily located in a swath running along both banks of the upper and middle Oder (Odra) River, but it extends eastwards to the upper Vistula River. The region also includes many tributaries of the Oder, including the Bóbr (and its tributary the Kwisa ), the Barycz and the Nysa Kłodzka . The Sudeten Mountains run along most of

1577-653: Is split into two main subregions, Lower Silesia in the west and Upper Silesia in the east. Silesia has a diverse culture, including architecture , costumes , cuisine , traditions, and the Silesian language (minority in Upper Silesia). The largest city of the region is Wrocław . Silesia is situated along the Oder River, with the Sudeten Mountains extending across the southern border. The region contains many historical landmarks and UNESCO World Heritage Sites . It

1660-459: Is the legislative branch of the local government and is composed of 25 members elected in local elections every five years. The mayor or town president ( Prezydent miasta ) is the executive branch of the local government and is directly elected in the same municipal elections. Members of Parliament ( Sejm ) elected from Legnica- Jelenia Gora constituency: Legnica is twinned with: Legnica and its then ruler Count Conrad figure prominently in

1743-621: The Bohemian Crown which was part of the Holy Roman Empire; however, a number of duchies remained under the rule of the Polish dukes from the houses of Piast, Jagiellon and Sobieski as formal Bohemian fiefdoms , some until the 17th–18th centuries. In 1469, sovereignty over the region passed to Hungary , and in 1490, it returned to Bohemia. In 1526 Silesia passed with the Bohemian Crown to

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1826-669: The Brynica River, which separates it from Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in the Lesser Poland region. However, to many Poles today, Silesia ( Śląsk ) is understood to cover all of the area around Katowice, including Zagłębie. This interpretation is given official sanction in the use of the name Silesian Voivodeship ( województwo śląskie ) for the province covering this area. In fact, the word Śląsk in Polish (when used without qualification) now commonly refers exclusively to this area (also called Górny Śląsk or Upper Silesia). As well as

1909-636: The Diocese of Kraków . The Duchy of Krosno Odrzańskie ( Crossen ) was inherited by the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1476 and with the renunciation of King Ferdinand I and the estates of Bohemia in 1538, became an integral part of Brandenburg. From 1645 until 1666, the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz was held in pawn by the Polish House of Vasa as dowry of the Polish queen Cecylia Renata . In 1742, most of Silesia

1992-669: The Habsburg monarchy of Austria. The first map of Silesia was made by native son Martin Helwig . The city suffered during the Thirty Years' War . In 1633 a plague epidemic broke out, and in 1634 the Austrian army destroyed the suburbs. In 1668 Duke of Legnica Christian presented his candidacy to the Polish throne, however, in the 1669 Polish–Lithuanian royal election he wasn't chosen as King. In 1676, Legnica passed to direct Habsburg rule after

2075-511: The Habsburg monarchy . In the 15th century, several changes were made to Silesia's borders. Parts of the territories that had been transferred to the Silesian Piasts in 1178 were bought by the Polish kings in the second half of the 15th century (the Duchy of Oświęcim in 1457; the Duchy of Zator in 1494). The Bytom area remained in the possession of the Silesian Piasts, though it was a part of

2158-575: The Landkreis of Liegnitz communities of Alt Beckern (Piekary), Groß Beckern (Piekary Wielkie), Hummel, Liegnitzer Vorwerke, Pfaffendorf (Piątnica) und Prinkendorf (Przybków) were incorporated into the city limits. After the Treaty of Versailles following World War I , Liegnitz was part of the newly created Province of Lower Silesia from 1919 to 1938, then of the Province of Silesia from 1938 to 1941, and again of

2241-667: The Neisse was preliminarily transferred to Poland following the Potsdam Conference in 1945. The majority of the German population was either expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement or fled from the city. The city was repopulated with Poles, including expellees from pre-war eastern Poland after its annexation by the Soviet Union . Also Greeks , refugees of the Greek Civil War , settled in Legnica in 1950. As

2324-521: The Piast Castle , one of the largest in Poland. According to the Foreign direct investment ranking (FDI) from 2016, Legnica is one of the most progressive high-income cities in the Silesian region. As of 31 December 2012 Legnica has 102,708 inhabitants and is the third largest city in the voivodeship (after Wrocław and Wałbrzych ) and 38th in Poland. It also constitutes the southernmost and

