Borowa Wieś (german: Neudorf) is a

sołectwo A sołectwo ( Polish plural: ''sołectwa'') is an administrative unit in Poland, an optional subdivision of a gmina. The actions and organs of the sołectwo are decided by the gmina council. On 31 December 2018 Poland had 40 740 sołectwa. G ...

in the north west of

Mikołów Mikołów (german: Nikolai, szl, Mikołōw) is a town in Silesia, in southern Poland, near the city of Katowice. It borders the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, a metropolis with a population of over 2 million, and is within a greater Silesia ...

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province ( pl, województwo śląskie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centered on the historic region known as Upper Silesia ('), with Katowice serving as its capital. Despite the Silesian V ...

, southern

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 populou ...

. It was an independent village but as a part of gmina Mokre was administratively merged into Mikołów in 1975. The biggest landmark of Borowa Wieś is wooden Saint Nicholas church, originally built in 1640 in

Przyszowice Przyszowice (German ''Preiswitz'') is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Gierałtowice, within Gliwice County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. The village has a population of 3,199. It lies approximately north-east of Gi ...

, moved to Borowa Wieś in years 1937–1939.

History

The village was established in the 16th century by Karol von Promnitz, the owner of the

Duchy of Pless The Duchy of Pless (or the ''Duchy of Pszczyna'',Julian Janczakof Pszczyna" (in) Zarys dziejów kartografii śląskiej do końca XVIII wieku''(An outline for the History of Cartography till the End of the 18th century)'', Opole: 1976, Polish Acad ...

. Initially the village was known as ''Neudorf'' (Polish: ''Nowa Wieś'', literally ''New Village''), whereas the current name, derived from the Polish word bór (a conifer forest), appeared in the 18th century. In the 18th century it was annexed by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

, and from 1871 it was part of Germany. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, in 1918 Poland regained independence, and in the

Upper Silesia plebiscite The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty and carried out on 20 March 1921 to determine ownership of the province of Upper Silesia between Weimar Germany and Poland. The region was ethnically mixed with ...

381 out of 421 voters in Borowa Wieś voted in favour of joining Poland, against 41 opting for staying in Germany. 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 opposing ...

Borowa Wieś was occupied by Germany. In the final stages of the war, in January 1945, the Germans murdered 31 prisoners of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Borowa Wieś during a

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinguished in this way from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Conven ...

Notable people

* :pl:Robert Gajda (1890–1952), Polish priest and composer * (1932–2019), Polish speedway rider

References

Neighbourhoods in Silesian Voivodeship Mikołów County {{Mikołów-geo-stub