Świebodzice (; szl, Frybork; german: Freiburg) is a town in south-western

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

with 22,793 inhabitants (). It is situated in

Świdnica County __NOTOC__ Świdnica County ( pl, powiat świdnicki) 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 a result of the Polish local ...

Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesian Voivodeship, or Lower Silesia Province, in southwestern Poland, is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. The voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Wrocław, Legnica, Wałbrz ...

(from 1975–1998 it was in the former

Wałbrzych Voivodeship Walbrzych Voivodeship ( pl, województwo wałbrzyskie) was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Major cities and towns (population in 1995) * ...

). The town is situated close to

Książ Castle Książ Castle ( pl, Zamek Książ, ; german: Schloss Fürstenstein) is a castle in northern Wałbrzych in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland. The largest castle in the region of Silesia, it is the third-largest in Poland behind Malbork Castle ...

, which during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, together with the cave complex, was expanded to create private quarters for

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. The town dates back to the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...

. It was granted

town rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

by 1279. During

, the Germans established a

subcamp Subcamps (german: KZ-Außenlager), also translated as satellite camps, were outlying detention centres (''Haftstätten'') that came under the command of a main concentration camp run by the SS in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. The Nazi ...

of the

Gross-Rosen concentration camp , known for = , location = , built by = , operated by = , commandant = , original use = , construction = , in operation = Summer of 1940 – 14 February 1945 , gas cham ...

in the town. In 1957 Pełcznica, and in 1973 Ciernie, were included within the town limits as its new districts.

Sports

football club is based in Świebodzice.

Notable people

Gustav Becker Gustav Eduard Becker (May 2, 1819 in Oels, Silesia - September 17, 1885 in Berchtesgaden) was a German clockmaker and founder of the brand Gustav Becker. Biography Early life Becker learned clockmaking in Silesia and enriched his skills by lear ...

(1819–1885), German clockmaker *

Martin Kirschner Martin Kirschner (28 October 1879 – 30 August 1942) was a German surgeon. Kirschner was born in Breslau, the son of Margarethe Kalbeck (sister of Max Kalbeck) and Judge Martin Kirschner (1842–1912), who later served as city councillor ...

(1842–1912), Mayor of Berlin *

Jan Mikulicz-Radecki Jan Mikulicz-Radecki (german: Johann Freiherr von Mikulicz-Radecki) was a German-Polish-Austrian surgeon who worked mainly in the German Empire. He was born on 16 May 1850 in Czerniowce in the Austrian Empire (present-day Chernivtsi in Ukraine) ...

(1850–1905), Polish surgeon, one of the pioneers of

antiseptics An antiseptic (from Greek ἀντί ''anti'', "against" and σηπτικός ''sēptikos'', "putrefactive") is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putre ...

and aseptic techniques *

Alfred Zucker Alfred J. R. E. Zucker (January 23, 1852 – August 2, 1913)
Guillermo ...

(1852–1913), German architect * Wilhelm Niepelt (1862–1936), German scientist *

Emil Krebs Emil Krebs (15 November 1867 in Freiburg in Schlesien – 31 March 1930 in Berlin) was a German polyglot and sinologist. He mastered 69 languages in speech and writing and studied 120 other languages.Cecile und Oskar Vogt Archiv, Düsseldorf ...

(1867–1930), German scientist, noted polyglot who spoke a total of 68 languages at the time of his death * Hartmut Kilger (born 1943), President of the German Lawyer's Association (2003–2009) *

Anna Zalewska Anna Elżbieta Zalewska (née Gąsior; born 6 July 1965) is a Polish politician, and former Minister of National Education, serving 2015 to 2019. Since 2007, Zalewska has been a Member of the Sejm and she has worked there until a transition to th ...

(born 1965), politician, Minister of National Education of Poland *

Krzysztof Stelmach Krzysztof Stelmach (born 11 November 1967) is a Polish professional volleyball coach and former player. He was a member of the Poland national team from 1987 to 1997 and a participant in the Olympic Games Atlanta 1996. Personal life He has a ...

(born 1967), former Polish volleyball player with 274 games played for the

Poland men's national volleyball team The Poland national men's volleyball team is controlled by the Polish Volleyball Federation, which represents the country in international competitions and friendly matches. Poland is one of the world's strongest teams, they are ranked first in ...

Jarosław Krzyżanowski Jarosław Krzyżanowski (born 10 February 1975) is a Polish football manager and former player who played as a midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive ro ...

(born 1975), retired Polish footballer * Eliza Surdyka (born 1977), Polish Olympic cross-country skier * Marcin Kokoszka (born 1984), Polish footballer * Paweł Fajdek (born 1989), Polish hammer-thrower

Twin towns – sister cities

Świebodzice is twinned with: * Hrušov, Slovakia *

Jilemnice Jilemnice (; german: Starkenbach) is a town in Semily District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,400 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument ...

, Czech Republic *

Marjina Horka Marjina Horka or Maryina Gorka ( be, Мар'іна Горка; russian: Марьина Горка; pl, Maryjna Górka) is a town in Minsk Region, Belarus, and the administrative center of Pukhavichy District. As of 2009 its population was 22,500 ...

, Belarus *

Waldbröl Waldbröl is a town in the southern part of the Oberbergischer Kreis (upper Berg county), in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Location The town is located on the slopes of the Nutscheid range of hills and is part of the Bergisches Land ...

, Germany

Gallery

Swiebodzice town hall 2015.JPG, Town hall Świebodzice - city walls 01.jpg, Medieval town walls Willa Mikulicza 2.JPG, Villa of

WK14 Świebodzice (1) Travelarz.jpg, Train station

References

External links

Jewish Community in Świebodzice
on Virtual Shtetl Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Świdnica County {{Świdnica-geo-stub