2407-583: The Polish resistance movement were imprisoned and sentenced to death there. The Germans also established two forced labour camps in the city, as well as two prisoner of war labor subcamps of the POW camp located in Żagań (then Sagan ), and one labor subcamp of the Stalag VIII-A POW camp in Zgorzelec (then Görlitz ). After the defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II , Liegnitz and all of Silesia east of

2490-538: The Potsdam Agreement between the victorious Allies and became again part of Poland, although with a Soviet -installed communist regime . The small Lusatian strip west of the Oder–Neisse line , which had belonged to Silesia since 1815, became part of East Germany . As the result of the forced population shifts of 1945–48, today's inhabitants of Silesia speak the national languages of their respective countries. Previously German-speaking Lower Silesia had developed

2573-482: The Province of Silesia in 1815, in Germany Görlitz , Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis and neighbouring areas are considered parts of historical Silesia. Those districts, along with Poland's Lower Silesian Voivodeship and parts of Lubusz Voivodeship, make up the geographic region of Lower Silesia. Silesia has undergone a similar notional extension at its eastern extreme. Historically, it extended only as far as

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2656-619: The Prussian state following the Congress of Vienna , Liegnitz and the surrounding territory ( Landkreis Liegnitz ) were incorporated into the Regierungsbezirk (administrative district) of Liegnitz, within the Province of Silesia on 1 May 1816. Along with the rest of Prussia, the town became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the unification of Germany . On 1 January 1874 Liegnitz became

2739-525: The alternate history series The Crosstime Engineer , set in the period of 1230 to 1270, by Leo Frankowski . Silesia Silesia (see names below ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland , with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany . Its area is approximately 40,000 km (15,400 sq mi), and the population is estimated at 8,000,000. Silesia

2822-548: The 12th century it formed the Duchy of Silesia , a provincial duchy of Poland. As a result of further fragmentation, Silesia was divided into many duchies , ruled by various lines of the Polish Piast dynasty . In the 14th century, it became a constituent part of the Bohemian Crown Lands under the Holy Roman Empire , which passed to the Austrian Habsburg monarchy in 1526; however, a number of duchies remained under

2905-766: The 1970s under the People's Republic of Poland . During this period, Silesia became one of the world's largest producers of coal, with a record tonnage in 1979. Coal mining declined during the next two decades, but has increased again following the end of Communist rule. The 41 coal mines in Silesia are mostly part of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin , which lies in the Silesian Upland. The coalfield has an area of about 4,500 km (1,700 sq mi). Deposits in Lower Silesia have proven to be difficult to exploit and

2988-895: The Holocaust and had returned to Silesia. The newly formed Polish United Workers' Party created a Ministry of the Recovered Territories that claimed half of the available arable land for state-run collectivized farms. Many of the new Polish Silesians who resented the Germans for their invasion in 1939 and brutality in occupation now resented the newly formed Polish communist government for their population shifting and interference in agricultural and industrial affairs. The administrative division of Silesia within Poland has changed several times since 1945. Since 1999, it has been divided between Lubusz Voivodeship , Lower Silesian Voivodeship , Opole Voivodeship , and Silesian Voivodeship . Czech Silesia

3071-580: The Katowice area, historical Upper Silesia also includes the Opole region (Poland's Opole Voivodeship) and Czech Silesia. Czech Silesia consists of a part of the Moravian-Silesian Region and the Jeseník District in the Olomouc Region . Silesia is a resource-rich and populous region. Since the middle of the 18th century, coal has been mined. The industry had grown while Silesia was part of Germany, and peaked in

3154-568: The Municipal Library was opened, in 1948 a piano factory was founded, and in the years 1951-1959 Poland's first copper smelter was built in Legnica. After 1965 most parts of the preserved old town with its town houses were demolished, the historical layout was abolished, and the city was rebuilt in modern form. From 1945 to 1990, during the Cold War , the headquarters of the Soviet forces in Poland,

3237-528: The Old Polish words ślęg [ɕlɛŋk] or śląg [ɕlɔŋk] , which means dampness, moisture, or humidity. They disagree with the hypothesis of an origin for the name Śląsk from the name of the Silings tribe, an etymology preferred by some German authors. In Polish common usage, "Śląsk" refers to traditionally Polish Upper Silesia and today's Silesian Voivodeship , but less to Lower Silesia, which

