Bielawa (german: Langenbielau; szl, Bielawa) is a town in southwestern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. Since 1999, it has been situated in Dzierżoniów County,

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, Wałb ...

. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of the Wałbrzych Voivodeship. As of December 2021, it has a population of 29,232. Bielawa lies in the central part of Lower Silesia, along the Bielawica stream in the Owl Mountains region. The town covers an area in excess of . Bielawa lies at an altitude range of 280 and 964 m above sea level, in the Owl Mountains. The town is a year-round tourist destination; its outdoor attractions include four major

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A His ...

trails of varying difficulty in an park, as well as

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from tw ...

trails and

ski lift A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/ Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald. Types * Aeria ...

History

The oldest known mention of Bielawa dates back to 1288, when it was part of fragmented Piast-ruled

. Its name is of Polish origin and is derived from the word ''biela'', ''bila'', current Polish ''biała'' ("white"). In 1720 the first brick house was built in the village and in 1741 it was captured and afterwards annexed by

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

. In 1805 Christian Dierig founded a weaving company (''Christian Dierig AG''). During the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, the village was occupied by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. In 1844 it was the site of the Weavers' Uprising, brutally crushed by the Prussians. From 1871 to 1945 it was part of Germany. In 1891 the Dzierżoniów–Bielawa railway line opened. In 1924 Bielawa obtained

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 traditio ...

. 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the Germans established the ''FAL Langenbielau II'' subcamp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp in the town. In 1945 it was captured by the Soviets and eventually reintegrated with Poland.

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, Albania, Greeks in Italy, ...

, refugees of the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

, settled in Bielawa in the 1950s.

Demographics

ImageSize = width:630 height:300 PlotArea = left:50 right:20 top:25 bottom:30 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late Colors = id:linegrey2 value:gray(0.9) id:linegrey value:gray(0.7) id:cobar value:rgb(0.0,0.7,0.8) id:cobar2 value:rgb(0.6,0.9,0.6) DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:0 till:35000 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5000 start:0 gridcolor:linegrey ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1000 start:0 gridcolor:linegrey2 PlotData = color:cobar width:19 align:left bar:1870 from:0 till:12000 bar:1939 from:0 till:20116 bar:1946 from:0 till:17269 bar:1950 from:0 till:22367 bar:1955 from:0 till:25520 bar:1960 from:0 till:28090 bar:1965 from:0 till:30869 bar:1970 from:0 till:31051 bar:1975 from:0 till:32328 bar:1980 from:0 till:32309 bar:1985 from:0 till:33983 bar:1990 from:0 till:34344 bar:1992 color:cobar2 from:0 till:34851 bar:1997 from:0 till:34008 bar:2002 from:0 till:31787 bar:2007 from:0 till:31106 bar:2012 from:0 till:31480 bar:2017 from:0 till:30207 bar:2021 from:0 till:29232 PlotData= textcolor:black fontsize:S bar:1870 at: 12000 text: 12000 shift:(-14,5) bar:1939 at: 20116 text: 20116 shift:(-14,5) bar:1946 at: 17269 text: 17269 shift:(-14,5) bar:1950 at: 22367 text: 22367 shift:(-14,5) bar:1955 at: 25520 text: 25520 shift:(-14,5) bar:1960 at: 28090 text: 28090 shift:(-14,5) bar:1965 at: 30869 text: 30869 shift:(-14,5) bar:1970 at: 31051 text: 31051 shift:(-14,5) bar:1975 at: 32328 text: 32328 shift:(-14,5) bar:1980 at: 32309 text: 32309 shift:(-14,5) bar:1985 at: 33983 text: 33983 shift:(-14,5) bar:1990 at: 34344 text: 34344 shift:(-14,5) bar:1992 at: 34851 text: 34851 shift:(-14,5) bar:1997 at: 34008 text: 34008 shift:(-14,5) bar:2002 at: 31787 text: 31787 shift:(-14,5) bar:2007 at: 31106 text: 31106 shift:(-14,5) bar:2012 at: 31480 text: 31480 shift:(-14,5) bar:2017 at: 30207 text: 30207 shift:(-14,5) bar:2021 at: 29232 text: 29232 shift:(-14,5)

Main sights

There are numerous historical buildings in Bielawa. At its center is the 19th-century

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

Church of the Assumption with a 101 m tall tower, the third tallest in Poland. Other buildings include a late-

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

palace originally built as a fortified

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals with ...

; the Church of the Corpus Christi, erected in 1743; and numerous 18th-century Baroque houses that were restored in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is also a home to a number of

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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

penitential crosses.

International relations

Twin towns - sister cities

Bielawa is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

Chatham-Kent Chatham-Kent ( 2021 population: 104,316)Ciechanów Ciechanów is a city in north-central Poland. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Ciechanów Voivodeship. Since 1999, it has been situated in the Masovian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, it has a population of 43,495. History The ...

