Rudy , also known as ''Rudy Wielkie'' ("Great Rudy") or ''Rudy Raciborskie'' (german: Groß Rauden), is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

in the administrative district of Gmina Kuźnia Raciborska, within

Racibórz County __NOTOC__ Racibórz County ( pl, powiat raciborski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, on the Czech border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polis ...

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 ...

, in southern Poland. It lies approximately east of Kuźnia Raciborska, north-east of

Racibórz Racibórz (german: Ratibor, cz, Ratiboř, szl, Racibōrz) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being ...

, and west of the regional capital Katowice. The village has a population of 2,800. With history going back to the 13th century, it is a site of a

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

Cistercian palace-monastery. There is also a narrow gauge railway station and museum in the village. Rudy gives its name to the protected area called

Rudy Landscape Park Rudy Landscape Park (full name ''Park Krajobrazowy Cysterskie Kompozycje Krajobrazowe Rud Wielkich'': "Landscape Park of the Cistercian Landscape Compositions of Rudy Wielkie") is a protected area ( Landscape Park) in southern Poland, establishe ...

(in full: "Landscape Park of the Cistercian Landscape Compositions of Rudy Wielkie").

History

In the early 13th century a monastery was founded at the site, however, it was destroyed in the

First Mongol invasion of Poland The Mongol Invasion of Poland from late 1240 to 1241 culminated in the Battle of Legnica, where the Mongols defeated an alliance which included forces from fragmented Poland and their allies, led by Henry II the Pious, the Duke of Silesia. ...

in 1241. The Cistercians rebuilt the monastery in 1252–1255. A foundation document was issued by Duke

Władysław Opolski Vladislaus I of Opole ( pl, Władysław opolski) ( – 27 August/13 September 1281/2) was a Duke of Kalisz during 1234–1244, Duke of Wieluń from 1234 to 1249 and Duke of Opole–Racibórz from 1246 until his death. He was the second son ...

of the Polish Piast dynasty in 1258, and it was confirmed by

Pope Gregory X Pope Gregory X ( la, Gregorius X; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. He was ...

in 1274. The Cistercians developed the village. In the early 14th century, Duke

Przemysław of Racibórz Przemysław of Racibórz ( pl, Przemysław raciborski) (between 21 October 1258 and 12 June 1268 – 7 May 1306) was a Duke of Racibórz since 1282 until his death (until 1290 with his brother as co-ruler). He was the fourth son of Władysław, ...

funded the construction of a new church (present-day Basilica) in Rudy. 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 Germans established and operated three forced labour subcamps (E374, E588, E742) of the Stalag VIII-B/344

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

in the village. In the final stages of the war, in 1945, a German-conducted

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 ...

of prisoners of a

subcamp Subcamps (german: KZ-Außenlager), also translated as satellite camps, were outlying detention centres (''Haftstätten'') that came under the command of a main concentration camp run by the SS in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. The Nazi ...

of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Sosnowiec passed through the village towards

Opava Opava (; german: Troppau, pl, Opawa) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Opava. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia. It was a historical capital of ...

Sports

The local football team is LKS Buk Rudy. It competes in the lower leagues.

People

* Viktor II. (1847-1923), Duke of Ratibor * Viktor III. (1879-1945), Duke of Ratibor

Gallery

Rudy - Kościół 2.JPG, Our Lady Basilica 2020-09 Rudy Raciborskie 176.jpg, Narrow gauge railway station and museum Rudy - Park 02.JPG, Park Rudy - Kościół Św. Marii Magdaleny 01.jpg, St. Mary Magdalene church

References

{{Authority control

Rudy Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...

13th-century establishments in Poland Populated places established in the 13th century