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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 The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...
and later in the
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) constituted the German state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: ...
with its capital at
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 Kłodzk ...
(Kladsko) on the Nysa river. The territory comprises 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 wit ...
with the Kłodzko Valley in center within the
Sudetes The Sudetes ( ; pl, Sudety; german: Sudeten; cs, Krkonošsko-jesenická subprovincie), commonly known as the Sudeten Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince in Central Europe, shared by Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. They consis ...
mountain range and roughly corresponds with the present-day
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 gover ...
in the Polish
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 ...
.


History


Beginnings

The area has been populated at least since the 1st century BC. The earliest mention of the town itself is in the 12th century ''Chronica Boëmorum'' by Cosmas of Prague. He mentions the town of ''Cladzco'' as belonging to the Bohemian nobleman Slavník in 981, father of Bishop Adalbert of Prague and progenitor of the Slavník dynasty.


Bohemian-Polish Borderland

Held by the Přemyslid dukes of Bohemia, the town was also claimed by the Polish kings, which led to a series of armed conflicts: King Bolesław I Chrobry campaigned Kladsko in 1003, but soon after was expelled by Emperor Henry II. In 1080 the Polish duke Władysław I Herman married Judith Přemyslid, daughter of the Bohemian duke Bretislav I and their son, the warlike Duke
Bolesław III Wrymouth Bolesław III Wrymouth ( pl, Bolesław III Krzywousty; 20 August 1086 – 28 October 1138), also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland betwee ...
claimed Kladsko as the dowry of his mother. In turn the Bohemian prince (duke from 1125) Soběslav I campaigned Kladsko and burnt the town to the ground, but rebuilt it shortly afterwards. He also rebuilt and strengthened the castle located on a high rock overlooking the town.


A region of Bohemia

In 1137 by the agency of Emperor Lothair III of Supplinburg the rivals finally concluded a peace treaty by which Bolesław ceded all claims to the land of Kladsko to Soběslav. The area thereafter remained an integral part of Bohemia, though the fief was at times held by Silesian dukes: About 1280 German king Rudolph I of Habsburg, having defeated King
Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his d ...
, gave Kladsko to his ally Duke Henry IV Probus of the
Silesian Piasts The Silesian Piasts were the elder of four lines of the Polish Piast dynasty beginning with Władysław II the Exile (1105–1159), eldest son of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth, Bolesław III of Poland. By Bolesław's Testament of Bolesław III Krzy ...
, it nevertheless returned to Bohemia after Henry's death in 1290. In 1310 Count John the Blind from the
House of Luxembourg The House of Luxembourg ( lb, D'Lëtzebuerger Haus; french: Maison de Luxembourg; german: Haus Luxemburg) or Luxembourg dynasty was a royal family of the Holy Roman Empire in the Late Middle Ages, whose members between 1308 and 1437 ruled as ki ...
by marriage inherited Bohemia and again granted Kladsko for life to the Piast dukes
Henry VI the Good Henry VI the Good (also known as of Wrocław) ( pl, Henryk VI Dobry or Wrocławski) (18 March 1294 – 24 November 1335) was a Duke of Wrocław from 1296 (with his brothers as co-rulers until 1311). He was the second son of Henry V the Fat, D ...
from 1327 to 1335 and Bolko II of Ziębice from 1336 to 1341. In 1348 the ''Provincia Glacensis'' became – still as a region within the Bohemia proper – part of the Crown of Bohemia. The town developed rapidly until the start 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 ...
in the 15th century, which left Kladsko depopulated by plagues, partially burnt, and demolished by several consecutive floods. It was not until the 16th century that the local economy began to recover from the previous wars. In 1458 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 ...
with the consent of Emperor
Frederick III of Habsburg Frederick III (German: ''Friedrich III,'' 21 September 1415 – 19 August 1493) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death. He was the fourth king and first emperor of the House of Habsburg. He was the penultimate emperor to be crowne ...
elevated Kladsko to a
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
(''hrabství Kladské''), held by his second son Viktorin, who thereby received the status of an
Imperial count Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...
''(Reichsgraf)''. Under his Poděbrad successors it still remained an integral part of Bohemia as an "outer region" (''vnější kraj'') south of the adjacent
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 spli ...
n province. When in 1526 Archduke
Ferdinand I of Austria en, Ferdinand Charles Leopold Joseph Francis Marcelin , image = Kaiser Ferdinand I.jpg , caption = Portrait by Eduard Edlinger (1843) , succession = Emperor of Austria King of Hungary , moretext = ( more...) , cor-type ...
from the
House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
was enthroned as King of Bohemia, the County too became part of the Habsburg monarchy; however the local counts retained their powers and the Bohemian kings ruled this land as suzerains. Since 1549 the County of Kladsko was under administration of the
Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...
until
Albert V, Duke of Bavaria Albert V (German: ''Albrecht V.'') (29 February 1528 – 24 October 1579) was Duke of Bavaria from 1550 until his death. He was born in Munich to William IV and Maria Jacobäa of Baden. Early life Albert was educated at Ingolstadt by Catholi ...
released it in 1567 for Emperor Maximilian II. In 1617 the first
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
was organised in the county. The city itself had approximately 1,300 houses and over 7,000 inhabitants. However, two years after the census took place 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 battl ...
started. Kladsko had joined the Protestant Bohemian Estates and even after the defeat at the
Battle of White Mountain ), near Prague, Bohemian Confederation(present-day Czech Republic) , coordinates = , territory = , result = Imperial-Spanish victory , status = , combatants_header = , combatant1 = Catholic L ...
in 1620 refused to submit to Emperor Ferdinand II of Habsburg. Between 1619 and 1649 the town was besieged by Imperial troops several times and although the fortress was never captured, over 900 out of 1,300 buildings were destroyed by fire and artillery and the population dropped by more than a half. After the war the Habsburg rulers put an end to all local self-government, and the County existed in name only.


