Gmina Chrząstowice,

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 **Ger ...

: Gemeinde Chronstau is a rural

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' , from German ''Gemeinde'' meaning ''commune'') is the principal unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,477 gminas throughout the country, encompassing over 4 ...

(administrative district) in

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

Opole Voivodeship Opole Voivodeship, or Opole Province ( pl, województwo opolskie ), is the smallest and least populated voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province's name derives from that of the region's capital and largest city, Opole. It is part of Upper S ...

, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the village of Chrząstowice, which lies approximately east of the regional capital

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city loc ...

. The gmina is officially bilingual (Polish and German), a significant German community having remained behind after the area was transferred to Poland from Germany in 1945. The gmina covers an area of , and as of 2019 its total population is 6,948.

History

In the Middle Ages, the area belonged to the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...

, with occasional periods of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

n rule. After the feudal fragmentation of Poland it had a certain amount of autonomy, before becoming part of the

Habsburg Empire The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

in 1526. In the second half of the 17th century it again briefly came under Polish rule, before returning to the Habsburgs. After the

War of Austrian succession War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

the area, along with rest of Silesia was taken by

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''. Re ...

, and was part of it and its successor states; the gmina was located in the former German

Province of Lower Silesia The Province of Lower Silesia (german: Provinz Niederschlesien; Silesian German: ''Provinz Niederschläsing''; pl, Prowincja Dolny Śląsk; szl, Prowincyjŏ Dolny Ślōnsk) was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. Between ...

. After World War II, the area became part of Poland again.

Villages

The commune contains the villages and settlements of: Chrząstowice, Dąbrowice, Daniec, Dębie, Dębska Kuźnia, Falmirowice, Lędziny, Niwki and Suchy Bór.

Neighbouring gminas

Gmina Chrząstowice is bordered by the city of

and by the gminas of

Izbicko Izbicko (German: Stubendorf) is a village in Strzelce County, Opole Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Izbicko, which has been bilingual in Polish and German since 2006. It li ...

Ozimek Ozimek (german: Malapane; szl, Uoźimek) is a town in Opole County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 8,657 inhabitants (2019). History Ozimek dates back to an early modern period, early modern settlement. It was named both ''Ozimek'' and ''Ma ...

Tarnów Opolski Tarnów Opolski (german: Tarnau) is a village in Opole County, Opole Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Tarnów Opolski. It lies approximately south-east of the regional capital Op ...

and

Turawa Turawa (german: Turawa) is a village in Opole County, Opole Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) of Gmina Turawa. It is approximately northeast of the regional capital Opole. Its population is ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Gmina Chrząstowice is twinned with: *

Glashütte Glashütte [] is a town in Saxony, Germany, known as the birthplace of the German watchmaking industry and has a population of about 7,000. Historically, it was first mentioned in a document circa 1445. In January 2008, the former municipality Re ...

, Germany *

Zátor Zátor (german: Seifersdorf) is a municipality and village in Bruntál District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known ...

, Czech Republic

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gmina Chrzastowice Chrzastowice Opole County Bilingual communes in Poland