3320-701: The Pious at the Battle of Legnica , which took place at Legnickie Pole near the city of Legnica . Upon the death of Orda Khan , the Mongols chose not to press forward further into Europe, but returned east to participate in the election of a new Grand Khan (leader). Between 1289 and 1292, Bohemian king Wenceslaus II became suzerain of some of the Upper Silesian duchies. Polish monarchs had not renounced their hereditary rights to Silesia until 1335. The province became part of

3403-454: The Pious of Silesia, supported by feudal nobility, which included in addition to Poles, Bavarian miners and military orders and Czech troops, was decisively defeated by the Mongols . The Mongols killed Henry and destroyed his forces, then turned south to rejoin the rest of the Mongol armies, which were massing at the Plain of Mohi in Hungary via Moravia against a coalition of King Bela IV and his armies, and Bela's Kipchak allies. After

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3486-426: The Province of Lower Silesia from 1941 to 1945. After the Nazi Party came to power in Germany, as early as 1933, a boycott of local Jewish premises was ordered, during the Kristallnacht in 1938 the synagogue was burned down, and in 1939 the local Polish population was terrorized and persecuted. A Nazi court prison was operated in the city with a forced labour subcamp. During World War II , several members of

3569-465: The Second World War, Silesia was inhabited mostly by Germans, with Poles a large minority, forming a majority in Upper Silesia . Silesia was also the home of Czech and Jewish minorities. The German population tended to be based in the urban centres and in the rural areas to the north and west, whilst the Polish population was mostly rural and could be found in the east and in the south. Ethnic structure of Prussian Upper Silesia ( Opole regency) during

3652-412: The Silesian Piasts, although their population was primarily Vistulan and not of Silesian descent. Walloons came to Silesia as one of the first foreign immigrant groups in Poland , probably settling in Wrocław since the 12th century, with further Walloon immigrants invited by Duke Henry the Bearded in the early 13th century. Since the 13th century, German cultural and ethnic influence increased as

3735-465: The Silesian mountain region (Hirschberg, Schneekoppe). After World War I, a part of Silesia, Upper Silesia , was contested by Germany and the newly independent Second Polish Republic . The League of Nations organized a plebiscite to decide the issue in 1921. It resulted in 60% of votes being cast for Germany and 40% for Poland. Following the third Silesian uprising (1921), however, the easternmost portion of Upper Silesia (including Katowice), with

3818-494: The Silesians are the largest ethnic or national minority in Poland, Germans being the second; both groups are located mostly in Upper Silesia. The Czech part of Silesia is inhabited by Czechs, Moravians , Silesians, and Poles . In the early 19th century the population of the Prussian part of Silesia was between 2/3 and 3/4 German-speaking, between 1/5 and 1/3 Polish-speaking, with Sorbs , Czechs , Moravians and Jews forming other smaller minorities (see Table 1. below). Before

3901-422: The St. Benedict monastery. Legnica was the most likely place of residence for Bolesław and it became the residence of the high dukes of Poland in 1163 and was the seat of a principality ruled from 1248 until 1675. Legnica became famous for the battle that took place at Legnickie Pole near the city on 9 April 1241 during the First Mongol invasion of Poland . The Christian army of the Polish duke Henry II

3984-404: The area in the 8th century. The city was first officially mentioned in chronicles from 1004, although settlement dates to the 7th century. Dendrochronological research proves that during the reign of Mieszko I of Poland , a new fortified settlement was built here in a style typical of the early Piast dynasty . It is mentioned in 1149 when High Duke Bolesław IV the Curly funded a chapel at

4067-400: The area's unprofitable mines were closed in 2000. In 2008, an estimated 35 billion tonnes of lignite reserves were found near Legnica, making them some of the largest in the world. From the fourth century BC, iron ore has been mined in the upland areas of Silesia. The same period had lead, copper, silver, and gold mining. Zinc, cadmium, arsenic, and uranium have also been mined in

4150-532: The battle ground, assuming they would be able to return when the war was over. However, they could not return, and those who had stayed were expelled and a new Polish population, including people displaced from former Eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union and from Central Poland, joined the surviving native Polish inhabitants of the region. After 1945 and in 1946, nearly all of the 4.5 million Silesians of German descent fled, or were interned in camps and expelled, including some thousand German Jews who survived

