Bystrzyca Kłodzka ( cs, Kladská Bystřice, german: Habelschwerdt) is a historic town in

Kłodzko County __NOTOC__ Kłodzko County ( pl, powiat kłodzki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999 as a result of the Polish local govern ...

, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in southwestern

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 is the administrative seat of

Gmina Bystrzyca Kłodzka __NOTOC__ Gmina Bystrzyca Kłodzka is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the town of Bystrzyca Kłodzka, which lies approximately south of Kłodzko, a ...

. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 9,773. The old town of Bystrzyca is famous for its many historical buildings and is a popular

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

destination.

Geography

Bystrzyca Kłodzka lies in the

Kłodzko Valley The Kłodzko Valley ( pl, Kotlina Kłodzka, cs, Kladská kotlina, german: Glatzer Kessel) a valley in the Sudetes mountain range, that covers the central part of Kłodzko County in south-western Poland, with the southern tip extending to the Cz ...

near the confluence of the

Eastern Neisse The Eastern Neisse, also known by its Polish name of Nysa Kłodzka (german: Glatzer Neiße, cs, Kladská Nisa), is a river in southwestern Poland, a left tributary of the Oder, with a length of 188 km (21st longest) and a basin area of 4,570 ...

(''Nysa Kłodzka'') and Bystrzyca Łomnicka rivers, at the feet of the Bystrzyckie Mountains, a range of the Central Sudetes. Part of the

Kłodzko Land Kłodzko Land ( pl, Ziemia kłodzka; cs, Kladsko; german: Glatzer Land) is a historical region in southwestern Poland. The subject of Czech-Polish rivalry in the High Middle Ages, it became a Bohemian domain since the 12th century, although with ...

historical region, it is located about south of

Kłodzko Kłodzko (; cz, Kladsko; german: Glatz; la, Glacio) is a historic town in south-western Poland, in the region of Lower Silesia. It is situated in the centre of the Kłodzko Valley, on the Eastern Neisse river. Kłodzko is the seat of Kłodzko ...

History

The area of today's Bystrzyca Kłodzka has been inhabited at least for six millennia. During the times of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

the

Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...

established numerous permanent settlements in the area of

along the ancient

Amber Road The Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber from coastal areas of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Prehistoric trade routes between Northern and Southern Europe were defined by the amber trade. ...

. There are also numerous archaeological excavations of

Lusatian culture The Lusatian culture existed in the later Bronze Age and early Iron Age (1700 BC – 500 BC) in most of what is now Poland and parts of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, eastern Germany and western Ukraine. It covers the Periods Montelius III (earl ...

remnants in the area.

Middle Ages

The town of ''Habelschwerdt'' was founded in the mid-13th century by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

colonists on estates held by the

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

noble

Havel of Markvartice Havel of Markvartice, also Havel of Lemberk ( cs, Havel z Lemberka) or Gallus of Lämberg; '' fl.'' 1230–1255) was a Bohemian nobleman, Lord of Lemberk Castle and burgrave of Kladsko. Family The Markvartici — also called Marquards — were ...

, husband of Saint

Zdislava Berka Zdislava Berka (also Zdislava of Lemberk; 1220–1252, in what is now the northern part of Czech Republic) was the wife of Havel of Markvartice, Duke of Lemberk, and is a Czech saint of the Roman Catholic Church. She was a "wife, mother, and o ...

. They settled next to the older Slavic village of ''Bystřice'', located on the important trade route leading along the Neisse river from

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 ...

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

through the Sudetes to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. The citizens were granted

town privileges 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 ...

according to the so-called Western Law (a variant of

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...

). On 4 July 1319, the

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

king John of Bohemia granted the settlement the vast autonomy of an immediate royal city and the right to construct city walls. Until the mid-14th century the town changed its affiliation several times, passing with the Kłodzko Land between Polish and Bohemian rulers. The first noted mayor of Habelschwerdt was Jakob Rücker. The town was constructed almost from scratch and started to grow rapidly. First the city walls were erected with three gates and several towers. Then the market square was planned on a slope and the town hall was constructed. Most of the

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...

was preserved and the town is now considered one of the classical examples of mediaeval architecture. City rights were confirmed by King John's son, Charles IV in 1348 and Habelschwerdt was granted with several other privileges, among them the right to trade with salt, spices and fabric. The town was incorporated into the