, Poland * Hronov, Czech Republic *

Kostelec nad Orlicí Kostelec nad Orlicí (; german: Adlerkosteletz) is a town in Rychnov nad Kněžnou District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,100 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Koryta, Kostelecká Lhota and Koz ...

, Czech Republic * Lingen, Germany

Surroundings

* Gola Dzierżoniowska Castle * Medieval town of Niemcza * Cistercian monastery at Henryków

Notable people

JRKRUK 20130304 ELENI TZOKA BUSKO IMG 8451A

Jeremiah Dencke Jeremiah Dencke was born October 2, 1725, in Langenbielau, Silesia and died May 28, 1795, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He joined the Moravian Congregation at Gnadenfrei and was called to Moravian center in Herrnhut in 1748, where he became an or ...

(1725−1795), composer *

Ferdinand Gottlieb Flechtner Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "c ...

(1811–1867), German industrialist *

Adolph Franz Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in var ...

(1842–1916), German politician *

Friedrich Dierig Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

(1845–1931), German industrialist *

Arthur Philipp Flechtner Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

(1858–1936), Prussian General * Karl Franz (1881–1967), German politician *

Georg Muschner Georg Muschner (12 June 1885 – 17 May 1971) was a German cinematographer. He worked on over sixty productions during his career in the Weimar Republic, Austria, and Nazi Germany. Muschner originally worked as a portrait photographer, before en ...

(1885–1971), German cinematographer *

Walter Möse The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) and its variants were the highest awards in the military of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded for a wide range of r ...

(1920–1944),

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...

Oberfeldwebel *

Waltraut Engelberg 890 Waltraut is an Eoan asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt that was discovered by German astronomer Max Wolf on 11 March 1918. It was named for a character in Richard Wagner's opera, '' Götterdämmerung'' (Twilight of the Gods). ...

(born 1929), author and wife of

Ernst Engelberg Ernst Engelberg (5 April 1909 – 18 December 2010) was a German university professor and Marxist historian. He made a particularly noteworthy contribution with his two-volume biography of Otto von Bismarck which in the view of at least one commen ...

* Johann Alexander Wisniewsky (1929–2012), German industrialist *

Horst Weigang Horst Weigang (born 30 September 1940) is a German former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. In the Oberliga, Weigang appeared in 234 matches for SC Lokomotive Leipzig, SC Turbine/FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt, and SC Rotation/SC/1. FC Lokomotiv ...

(born 1940), German athlete * Eleni Tzoka (born 1956), Polish singer * Aleksandra Kwasniewska (born 1978), Polish singer * Robert Skibniewski (born 1983), Polish basketball player *

Jarosław Kuźniar Jarosław Kuźniar (born 29 January 1978) is a Polish television and radio presenter. Connected with TVN and TVN24 from 2010 to 2016 c. He has been the host of TV show ''X Factor'' in 2011 and 2012. Biography He graduated from High School no. 1 ...

(born 1979), Polish journalist and TV presenter * Janusz Góra (born 1963), Polish footballer *

Art Binkowski Artur "Art" Binkowski (; born February 19, 1975) is a Polish-born Canadian heavyweight boxer who competed for his adoptive country Canada at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Background Binkowski came to Canada from Poland at th ...

(born 1975), Polish-Canadian boxer *

Jarosław Jach Jarosław Przemysław Jach (born 17 February 1994) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Ekstraklasa club Zagłębie Lubin. Club career Early career Although his mother Lucyna originally wanted him to be a swimmer, y ...

(born 1994), Polish footballer

Gallery

File:Zbiornik Sudety w Bielawie.jpg, Parkowa Hill and Bielawa Lake in Bielawa File:8126viki Kościół pw. Wniebowzięcia NMP w Bielawie. Foto Barbara Maliszewska.jpg, Church of the Assumption of Mary File:Pensjonat Leśny Dworek d. willa Dieriga Waldhaus w Bielawie.jpg, Pension Leśny Dworek File:Hotel Spa in Bielawa, summer 2014 (1).JPG, Palace File:Market Square in Bielawa (2).jpg, Town hall File:Park Miejski w Bielawie.jpg, City Park in Bielawa File:Bielawa Aquarius.jpg, swimming pool "Aquarius" in Bielawa File:Bielawa - pomnik papieża.JPG, Monument of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in Bielawa File:Bielawa zbiornik Sudety.jpg, Lake in Bielawa

References

External links

Official website

Jewish Community of Bielawa
on

Virtual Shtetl The Virtual Shtetl ( pl, Wirtualny Sztetl) is a bilingual Polish-English portal of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, devoted to the Jewish history of Poland. History The Virtual Shtetl website was officially launched on June ...

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Dzierżoniów County Cities in Silesia