4233-504: The city in 1993. Between 1 June 1975 and 31 December 1998 Legnica was the capital of the Legnica Voivodeship . In 1992 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Legnica was established, Tadeusz Rybak became the first bishop of Legnica. New local newspapers and a radio station were founded in the 1990s. In 1997, Legnica was visited by Pope John Paul II . The city suffered in the 1997 Central European flood . Legnica has an oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification : Cfb ). Legnica

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4316-420: The city in the 18th century and Kings Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III of Poland traveled that route many times. The postal milestone of King Augustus II comes from that period. In 1742 most of Silesia, including Liegnitz, became part of the Kingdom of Prussia after King Frederick the Great's defeat of Austria in the War of the Austrian Succession . In 1760 during the Seven Years' War , Liegnitz

4399-401: The construction of a town hall, and in 1337 the first waterworks were built. In the years 1327–1380 a new Gothic church of Saint Peter (today's Cathedral) was erected in place of the old one, and is one of Legnica's landmarks since. Also by the 14th century the city walls were erected. In 1345 the first coins were produced in the local mint. In 1374, the potters' guild was founded, as one of

4482-474: The death of the last Silesian Piast duke and the last Piast duke overall, George William (son of Duke Christian), despite the earlier inheritance pact by Brandenburg and Silesia, by which it was to go to Brandenburg. The last Piast duke was buried in the St. John's church in Legnica in 1676. Silesian aristocracy was trained at the Liegnitz Ritter-Akademie , established in the early 18th century. One of two main routes connecting Warsaw and Dresden ran through

4565-425: The decision of the Entente Powers after insurrections by Poles and the Upper Silesian plebiscite , while the remaining former Austrian parts of Silesia were divided between Czechoslovakia and Poland. During World War II , as a result of German occupation the entire region was under control of Nazi Germany . In 1945, after World War II , most of the German-held Silesia was transferred to Polish jurisdiction by

4648-498: The discovery of gold in the Kaczawa River between Legnica and Złotoryja (Goldberg) . Unfortunately, such a growth rate can not be maintained long. Shortly after the city reached its maximum population increase, wooden buildings which had been erected during this period of rapid growth were devastated by a huge fire. The fire decreased the number of inhabitants in the city and halted any significant further development for many decades. Legnica, along with other Silesian duchies, became

4731-421: The earliest known sentence written in the Polish language, as well as a document which contains the oldest printed text in Polish, were created in Henryków and Wrocław in Silesia, respectively. In 1241, the Mongols conducted their first invasion of Poland , causing widespread panic and mass flight. They looted much of the region and defeated the combined Polish, Moravian and German forces led by Duke Henry II

4814-404: The east of it went to Poland. Polish Silesia was among the first regions invaded during Germany's 1939 attack on Poland , which started World War II . One of the claimed goals of Nazi German occupation , particularly in Upper Silesia, was the extermination of those whom Nazis viewed as " subhuman ", namely Jews and ethnic Poles. The Polish and Jewish population of the then Polish part of Silesia

4897-414: The economic development of the area. Legnica houses industrial plants belonging to KGHM Polska Miedź , one of the largest producers of copper and silver in the world. The company owns a large copper mill on the western outskirts of town. Legnica Special Economic Zone was established in 1997. Legnica is a regional academic center with seven universities enrolling approximately 16,000 students. Legnica

4980-446: The fierce battle that took place at Legnickie Pole near the city on 9 April 1241 during the first Mongol invasion of Poland , which ended in the defeat of the Polish-led Christian coalition by the Mongols . Legnica is an economic, cultural and academic centre in Lower Silesia , together with Wrocław . The city is renowned for its varied architecture , spanning from early medieval to modern period, and its preserved Old Town with

5063-405: The future king of Poland. The Protestant Reformation was introduced in the duchy as early as 1522 and the population became Lutheran . In 1526, a Protestant university was established in Legnica, which, however, was closed in 1529. In 1528 the first printing house in Legnica was established. After the death of King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia at Mohács in 1526, Legnica became a fief of