County of Kladsko The County of Kladsko ( cs, Kladské hrabství, german: Grafschaft Glatz, pl, Hrabstwo kłodzkie) was a historical administrative unit within Bohemia as a part of the Kingdom of Bohemia and later in the Kingdom of Prussia with its capital at Kł ...

in 1459, an immediate fief of the Bohemian Crown and shared the fate of the nearby city of Kłodzko (''Kladsko'', ''Glatz''). It developed rapidly until the advent of the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...

in the early 15th century. The wars left the town depopulated by plagues, partially burnt and demolished by several consecutive floods. It was plundered by the forces of the Hungarian king

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several m ...

on his 1469 campaign against King

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad ( cs, Jiří z Poděbrad; german: Georg von Podiebrad), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the ...

. In 1475 a great fire destroyed the town completely.

Modern times

After the Lands of the Bohemian Crown had passed to the Habsburg monarchy, the area became a fief of the ruling Habsburg dynasty in 1567, though the local counts retained their powers. Habelschwerdt and the surrounding villages were gradually repopulated, mostly with settlers from Central

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 ...

and

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a ...

. It was not until the 16th century when the local economy went back on tracks, while the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

led to a strengthening of radical movements such as Schwenckfelder and Anabaptist groups. Because of major

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

influences it became one of the regional centres of

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

. In the late 16th century a new city hall was built and many of the town houses were rebuilt in a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

style. The town also built several facilities like paved roads and a sewer system. However, the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

and stern measures of the Counter-Reformation damaged the city and ended the period of prosperity. During the

Second Silesian War The Second Silesian War (german: Zweiter Schlesischer Krieg, links=no) was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1744 to 1745 and confirmed Prussia's control of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Poland). The war was fough ...

, Hungarian troops and

Pandurs The Pandurs were any of several light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line i ...

again devastated the town. On 14 February 1745,

Prussian 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 e ...

troops under General

Hans von Lehwaldt Hans von Lehwald(t) (24 June 1685 – 16 November 1768), also known as Johann von Lehwald(t), was a Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall''. He joined the military in 1700 and participated in all Prussian field operations from the War of Spanish ...

defeated the Austrian Habsburg forces of Georg Oliver von Wallis nearby. After the

Silesian Wars The Silesian Wars (german: Schlesische Kriege, links=no) were three wars fought in the mid-18th century between Prussia (under King Frederick the Great) and Habsburg Austria (under Archduchess Maria Theresa) for control of the Central European ...

, Habelschwerdt, together with the County of Kladsko and most of Silesia, came under Prussian rule according to the 1763

Treaty of Hubertusburg The Treaty of Hubertusburg (german: Frieden von Hubertusburg) was signed on 15 February 1763 at Hubertusburg Castle by Prussia, Austria and Saxony to end the Third Silesian War. Together with the Treaty of Paris, signed five days earlier, it mark ...

. In the

War of the Bavarian Succession The War of the Bavarian Succession (; 3 July 1778 – 13 May 1779) was a dispute between the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and an alliance of Saxony and Prussia over succession to the Electorate of Bavaria after the extinction of the Bavarian br ...

, skirmishers from Austrian army commanded by

Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser Dagobert Sigismund, Count von Wurmser (7 May 1724 – 22 August 1797) was an Austrian field marshal during the French Revolutionary Wars. Although he fought in the Seven Years' War, the War of the Bavarian Succession, and mounted several succes ...

fought there against the Prussian garrison, and one of the blockhouses caught fire, resulting in the destruction of most of the town in mid-January 1779. 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 town was occupied by French forces and housed a garrison of the Grande Armée until 1813. By 1818 the County of Kladsko was formally dissolved and Habelschwerdt was incorporated into the Prussian

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...

. Although it was made the administrative seat of a rural district (''Landkreis''), comprising the southeastern parts of the former county, it was also struck by high taxes. It was not until the mid-19th century when the town fully recovered. The city hall was yet again rebuilt, the city moat and parts of the walls were leveled and the settlement expanded into new areas. After 1877, Habelschwerdt was connected to Glatz and Breslau (Wrocław) by a railroad. In 1885, Habelschwerdt had a population of 5,597, while by 1939 it rose to 6,877. Its population was overwhelmingly

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. The end of the 19th century saw the whole

turned into one of the most popular tourist regions. Countless hotels, sanatoria and spa were opened to the public in the nearby towns of Glatz, Bad Reinerz (present-day Duszniki-Zdrój) and Bad Landeck (Lądek-Zdrój), as well as in the town itself. The area of former Kladsko county became a popular place among the rich bourgeoisie of Breslau,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. A labour camp of the

