Bystrzyca is a village in the administrative district of
Gmina Oława, within
Oława 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, Wałbrz ...
, in south-western Poland.
It lies approximately north-east of
Oława
Oława (pronounced , , szl, Oława) is a historic town in south-western Poland with 33,029 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (from 1975–1998 it was in the former Wrocław Voivodeship), within the Wrocław me ...
, and south-east of the regional capital
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
.
History
The village dates back to the
Middle Ages
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 ...
, and, according to linguist Heinrich Adamy, its name comes from the Polish word ''bystry''. Within medieval
Piast-ruled
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 ...
, it was the location of a
motte-and-bailey castle from the 10th-13th century, which is now an archaeological site.
In the 2000s, archaeologists found remains of medieval pagan and Christian burials at the site.
[ Later on, the village was part of Bohemia (Czechia), ]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 em ...
and Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. 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 ...
, the Germans operated a forced labour
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
camp for Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
men and women in the village from 1941 to 1944. After Germany's defeat in the war, in 1945, the village became again part of Poland.
In 1986, the Polish film ''Train to Hollywood'' was shot in Bystrzyca.
Manor
The manor of Reitzau was built in the baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
style between 1720 and 1730, replacing an earlier hunting lodge. It was owned respectively by the noble families Von Prittwitz, Von Münster and Von Ripperda
Ripperda is the name of an old and prominent family that belongs to the German, Austrian, Spanish and Dutch nobility. Members of this family have played a major role in European history as soldiers, politicians and diplomats.
Origins
The origins ...
-Cosyn. The house was burnt down by the Red Army in 1945 and was subsequently raised.
Sports
The local football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club is Burza Bystrzyca. It competes in the lower leagues.
References
Villages in Oława County
Archaeological sites in Poland
{{Oława-geo-stub