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5146-403: The largest urban center of a copper deposit ( Legnicko-Głogowski Okręg Miedziowy ) with agglomeration of 448,617 inhabitants. Legnica is the largest city of the conurbation and is a member of the Association of Polish Cities. Archaeological research conducted in eastern Legnica in the late 1970s, showed the existence of a bronze foundry and the graves of three metallurgists. The find indicates

5229-443: The medieval Polish name Lignica was considered archaic , the town was renamed Legnica. The transfer to Poland decided at Potsdam in 1945 was officially recognized by East Germany in 1950, by West Germany under Chancellor Willy Brandt in the 1970 Treaty of Warsaw , and finally by the reunited Germany by the Two Plus Four Agreement in 1990. By 1990 only a handful of Polonized Germans, prewar citizens of Liegnitz, remained of

5312-408: The name of a river (now Ślęza ) and mountain ( Mount Ślęża ) in mid-southern Silesia, which served as a place of cult for pagans before Christianization . Ślęża is listed as one of the numerous Pre-Indo-European topographic names in the region (see old European hydronymy ). According to some Polonists , the name Ślęża [ˈɕlɛ̃ʐa] or Ślęż [ɕlɛ̃ʂ] is directly related to

5395-405: The oldest in Silesia. Queen consort of Poland Hedwig of Sagan died in Legnica in 1390 and was buried in the local collegiate church, which has not survived to this day. As the capital of the Duchy of Legnica at the beginning of the 14th century, Legnica was one of the most important cities of Central Europe, having a population of nearly 16,000 residents. The city began to expand quickly after

5478-409: The pre-1945 German population. In 2010 the city celebrated the 65th anniversary of the return of Legnica to Poland and its liberation from Nazi Germany. The city was only partly damaged in World War II. In June 1945 Legnica was briefly the capital of the Lower Silesian (Wrocław) Voivodship, after the administration was moved there from Trzebnica and before it was finally moved to Wrocław . In 1947,

5561-432: The region around the 7th century, and by the early ninth century, their settlements had stabilized. Local West Slavs started to erect boundary structures like the Silesian Przesieka and the Silesia Walls . The eastern border of Silesian settlement was situated to the west of the Bytom , and east from Racibórz and Cieszyn . East of this line dwelt a closely related Lechitic tribe, the Vistulans . Their northern border

5644-465: The region, and one of the oldest dioceses in Poland, subjugated to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gniezno . Poland repulsed German invasions of Silesia in 1017 at Niemcza and in 1109 at Głogów . During the Fragmentation of Poland , Silesia and the rest of the country were divided into many smaller duchies ruled by various Silesian dukes . In 1178, parts of the Duchy of Kraków around Bytom, Oświęcim , Chrzanów , and Siewierz were transferred to

5727-464: The region. Lower Silesia features large copper mining and processing between the cities of Legnica , Głogów , Lubin , and Polkowice . In the Middle Ages, gold (Polish: złoto ) and silver (Polish: srebro ) were mined in the region, which is reflected in the names of the former mining towns of Złotoryja , Złoty Stok and Srebrna Góra . The region is known for stone quarrying to produce limestone, marl , marble, and basalt. The region also has

5810-407: The rule of Polish dukes from the houses of Piast, Jagiellon and Sobieski as formal Bohemian fiefdoms, some until the 17th–18th centuries. As a result of the Silesian Wars , the region was annexed by the German state of Prussia from Austria in 1742. After World War I , when the Poles and Czechs regained their independence, the easternmost part of Upper Silesia became again part of Poland by

5893-399: The seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica . As of 2023, Legnica had a population of 97,300 inhabitants. The city was first referenced in chronicles dating from the year 1004, although previous settlements could be traced back to the 7th century. The name "Legnica" was mentioned in 1149 under High Duke of Poland Bolesław IV the Curly . Legnica

5976-515: The so-called Northern Group of Forces , was located in the city. This fact had a strong influence on the life of the city. For much of the period, the city was divided into Polish and Soviet areas, with the latter closed to the public. These were first established in July 1945, when the Soviets forcibly ejected newly arrived Polish inhabitants from the parts of the city they wanted for their own use. The ejection