Conquest by Prussia

When in 1740 King
Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...
started the
First Silesian War The First Silesian War (german: Erster Schlesischer Krieg, links=no) was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1740 to 1742 and resulted in Prussia's seizing most of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Poland) from Austria ...
he occupied most of Silesia and also the County of Kladsko, which the king considered to be a vital forward post at the border with the Austrian lands under Empress
Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...
. It was therefore occupied by Prussian troops and by the 1742
Treaty of Breslau The Treaty of Breslau was a preliminary peace agreement signed on 11 June 1742 following long negotiations at the Silesian capital Wrocław (german: Breslau) by emissaries of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria and King Frederick II of Prussia ...
annexed by the
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) constituted the German state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: ...
, again confirmed after the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754– ...
by the 1763 Treaty of Hubertusburg. It was not until 1818, when King
Frederick William III Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, w ...
finally incorporated the County 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 Czech and Austrian influence is still evident in the architecture and culture of the region. The title of a "Count of Glatz" was part of the full title of the Prussian kings and German Emperors, but autonomy of the county was irretrievably lost.


Claim by Czechoslovakia and incorporation into Poland

After
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
the Czechoslovak state laid claims to the region of Kladsko, particularly because of the Czech Corner where Czech language and culture were still prevalent. These territorial demands were flatly rejected however by the 1919
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1 ...
. With the implementation of the Oder-Neisse line at the
Potsdam Conference The Potsdam Conference (german: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris Pe ...
in 1945, most of the territory of Prussian Silesia – including Kladsko – became part of the Republic of Poland. The latter approached the Third Czechoslovak Republic with a proposal to exchange Kladsko for
Trans-Olza Trans-Olza ( pl, Zaolzie, ; cs, Záolží, ''Záolší''; german: Olsa-Gebiet; Cieszyn Silesian: ''Zaolzi''), also known as Trans-Olza Silesia (Polish: ''Śląsk Zaolziański''), is a territory in the Czech Republic, which was disputed betwee ...
, but the offer was turned down. Its native German and Czech population was expelled. According to
canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
however, the area was part of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Prague The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Prague (Praha) ( cs, Arcidiecéze pražská, la, Archidioecesis Pragensis) is a Metropolitan Catholic archdiocese of the Latin Rite in Bohemia, in the Czech Republic. The cathedral archiepiscopal see is St. V ...
until 1972. Paris Peace Conference, 1919 Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
" heights="185px" widths= "260px"> image:Kladsko 1919 A.jpg, The maximalist variant image:Kladsko 1919 B.jpg, The intermediate variant image:Kladsko 1919 C.jpg, The minimalist variant


Bibliography

* MUSIL, František. ''Kladsko''. Praha : Libri, 2007. 190 s. (Stručná historie států.) . * A. Herzig, M. Ruchniewicz, ''Dzieje Ziemi Kłodzkiej'', wyd. Dobu Verlag/wyd. Oficyna Wydawnicza Atut, Hamburg/Wrocław 2006. * Peter Güttler: ''Das Glatzer Land''. Düsseldorf 1995, * Ondřej Felcman, Ladislav Hladký, Jaroslav Šůla: ''Právní postavení Kladska v Českém státě do roku 1742''. In: Kladský Sborník 2, 1998, p. 9–33


See also

*
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 wit ...
* Kladsko Borderland


References


External links


Grafschaft Glatz

Map of the County 1747

Map of the County 1641

Map of the County 1625

Tourist site about area

Státoprávní a národnostní poměry Kladska v historickém vývoji

Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kladsko, County of Former vassal states States and territories established in 1459 States and territories disestablished in 1818 1818 disestablishments in Europe Former administrative units of Bohemia Podiebrad family