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Wołów (german: Wohlau, cz, Volov) is a town in
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, Wałbrz ...
in south-western
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 populous ...
. It is the seat of
Wołów County __NOTOC__ Wołów County (, pl, powiat wołowski ) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local go ...
and
Gmina Wołów __NOTOC__ Gmina Wołów is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Wołów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the town of Wołów, which lies approximately north-west of the regional capital Wrocła ...
. It lies approximately north-west of the regional capital
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 ...
. , the town has a population of 12,373. It is part of the larger
Wrocław metropolitan area The Wrocław metropolitan area is a monocentric agglomeration in the south-western part of Poland, in the Lower Silesian Voivodship, consisting of the city of Wrocław (a global Gamma-level metropolis) and its satellite towns. The population livin ...
.


Name

The town's name is derived from the
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
word ''wół'' (" ox").


History

The area around Wołów has been settled since prehistoric times. It became part of the emerging Polish state in the late 10th century under
Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and ...
. The town was first mentioned in 1157 when a wooden castle founded by Senior Duke of Poland
Władysław II the Exile : ''This article refers to the 12th century Polish monarch. For the 14th century founder of the Jagiellon dynasty, see Jogaila, and for other monarchs with similar names, see Ladislaus II (disambiguation).'' Vladislaus II the Exile ( pl, Władys ...
is documented, which developed into a castle complex, which was again mentioned in 1202. Two villages developed near the castle, one of them called Wołowo. Probably in the second half of the 13th century the town was founded near Wołowo and partially on the soil of the second village.Weczerka, p.570 Wołów received Magdeburg town rights about 1285 at the time of German
Ostsiedlung (, literally "East-settling") is the term for the Early Medieval and High Medieval migration-period when ethnic Germans moved into the territories in the eastern part of Francia, East Francia, and the Holy Roman Empire (that Germans had al ...
in the region; a
Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...
is mentioned in 1288. At that time Wołów belonged to the
Duchy of Głogów The Duchy of Głogów ( pl, Księstwo głogowskie, cs, Hlohovské knížectví) or Duchy of Glogau (german: Herzogtum Glogau) was one of the Duchies of Silesia ruled by the Silesian Piasts. Its capital was Głogów in Lower Silesia. History In ...
, after 1312 to the
Duchy of Oleśnica The Duchy of Oels (german: Herzogtum Oels) or Duchy of Oleśnica ( pl, Księstwo Oleśnickie, la, Ducatus Olsnensis) was one of the duchies of Silesia with its capital in Oleśnica in Lower Silesia, Poland.Zofia Uszyńska, University of MichiganP ...
. With the duchy it came under the suzerainty 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 ...
in 1328. Since the 15th century, the town was a center of clothmaking. From 1473 dates the oldest known seal of the town, which already shows an ox, as do all later seals. Wołów was ruled by local Polish dukes until 1492, and soon after, in 1495, it came into the possession of the
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...
Podiebrad family The Bohemian Poděbrady family ( cz, Páni z Poděbrad) was a noble family in Bohemia, arising from the Lords of Kunštát. After Boček I of Poděbrady, Boček of Kunštát (d. 1373) had acquired the Lordship of Poděbrady by marriage, he calle ...
, then in 1517 it came into the hands the Hungarian magnate Johann Thurzó, before returning to
Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule i ...
rule in 1523, by passing to the
Duchy of Legnica The Duchy of Legnica ( pl, Księstwo Legnickie, cs, Lehnické knížectví) or Duchy of Liegnitz (german: Herzogtum Liegnitz) was one of the Duchies of Silesia. Its capital was Legnica (''Liegnitz'') in Lower Silesia. Legnica Castle had become ...
. It remained there until the
Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule i ...
dukes of Legnica-
Brzeg Brzeg (; Latin: ''Alta Ripa'', German: ''Brieg'', Silesian German: ''Brigg'', , ) is a town in southwestern Poland with 34,778 inhabitants (December 2021) and the capital of Brzeg County. It is situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on the ...
-Wołów died out in 1675. As a result of the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
, the town's population fell by half. 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 in ...
was introduced to the town in 1522 by duke Frederick II. After the extinction of the local Piasts the duchy passed to 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 ...
, which opposed the Protestant denomination in the town, as part of the
Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...
. In 1682 the town's parish church was closed and given to the Catholics. According to the Treaty of Altranstädt the church however was already returned to the Protestants in 1707 and stayed Protestant until 1945. The small Catholic minority in return received a Josephinian curacy.Weczerka, p.571 In 1742 Wołów was annexed by
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 em ...
. The duchy was divided into two districts and the town became county seat of one of the districts. The structure of the town was, until 1700, defined by craft, especially clothiers. As the seat of a duchy and a district administrative function however became more and more important. The
industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
played only a minor role and mostly affected smaller companies of the timber industry. In 1781 the city suffered a fire. The town was part of Germany from 1871 to 1945. 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 opposin ...
, the Germans operated a youth prison in the town, with multiple
forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
subcamps in the region, including one in the town itself. In 1943–1945, the Germans carried out mass executions of
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...
in the forest in the present-day district of Gancarz. In January 1945 – just before town was taken 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, after ...
– the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
evacuated 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 **Ger ...
population westwards. After
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 ...
's defeat in
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 opposin ...
, the town became again part of Poland. The totality of the town's previous population was expelled. In 1962, the town was site of the
Wołów bank robbery On Sunday 19 August 1962 a group of six men, with help of a bank’s safe-keeper, robbed a local branch of the National Bank of Poland, located in the town of Wołów in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (southwestern Poland). Altogether, 12,531,000 zł ...
, one of the largest bank robberies in Poland.


Sports

The local
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team is MKP Wołów. It competes in the lower leagues.


Notable people

*
Jan II the Mad Jan II the Mad also known as the Bad, the Wild or the Cruel (16 April 1435 – 22 September 1504), was a Duke of Żagań- Przewóz since 1439 (with his brothers as co-rulers until 1449), from 1449 Duke of Przewóz (as co-ruler of his younger br ...
(1435–1504), Polish House of
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 of Poland. By Bolesław's testament, Władysław was granted Silesia as his h ...
dynasty Duke of Żagań-Przewóz since 1439, died in Wołów and was buried in the local parish church *
Maria Cunitz Maria Cunitz or Maria CunitiaCunitz, Maria. "Urania propitia, sive Tabulæ Astronomicæ mirè faciles, vim hypothesium physicarum à Kepplero proditarum complexae; facillimo calculandi compendio, sine ullâ logarithmorum mentione paenomenis sati ...
(1610–1664), astronomer, the most notable female astronomer of the early modern era *
Oskar Müller Oskar Müller (25 June 1896 – 14 January 1970) was a German politician who was the first employment minister in Hesse after World War II. Early career Müller was born in Wohlau in Prussian Silesia as the son of a farmer. He fought in World ...
(1896–1970), German politician *
Mirosław Hermaszewski Mirosław Hermaszewski (; 15 September 1941 – 12 December 2022) was a Polish cosmonaut, fighter plane pilot, and Polish Air Force officer. He became the first, and at the time of his death in December 2022, the only, Polish national in space ...
(born 1941), first (and to this day remains the only) Polish national in space


Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Wołów.


References


External links


Official site of Wołów

Wohlau (Wołów) and Polnischdorf (Polska Wieś) on an Austro-Hungarian military map (1:200 000) from c.1910
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolow Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Wołów County Nazi war crimes in Poland