Korfantów (german: Friedland in Oberschlesien, szl, Fyrlōnd), formerly known in Polish as Fryląd, is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in the

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 Si ...

of 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 ...

, with 1,808 inhabitants (2019). In 1946 the town was renamed in honour of politician and activist Wojciech Korfanty, however, the previous name ''Fryląd'' is still in use.

Geography

Korfantów is located in the

Niemodlin Niemodlin (; german: Falkenberg O.S., Falkenberg Oberschlesien; szl, Ńymodlin) is a town in Opole County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 6,315 inhabitants (2019). History The community was first mentioned as ''Nemodlin'' in a 1224 deed and r ...

Plain (''Równina Niemodlińska''), in the historical region of

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 ...

. The total area inside the town's boundary is 10,23 km².

Etymology

The former name of the settlement was ''Hurtlanth'' or ''Hurthland''. Other documents refer to the town as: ''Fredland'', ''Fredelant'', ''Fredlandt'', ''Fridland'', ''Freijland'', and ''Friedland''. The locality's

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

name was based on the

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 ...

name, and had various forms: ''Ferląd'', ''Ferlondt'', ''Frydląd'', ''Fyrląd'', and ''Fryląd'', officially adopted in 1945. In 1946, in the aftermath of

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 ...

, due to the German origin of the name, the town was renamed after Wojciech Korfanty.

History

Until 1532 the area was in the possession of Polish princes of the Silesian Piast Dynasty. Simultaneously, an influx of German settlers caused the town to develop; it became the property of wealthy German and Silesian nobles. In 1632, the Swedes plundered Friedland and surrounding villages during 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 ...

. Over the next decades the town also suffered due to plagues and fires. At that time, Friedland was 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 ...

within the Habsburg monarchy. In 1645 it returned to Poland under the House of Vasa, and in 1666 it fell to Bohemia again, however, it was ceded to

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 ...

after

Frederick II the Great 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 Si ...

emerged victorious in the mid-18th century

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 ...

. In the 19th century, despite Prussian and German rule, Catholic services were still held in Polish alongside German. It was part of Germany from 1871 until the end of

in 1945, when, under the Potsdam Agreement, it was reassigned to Poland. During

, the '' Polenlager 85'' Nazi German concentration camp for

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...

was based in the town in 1942–1943. A mass grave of its prisoners is located at the local parish cemetery.

Economy

Korfantów city budget income sources 2015

In the interwar period, there were 152 registered businesses in Korfantów, namely in the

services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

and

food production The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditiona ...

sectors. After

, the town lost its former importance as the agricultural centre in the

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

. This was largely the effect of war losses, requisitioning, plunder and 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 ...

war commissar A war commissary or armed forces commissary (German: ''Kriegskommissar'', French:''commissaire des armées'') is a military official responsible for supplying military arms and provisions, and sometimes in charge of the military budget and conscr ...

's rule over the locality in 1945, as well as poor political decisions. Later, the regime of the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million ne ...

caused much impoverishment and financial instability, therefore, it was not until the reintroduction of the

free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

in 1989 that economic growth began to return. As of 2015, 52% of the Gmina Korfantów populace lives off the agricultural sector.

Notable people

* Carl Friedrich von Pückler-Burghauss (1886–1945),

Waffen SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands. The grew from th ...

General * Maria Kornek (born 1960), Polish Olympic

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

player * Lucyna Siejka (born 1962), Polish Olympic field hockey player

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Korfantów.

References

External links

Jewish Community in Korfantów
on Virtual Shtetl {{DEFAULTSORT:Korfantow Cities in Silesia Cities and towns in Opole Voivodeship Nysa County