Reich Labour Service The Reich Labour Service (''Reichsarbeitsdienst''; RAD) was a major organisation established in Nazi Germany as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the German economy, militarise the workforce and indoctrinate it with Naz ...

was operated in the town under

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. 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 ...

the town was spared the fate of many other towns and did not suffer great damage. There were no important industrial centres in the area, and most of the

was not captured by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

until after the capitulation of

. After the war the town once again became part of Poland due to the new borders dictated by the Potsdam Agreement. It was renamed to its historic Polish name ''Bystrzyca'', and the adjective ''Kłodzka'' was added to distinguish it from other Polish settlements of the same name. In 1961 the town limits were expanded by including Niedźwiedna as a new district. In 1964, the only Phillumenist Museum ('' Muzeum Filumenistyczne'') in Poland was founded in Bystrzyca Kłodzka. On 28 June 1972 the Catholic parishes of Bystrzyca Kłodzka were reassigned from the traditional Hradec Králové diocese (est. 1664; Ecclesiastical Province of Bohemia) to the

Archdiocese of Wrocław In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. Between 1975 and 1998 Bystrzyca belonged to

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) ...

. It continues to be one of the principal mountain resorts of the area. Thanks to its historical landmarks as well as virgin landscapes, Bystrzyca Kłodzka remains one of the most popular centers for

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

and

winter sports Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold are ...

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...

Sports

The local football club is Polonia Bystrzyca Kłodzka. It competes in the lower leagues.

Notable people

* Titus Ullrich (1813–1891), poet and art critic *

Rudolf Bial Rudolf Bial (26 August 1834 – 23 November 1881) was a German violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the small ...

(1834–1881), violinist, composer, conductor * Hermann Stehr (1864–1940), poet * Andreas Hönisch (1930–2008), cleric *

Georg Katzer Georg Katzer (; 10 January 1935 – 7 May 2019) was a German composer and teacher. The last master student of Hanns Eisler, he composed music in many genres, including works for the stage. Katzer was one of the pioneers of electronic new music ...

(1935–2019), composer *

Jan Liwacz Jan Liwacz (born 4 October 1898 in Dukla, died 22 April 1980 in Bystrzyca Kłodzka) was a master blacksmith and prisoner of Auschwitz concentration camp best known for the infamous "" slogan over the camp's main entrance gate that he made. When ...

(1898–1980), blacksmith who created the ''

Arbeit Macht Frei () is a German phrase meaning "Work sets you free" or "Work makes one free". The slogan is known for appearing on the entrance of Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps. Origin The expression comes from the title of an 1873 novel by Ge ...

'' sign over Auschwitz *

Marek Magierowski Marek Grzegorz Magierowski (born 12 February 1971) is a Polish journalist, columnist, politician and diplomat; since 2021 ambassador to the United States and from 2018 to 2021 ambassador to Israel. Life Magierowski was born in the Lower Sile ...

(born 1971), diplomat and journalist *

Marcin Marciniszyn Marcin Marciniszyn (born 7 September 1982, in Bystrzyca Kłodzka) is a Polish sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres. Competition record Personal bests Outdoor * 100 metres – 10.76 s (2012) * 200 metres – 21.07 s (2011) * 400 metres – ...

(born 1982), sprinter * Hanson Milde-Meissner (1899–1983), composer

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Bystrzyca Kłodzka.

Gallery

2014 Bystrzyca Kłodzka, Brama Wodna 03.JPG, Brama Wodna ("Water Gate") 2014 Bystrzyca Kłodzka, wójtostwo 02.JPG, ''Wójtostwo'' Bystrzyca Kłodzka, Rynek 13, 01.JPG, Market Square (''Rynek'') 2015 Muzeum Filumenistyczne w Bystrzycy Kłodzkiej 05.JPG, Phillumenist Museum Bystrzyca Kłodzka, kościół św. Michała, 01.JPG, Old Town Bystrzyca Kłodzka, Sempołowskiej 13 3.JPG, High school 2017 Komisariat policji w Bystrzycy Kłodzkiej.jpg, Police station

References

External links

bystrzyca.info.pl

bystrzycaklodzka.pl

bystrzyca.pl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bystrzyca Klodzka Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Kłodzko County Cities in Silesia