Złoty Stok
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Złoty Stok ( cs, Rychleby, german: Reichenstein, "''Richstone''") is a town in Ząbkowice Śląskie County,
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, Wałbr ...
, 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 populou ...
. It is situated on the border with the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
, adjoining the Czech village Bílá Voda. The town is the seat of the administrative district (
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 ...
) called Gmina Złoty Stok, and lies approximately south of Ząbkowice Śląskie and south 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, r ...
.


History

The name ''Złoty Stok'' means "golden hillside" in Polish and is a reference to the fact that a
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
deposit was mined here in the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
. Its Czech name is applied to the neighbouring mountain range, the Rychleby Mountains ( cs, Rychlebské hory). The corresponding Polish name is ''Góry Złote'' (Golden Mountains). This range is part of the eastern
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 consi ...
. The area became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century under first historic ruler Mieszko I of Poland of the
Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branch ...
, and after the
fragmentation of Poland The period of rule by the Piast dynasty between the 10th and 14th centuries is the first major stage of the history of the Polish state. The dynasty was founded by a series of dukes listed by the chronicler Gall Anonymous in the early 12th cen ...
it was located in the duchies of
Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. S ...
, Świdnica-Jawor, Ziębice and Świdnica-Jawor again, still ruled by the Piasts, until 1392. During this period, the settlement was first mentioned and
town rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
were granted. Afterwards it came under the suzerainty of the Bohemian (Czech) Kingdom. In 1428 it was destroyed by the
Hussites The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Huss ...
. From 1469 to 1490 it was under Hungarian suzerainty and afterwards it was under Bohemian suzerainty again. The first evidence of mining in Złoty Stok dates from the first millennium AD. In 1491, Duke
Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the N ...
of the Czech Podiebrad family granted the town the coat of arms, banner and the title of a "Free Mining City". Many German and Czech miners settled there. At the beginning of the 16th century the town, called ''Reichenstein'' (literally "Richstone") by the Germans and ''Rychleby'' by the Czechs, began to flourish thanks to the mining and working of gold. The search for this precious ore continued until the closing of the mine in the late 1960s, even though it had not fully rendered all its wealth. In 1742 the town 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 e ...
and from 1871 to 1945 was located in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
. Złoty Stok, then ''Reichenstein'', was, for many
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held 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 prisoners of w ...
, a stopping place on 'The Long March' during the final months of the
Second World War 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 opposi ...
in Europe. About 30,000 Allied PoWs were force-marched westward across Poland, Czechoslovakia and Germany in appalling winter conditions, lasting about four months from January to April 1945. After
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
it became part of the Polish Recovered Territories.


Sights

There are a number of historical monuments in the town, including a museum of gold mining and metallurgy (''Muzeum Górnictwa i Hutnictwa Złota w Złotym Stoku'').http://www.klodzko-land.eu/gold-mine-in-zloty-


Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Złoty Stok.


Gallery

File:2014 Złoty Stok, panorama.JPG, Town centre File:Catholic church in Złoty Stok.jpg, The Immaculate Conception Church File:2016 Willa Hubertus w Złotym Stoku.jpg, Hubertus Villa File:2016 Muzeum Kopalni Złota w Złotym Stoku, główny budynek 1.jpg, Gold mining museum File:Zloty Stok2.jpg, Market square File:Zloty Stok20.jpg, Historic townhouses


References


{{DEFAULTSORT:Zloty Stok Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Ząbkowice Śląskie County Gold mining Mines in Poland Former gold mines