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37-563: The town is the seat of Strzelin County and also of the smaller municipality ( gmina ) of Strzelin . It is known for its extensive granite quarries, and contains Europe's deepest granite quarry. It is 123 meters deep and covers 19.5 ha The settlement dates back to the beginnings of the Polish state . In the 12th century the Romanesque St. Godehard's Rotunda was built. The town was mentioned in

74-468: A result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. The county covers an area of 622.3 square kilometres (240.3 sq mi). Its administrative seat is the town of Strzelin , and its only other town is Wiązów . As of 2019 the total population of the county is 43,713, out of which the population of Strzelin is 12,460, that of Wiązów is 2,241, and the rural population is 29,012. Strzelin County

111-567: A sugar factory in 1871. In 1871, a railway line connecting Strzelin with regional capital Wrocław was opened. Soon the town gained railway connections with other cities in Lower Silesia . During World War II , the Germans brought thousands of prisoners of war to the town and the surrounding area: Poles, Frenchmen, Belgians, Russians, Englishmen and Yugoslavs. Near the end of the war, in January 1945,

148-925: Is a National Institute and Library of great importance, and the Pan Tadeusz Museum, containing the manuscript of the Polish national epos, Pan Tadeusz by Adam Mickiewicz , serves as its branch. Bolesławiec , center of pottery production since the Middle Ages, hosts the Museum of Ceramics. The former gold mines in Złoty Stok and Złotoryja , tin and cobalt mine in Krobica , nickel mine in Szklary , coal mine in Nowa Ruda and uranium ore mine in Kowary are available for tourists. There

185-713: Is also an underground tourist route in historic cellars under the old town of Kłodzko . Lower Silesia boasts three World Heritage Sites and 15 Historic Monuments of Poland : There are several burial sites of Polish monarchs and dukes from the Piast dynasty , including at Henryków , Lubiąż , Trzebnica , and several in Legnica and Wrocław. The Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Krzeszów and Church of St. John

222-598: Is bordered by Lubusz Voivodeship to the north-west, Greater Poland Voivodeship to the north-east, Opole Voivodeship to the south-east, the Czech Republic ( Hradec Králové Region , Liberec Region , Olomouc Region and Pardubice Region ) to the south, and Germany ( Saxony ) to the west. Wrocław Airport serves as an international and domestic airport. Wrocław Główny is the largest railway station in Poland, serving an average of 21.2 million passengers annually. It offers

259-660: Is bordered by Wrocław County to the north, Oława County to the north-east, Brzeg County to the east, Nysa County to the south, Ząbkowice Śląskie County to the south-west and Dzierżoniów County to the west. The county is subdivided into five gminas (two urban-rural and three rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population. 50°47′N 17°04′E  /  50.783°N 17.067°E  / 50.783; 17.067 Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesian Voivodeship ( Polish : Województwo dolnośląskie , [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ dɔlnɔˈɕlɔ̃skjɛ] ) in southwestern Poland,

296-474: Is divided into 30 counties ( powiaty ), four of which are city counties. These are further divided into 169 gminy . Lower Silesia is divided into three additional delegation districts governed by the provincial government, with Wrocław serving as the capital of the administrative region: The counties are listed in the following table (ordering within categories is by decreasing population). Speedway , football , basketball , handball and volleyball enjoy

333-683: Is host to several spa towns , many castles and palaces , and the Giant Mountains with several ski resorts . For this reason tourism is a large part of this region's economy. In the past 1,200 years, the region has been part of Great Moravia , the Medieval Kingdom of Poland , the Crown of Bohemia , Kingdom of Hungary , Habsburg monarchy (Austria), Kingdom of Prussia , the German Empire , and modern Poland after 1945. Silesian tribes settled

370-519: Is mostly located within the voivodeship. The village of Henryków Lubański contains Poland's oldest tree, an over-1200-year-old yew , listed as a natural monument . The voivodeship has a number of mineral springs and is host to a large number of spa towns . The highest point in the voivodeship is Mount Śnieżka (1603 m above sea level) while the lowest point is located in the Oder River Valley (69 m above sea level). Lower Silesian Voivodeship

407-483: Is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. It covers an area of 19,946 square kilometres (7,701 sq mi), and as of 2019 has a total population of 2,899,986. It is one of the wealthiest provinces in Poland as natural resources such as copper , brown coal and rock materials are widely present. Its capital and largest city is Wrocław , situated on the Oder River . The voivodeship

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444-647: The Ostsiedlung , the cultural and ethnic Germanic influence grew with an influx of immigrants from the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire , and since the 1330s when it was subjugated to the Kingdom of Bohemia , although large portions of Lower Silesia still formed Polish-ruled duchies under the houses of Piast, Jagiellon and Sobieski , some up to the 17th and 18th century. Chief medieval ducal capitals of

