Prudnik Land ( Polish : ziemia prudnicka , German : Neustädter Land ) is a part of the historical region of Upper Silesia , located in southern Poland . It's named after the town of Prudnik , the largest town in the region.
25-669: Towns located in the region are: Prudnik, Biała , Głogówek and Strzeleczki . Throughout a large part of its history, the region had been ruled by the Duchy of Opole and other Silesian Duchies , formed as a result of the medieval fragmentation of Piast -ruled Poland. Following the Silesian Wars the region found itself within Prussia , and from 1871 it was also part of Germany. Following Germany's defeat in World War II in 1945, in accordance with
50-639: A 31 km (16 mi) spur connecting the city to the northeast with the town of Gogolin , was completed on December 4 of the same year. In 1933 the Nazi Party came to power in Germany, and in 1934 Polish-language church services were cancelled. After World War II , the town passed again to Poland in accordance to the Potsdam Agreement , and its original name Biała was restored. The biggest corporation in Biała
75-519: A result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Prudnik , which lies 46 kilometres (29 mi) south-west of the regional capital Opole . The county also contains the towns of Głogówek , lying 21 km (13 mi) east of Prudnik, and Biała , 11 km (7 mi) north-east of Prudnik. The county covers an area of 571.16 square kilometres (220.5 sq mi). As of 2019 its total population
100-466: Is 55,325, out of which the population of Prudnik is 21,041, that of Głogówek is 5,592, that of Biała is 2,426, and the rural population is 26,266. Prudnik County is bordered by Nysa County to the north-west, Opole County to the north, Krapkowice County and Kędzierzyn-Koźle County to the east, and Głubczyce County to the south-east. It also borders the Czech Republic to the south. The county
125-560: Is a small town in southern Poland , located in the southern part of Opole Voivodeship in Prudnik County near the border with the Czech Republic . It is the administrative seat of Gmina Biała . As of December 2021, it has a population of 2,336. The town was founded in the 12th–13th century. Over the centuries, Biała was located within Poland, Austria , Prussia , Germany, and eventually again Poland. A significant German minority resides in
150-573: Is characterized by numerous hills. Most of the Prudnik Land is occupied by fertile soils. The most fertile soils are located in the vicinity of Wierzch , southwest of Głogówek and near Biała. The least fertile soils are found near the villages of Dobra , Steblów, Wawrzyńcowice , Mokra , Brzeźnica . Bia%C5%82a, Opole Voivodeship Biała , informally Biała Prudnicka [ˈbʲawa prudˈɲit͡ska] ( German : Zülz, Zültz, as well as older Zel(c)z, Zeltz , Silesian : Biołŏ, Biołŏ Prudnickŏ ),
175-727: The Oder–Neisse line , Prudnik Land became again part of Poland. Prudnik Land is located in the southwestern part of Upper Silesia, in the region known as Opolian Silesia , near the Czech Republic–Poland border . The western edge of the Prudnik Landmarks the border between historic Upper and Lower Silesia . In the current administrative division, the Prudnik Land is located in the Opole Voivodeship . The current Prudnik County does not coincide with its borders. In addition to
200-524: The Piast dynasty until 1532, although in 1327 it fell under the suzerainty of Bohemia . In the southwestern corner of their domain, the dukes of Opole built a castle, named Biała (in medieval documents mentioned under the Latinized name Bela ), on the Biała river. This castle was the seat of power of a local mayor of the palace . Around the foot of the castle, a village, settled by new colonists, including Germans,
225-584: The Russian Partition of Poland. Polish activist and publicist Filip Robota [ pl ] , who was a Polish teacher in the town in the 1870s, became the subject of an investigation by the local Prussian administration and police for writing about this practice in the Gazeta Toruńska , a major Polish newspaper in the Prussian Partition of Poland. The castle, like the town, passed through
250-665: The Jewish population of Zülz. The town was doubly devastated in the 1630s, as both the Thirty Years' War and the Black Death killed nearly the entire population of the town. To mark the terrible occurrence, a memorial remembering those who died around that time was constructed. In 1645 along with Opole and Racibórz it returned to Poland under the House of Vasa , and in 1666 it fell to Bohemia again. Despite being outside of Polish rule after 1666, in
275-471: The Prudnik Land is located in the Opawskie Mountains ( Eastern Sudetes ). Mountains can be found in the vicinity of Prudnik, Jarnołtówek, Pokrzywna, Moszczanka , Wieszczyna , Dębowiec and Trzebina . The highest mountains in the Prudnik Land are: Biskupia Kopa (890 m), Srebrna Kopa (785 m) and Zamkowa Góra (571 m). The area around Głogówek and Strzeleczki is mostly flat land. The area near Biała
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#1733085095345300-431: The breakup of the local administrative units to which Zülz belonged, in 1841. The city of Zülz purchased the castle outright in 1874, which was then used for city business and administration until 1923. The castle became a girls' school in 1926. The city was connected to the railroad network on October 22, 1896, with the completion of a 12 km (7 mi) railroad spur from the nearby town of Prudnik. Another connection,