6059-627: The southern edge of the region, though at its south-eastern extreme it reaches the Silesian Beskids and Moravian-Silesian Beskids , which belong to the Carpathian Mountains range. Historically, Silesia was bounded to the west by the Kwisa and Bóbr Rivers, while the territory west of the Kwisa was in Upper Lusatia (earlier Milsko ). However, because part of Upper Lusatia was included in

6142-521: The third city in Lower Silesia (after Breslau and Görlitz ) to be raised to an urban district , although the district administrator of the surrounding Landkreis of Liegnitz continued to have his seat in the city. Its military garrison was home to Königsgrenadier-Regiment Nr. 7 a military unit formed almost exclusively out of Polish soldiers. The census of 1910 gave Liegnitz's population as 95.86% German , 0.15% German and Polish, 1.27% Polish , 2.26% Wendish , and 0.19% Czech . On 1 April 1937 parts of

6225-511: The two main wartime centers where medical experiments were conducted on kidnapped Polish children by Nazis. Czech Silesia was occupied by Germany as part of so-called Sudetenland . In Silesia, Nazi Germany operated the Gross-Rosen concentration camp , several prisoner-of-war camps for Allied POWs (incl. the major Stalag VIII-A , Stalag VIII-B , Stalag VIII-C camps), numerous Nazi prisons and thousands of forced labour camps, including

6308-567: The war, nonetheless, the city was developing rapidly. In 1258 at the church of St. Peter, a parish school was established, probably the first of its kind in Poland. Around 1278 a Dominican monastery was founded by Bolesław II the Horned , who was buried there as the only monarch of Poland to be buried in Legnica. Already by 1300 there was a city council in Legnica. Duke Bolesław III the Generous granted new trade privileges in 1314 and 1318 and allowed

6391-492: Was a hereditary possession of noble houses and after the rise of modern nation-states , resulting in an abundance of castles , especially in the Jelenia Góra valley . The first known states to hold power in Silesia were probably those of Greater Moravia at the end of the 9th century and Bohemia early in the 10th century. In the 10th century, Silesia was incorporated into the early Polish state, and after its fragmentation in

6474-571: Was in the valley of the Barycz River, north of which lived the Western Polans tribe who gave Poland its name . The first known states in Silesia were Greater Moravia and Bohemia . In the 10th century, the Polish ruler Mieszko I of the Piast dynasty incorporated Silesia into the newly established Polish state . In 1000, the Diocese of Wrocław was established as the oldest Catholic diocese in

6557-489: Was most likely the seat of Bolesław and it became the residence of the dukes of Legnica from 1248 until 1675. Legnica is a city over which the Piast dynasty reigned the longest, for about 700 years, from the time of ruler Mieszko I of Poland after the creation of the Polish state in the 10th century, until 1675 and the death of the last Piast duke George William . Legnica is one of the historical burial sites of Polish monarchs and consorts . Legnica became renowned for

6640-428: Was perceived by some as a particularly brutal action, and rumours circulated exaggerating its severity, though no evidence of anyone being killed in the course of it has come to light. In April 1946 city officials estimated that there were 16,700 Poles, 12,800 Germans, and 60,000 Soviets in Legnica. In October 1956, the largest anti-Soviet demonstrations in Lower Silesia took place in Legnica. The last Soviet units left

6723-658: Was seized by King Frederick II of Prussia in the War of the Austrian Succession , eventually becoming the Prussian Province of Silesia in 1815; consequently, Silesia became part of the German Empire when it was proclaimed in 1871. The Silesian capital Breslau became at that time one of the big cities in Germany. Breslau was a center of Jewish life in Germany and an important place of science (university) and industry (manufacturing of locomotives). German mass tourism started in

6806-467: Was subjected to genocide involving expulsions , mass murder and deportation to Nazi concentration camps and forced labour camps, while Germans were settled in pursuit of Lebensraum . Two thousand Polish intellectuals, politicians, and businessmen were murdered in the Intelligenzaktion Schlesien in 1940 as part of a Poland-wide Germanization program . Silesia also housed one of

6889-579: Was the site of the Battle of Liegnitz when Frederick's army defeated an Austrian army led by Laudon . During the Napoleonic Wars and Polish national liberation fights , in 1807 Polish uhlans were stationed in the city, and in 1813, the Prussians, under Field Marshal Blücher , defeated the French forces of MacDonald in the Battle of Katzbach (Kaczawa) nearby. After the administrative reorganization of

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