481-610: The Duchy of Legnica , remaining under rule of the Piasts until 1675. In the 15th century, the Hussites captured and plundered Strzelin three times. After that, in the 15th and 16th centuries the town flourished. The town's wealth came from clothmaking, shoemaking , tanning , brewing , metalworking . Strzelin was plundered many times by troops from various countries during the Thirty Years' War . In

518-768: The Market Square , the Cathedral Island and Wrocław's dwarfs . The Festival of Good Beer is held every year of June. The annual international Chopin Festival is held in the Fryderyk Chopin Theatre in the town of Duszniki-Zdrój . Other major attraction of the town is the Museum of Papermaking , established in a 17th-century paper mill . Śnieżka is the highest peak of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship and

555-484: 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 voivodeship contains 8 cities and 83 towns. The cities, governed by a city mayor ( Polish : prezydent miasta ), are listed below in descending order of population (as of 2019): Lower Silesian Voivodeship

592-651: The Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. Although much of the region is relatively low-lying, Lower Silesia includes the Sudeten Foreland , as well as part of the Sudetes mountain range, that runs along the Polish/ Czech border. Ski resorts in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship include Karpacz and Szklarska Poręba in the Karkonosze mountains. Lower Silesian Forest , the largest continuous forest of Poland,

629-660: The Protestant Reformation , the Silesian Wars , Napoleonic Wars , industrialisation and the two World Wars . Before and during World War II , the region's Polish and Jewish populations were persecuted by Nazi Germany . During the war, Germany operated numerous prisons and camps in the region, most notably the Gross-Rosen concentration camp and Stalag VIII-A prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs of various nationalities, both with multiple subcamps scattered throughout

666-511: The 13th and 14th centuries by its Old Polish name of Strelin . The name of the town derives from the Polish word strzała , meaning " arrow ". The town's coat of arms is an example of canting , as it depicts an arrow, alluding to the town's name. It was granted town rights in 1292 by Duke Bolko I the Strict of the Piast dynasty , who also built defensive walls. As a result of the fragmentation of Poland into smaller duchies, it became part of

703-451: The 17th century Strzelin was located in a still predominantly Polish-speaking area. Strzelin was inhabited mainly by Poles and, as a result of immigration, by Germans and Jews . After the death of the last Piast duke George William in 1675, the town was incorporated into the Habsburg -ruled Bohemian (Czech) Kingdom and the period of religious tolerance ended. The town's self-government

740-640: The Archdiocese Museum in Wrocław, which contains the Book of Henryków . Wrocław also hosts the Post and Telecommunications Museum, Poland's chief museum dedicated to postal history. The Regional Museum in Środa Śląska holds the Środa Treasure , containing medieval gold and silver coins, jewellery and royal regalia , considered one of the most precious archaeological findings of 20th-century Europe. The Ossolineum in Wrocław

777-810: The Baptist in Legnica contain entire Baroque mausoleums of the Piast dukes from the Świdnica and Legnica lines, respectively. Other rather unique historic structures include the Skull Chapel in Kudowa-Zdrój and the Vang Stave Church in Karpacz . The Ducal Tower in Siedlęcin contains one of the best preserved medieval frescos in Poland, and the world's only in situ depiction of Sir Lancelot . World War II sites include

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814-746: The German authorities displaced all the town's population. The German mayor of the town ordered to blow up the town hall tower and the tower of the Holy Cross church. On one of the town's squares, Germans hanged six Polish workers, who were hiding in the abandoned town. It was severely damaged in the course of the Lower Silesian Offensive of the Red Army against the Wehrmacht in February 1945. In May 1945 Strzelin

851-427: The area were Wrocław , Legnica , Głogów , Świdnica and Jawor . Lower Silesia was, during the Middle Ages , one of Poland's cultural centers. The Book of Henryków (1273), which contains the earliest known sentence written in the Polish language, as well as a document which contains the oldest printed text in Polish, were both created within it. The first granting of municipal privileges in Poland took place in

888-467: The cities of Legnica , Głogów , Lubin and Polkowice produces copper , as well as other valuable minerals, making Poland the second largest producer of copper in Europe, and the largest producer of silver and rhenium in Europe and one of the largest in the world (as of 2024). Strzegom and its surroundings are the site of granite mining, and the town is called the "capital of Polish granite". One of