325-444: The city had acquired a large Jewish population. Over the next 200 years, the town passed into the possession of various groups, including the barons of Prószków . This was significant, as under the rule of the barons, Zülz was only one of two Silesian cities, the other being Głogów , which did not expel their Jewish populations. Under a 1601 petition of the barons, Bohemian King Rudolf II extended special protective privileges to
350-566: The city the nickname Judenzülz, although the local Jewish community had given the town another nickname, the Hebrew Makom Zadik (English: Place of the Protected). After the 1742 partition of Silesia , Zülz was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia . The main effect of this came several decades later, in the form of an emancipation decree issued by Frederick William III . This proclamation ended
375-520: The east, was already named Zülz, by the colonists, and was renamed Alt Zülz (English: Old Zülz). The church at Alt Zülz, which had been the main church in the area, was made a satellite church of a new, larger city church, built in 1400 by local Polish dukes. Zülz became the seat of a vogt in 1311. In 1428 it was plundered by the Hussites . In 1502 and 1503 Duke Jan II the Good granted various new privileges to
400-483: The emerging Polish state under its first historic ruler Mieszko I of Poland in 990. A Polish stronghold existed in present-day Biała, and in the 12th-13th century it was already a seat of local castellans . Biała was located on a trade route connecting Kraków and Nysa , and various crafts developed. As a result of the fragmentation of Poland , it was part of the duchies of Silesia , Opole , Niemodlin and Oleśnica , and remained ruled by local Polish dukes of
425-538: The entire area of Prudnik County (gminas of Prudnik , Lubrza , Głogówek and Biała ), the Prudnik Land also includes the entire gmina Strzeleczki , gmina Walce excluding the village of Stradunia , the villages of Borek , Kórnica , Nowy Dwór Prudnicki , Pietna , Steblów and Ściborowice in gmina Krapkowice , villages Jarnołtówek and Pokrzywna in gmina Głuchołazy , villages Biernatów and Klisino , and villages Ścinawa Mała , Borek , Przechód and Rzymkowice in gmina Korfantów . The southwestern part of
450-476: The late 17th century church services in Polish were still held in Biała and surrounding villages. Special commercial rights granted to the town in 1699 allowed local Jews to do business with people from Bohemia , Silesia , and the rest of Poland , giving them rights equal to local Christian merchants. These rights served as the impetus for a strong Jewish immigration into Zülz, mainly in the 18th century. This earned
475-451: The ownership of many different groups. In 1727, the castle was still in the possession of the barons of Prószków (then Proskau ), who began a restoration of both the castle and its architecturally notable 16th-century cloister . In 1748, the castle passed into the ownership of Bartolomaius von Oderfeld, as he was the new ruler of the area. In 1756, the castle became the property of count Rudolf Matuszka from Bohemia and his descendants, until
500-399: The seat of its local parish , served as a setting-off point for further settlement in the region, which was densely forested and bordered Moravia . The village was first mentioned historically in 1225. In 1270 Biała, was a county seat, and it was granted town rights in 1311, later modeled on Środa Śląska and Wrocław . Around the year 1270, a new settlement, named Zolez and later Zülz,
525-461: The second-class status of Jews. Many Jews took this opportunity and moved to larger cities, leaving Zülz. This emigration was so strong that by 1914, the Jewish community in Zülz was largely defunct. At the same time the indigenous Polish population was subject to increasing Germanisation policies. Due to the lack of Polish schools, local Poles sent their children to schools in so-called Congress Poland in
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#1733085095345550-570: The town. In 1335, the town became a Presbyterium, a local seat of power of the Roman Catholic Church . However, this was not permanent. After the death of the last duke of Opole, Jan II the Good in 1532, the town was incorporated to the Habsburg -ruled Kingdom of Bohemia and the Habsburgs soon mortgaged the town's ecclesiastical position to pay off debts. Also by the end of the 14th century,
575-528: The vicinity. The town also possesses numerous architectural monuments and historic buildings. The name " Biała " was created after Polish word biały (white). Biała is located in the historic Silesia ( Upper Silesia ) region at the confluence of the Biała river. The city is situated on the Biała Uplands ( Polish : Wysoczyzna Bialska ; a part of the Silesian Lowlands ). The region became part of
600-492: Was Zakłady Przemysłu Dziewiarskiego i Pończoszniczego w Białej Prudnickiej. Currently, the major industrial plant in Biała is Ustronianka Sp. z o.o. See twin towns of Gmina Biała . Prudnik County Prudnik County ( Polish : powiat prudnicki ) is a unit of territorial administration and local government ( powiat ) in Opole Voivodeship , south-western Poland , on the Czech border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as
625-479: Was founded between castle and the small surrounding village. Its construction was highly traditional. The town was walled after its completion, with two gates being constructed to allow access. A marketplace was built in the center of the town as well. Around this time, several surrounding municipalities changed their names. Biała, named for the castle, became the Old Town, while the new settlement, 4 km (2 mi) to
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