925-445: The domestic and international connections of various carriers. The A4 motorway , A8 motorway , A18 motorway and S3 Expressway , S5 Expressway , S8 Expressway also run through the voivodeship. Tourism is important for Lower Silesian Voivodeship. There are 99 castles and hundreds of palaces. A lot are located Jelenia Góra Valley . Wrocław being the largest city in the voivodeship has many sights and attractions, including

962-476: The lands at the end of the first millennium after the Migration Period . In the 9th century, the region became part of Great Moravia under Svatopluk I of Moravia and in the 10th century, Mieszko I of the Piast dynasty eventually incorporated the region to Poland. The region withstood German invasions with decisive Polish victories at Niemcza (1017) and Głogów (1109), both commemorated with monuments. It

999-762: The museum at the former Nazi German Gross-Rosen concentration camp and memorials at the sites of other Nazi camps and prisons and to the Polish resistance movement , etc. A portion of the underground structures built as part of the unfinished Nazi German Project Riese is available for tourists. There are also the Kłodzko and Srebrna Góra fortresses, which initially served for military purposes, and during World War II as German prisons for prisoners of various nationalities, especially Polish. Protected areas in Lower Silesian Voivodeship: and many areas of Natura 2000 network. The gross domestic product (GDP) of

1036-622: The province was 41.1 billion euro in 2018, accounting for 8.3% of the Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €23,400 or 78% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 85% of the EU average. Lower Silesia Voivodeship is the province with the second highest GDP per capita in Poland. The wealth of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship is partly due to mining and production of various minerals. The Legnica-Głogów Copper Basin (Polish: Legnicko-Głogowski Okręg Miedziowy ) with

1073-571: The province. In 1469, Lower Silesia passed to Hungary , and in 1490 it fell back to Bohemia, then ruled by the Jagiellonian dynasty, then together with it became part of the Habsburg monarchy (1526). In 1742/44, the territory was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia , and subsequently became part of the German Empire (1871). Over the centuries, Lower Silesia has experienced several epochal events such as

1110-597: The region and beyond, including forced labour camps at the Project Riese construction project. There was also a camp for kidnapped Polish children up to 5 years of age deemed " racially worthless " in Wąsosz , and a youth prison in Wołów with several forced labour subcamps in the region, whereas Kamieniec Ząbkowicki was the place of Aktion T4 murders of mentally ill children by involuntary euthanasia . In 1945, Lower Silesia

1147-476: 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. Burial sights of medieval Polish monarchs from the Piast dynasty are located in

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1184-488: The three largest lignite mines in Poland is located in Bogatynia . Wałbrzych and Nowa Ruda are former bituminous coal mining centers. Szklary was the location of the country's sole nickel ore mine, and one of only five places in the world, where the rare chrysoprase , carnelian and opal were extracted, and the place of discovery of the extremely rare szklaryite , nioboholtite and titanoholtite minerals. In

1221-401: The whole of the Sudetes . The voivodeship contains 11 spa towns ( Długopole-Zdrój , Duszniki-Zdrój , Jedlina-Zdrój , Kudowa-Zdrój , Lądek-Zdrój , Polanica-Zdrój , Przerzeczyn-Zdrój , Szczawno-Zdrój , Świeradów-Zdrój ), more than any other province of Poland. There are various museums, including the major National Museum in Wrocław with the branch Racławice Panorama Museum, and

1258-569: Was divided into small realms reigned by Silesian branches of Piast dukes after the testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth in 1138. Wrocław was mentioned as one of three centers of the Kingdom of Poland, along with Kraków and Sandomierz , in the early-12th-century Gesta principum Polonorum chronicle. In 1241, it was the place of the Battle of Legnica , the largest battle of the Mongol invasions of Poland. With

1295-533: Was handed over to the Polish administration. As of 2019, the town has a population of 12,460. See twin towns of Gmina Strzelin . Strzelin County Strzelin County [ˈstʂɛlʲin] ( Polish : powiat strzeliński ) is a unit of territorial administration and local government ( powiat ) in Lower Silesian Voivodeship , south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as

1332-462: Was limited and the tax pressure increased. In 1742 the town was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia . Afterwards the last remains of the town's autonomy were liquidated and a Germanisation action took place. During the Napoleonic Wars , in 1807 Polish-Italian troops marched through the town, and in 1815 also Russian troops. In the 19th century new factories were established: a brick factory in 1868,

1369-473: Was made again part of Poland as agreed at the post-war Potsdam Conference . As a consequence, Lower Silesia suffered a nearly total loss of its pre-war population between 1945 and 1950. Polish citizens dispossessed by the Soviets were then settled in the now emptied lands. The voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Wrocław , Legnica , Wałbrzych and Jelenia Góra Voivodeships, following

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