Bolków (german: Bolkenhain) is a town in

Jawor County __NOTOC__ Jawor County ( pl, powiat jaworski) 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 governme ...

, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, 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 the seat of the administrative district ( gmina) called Gmina Bolków and part of the '' Neisse-Nysa-Nisa'' Euroregion.

Overview

The town lies at the Nysa Szalona River, approximately south-west of Jauer, and west of the regional capital Breslau. it is located within the historic region of

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...

. As of June 2021, it has a population of 4,864.

History

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 ...

it was a small settlement within the fragmented Polish Kingdom, it was first mentioned as ''Hain'' and granted

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 ...

in 1276. The oldest known mention of the

Bolków Castle Bolków Castle is a castle located in Bolków on the Castle Hill ( pl, Wzgórze Zamkowe), with a 396 metres, where the hillside is cut by the Nysa Szalona river, with a sharp precipice (with a sudden drop of 90 metres); the eastern side of the hil ...

dates back to 1277 and the reign of Duke

Bolesław II the Bald Boleslav or Bolesław may refer to: In people: * Boleslaw (given name) In geography: * Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland * Bolesław, Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland * Bolesław, Silesian Voivodeship, ...

. It was significantly expanded by his son, Duke

Bolko I the Strict Bolko (Bolesław) I the Strict also known as the Raw or of Jawor ( pl, Bolko I Surowy or ''Srogi'' or ''Jaworski''; german: Bolko I. von Schweidnitz; 1252/56 – 9 November 1301), was a Duke of Lwówek (Löwenberg) 1278–81 (with his brother as c ...

. During the reign of Bolko's successors, Bernard of Świdnica and

Bolko II the Small Bolko II the Small (c. 1312 – 28 July 1368), was the last independent Duke of the Piast dynasty in Silesia. He was Duke of Świdnica from 1326, Duke of Jawor and Lwówek from 1346, Duke of Lusatia from 1364, Duke over half of Brzeg and Oława ...

, the castle became one of the most powerful strongholds in

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 ...

and a treasury was also located in it. The town's current name was given by Duke Bernard of Świdnica, under whose rule it developed rapidly, to commemorate his father Duke

. In 1345 it was successfully defended by Poles during a Czech siege. It remained part of the

Piast 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. Branche ...

-ruled

Duchy of Świdnica A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between " ...

until its dissolution in 1392, when it was incorporated into the

Czech Crown Lands The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were a number of incorporated states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods connected by feudal relations under the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of ...

of the multi-ethnic

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. In 1463 the castle was captured by the Czech King

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad ( cs, Jiří z Poděbrad; german: Georg von Podiebrad), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the ...

and afterwards it became the home of local bandits, before being captured by the burghers of

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 ...

and

Świdnica Świdnica (; german: Schweidnitz; cs, Svídnice; szl, Świdńica) is a city in south-western Poland in the region of Silesia. As of 2019, it has a population of 57,014 inhabitants. It lies in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, being the seventh large ...

in 1468. Afterwards the town passed to the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

, in 1493 it was captured by Casimir II, Duke of Cieszyn of the Piast dynasty, and later it came back under Czech rule. The town and castle, devastated in 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 ...

, became a property of

Krzeszów Abbey Krzeszów Abbey ( pl, Klasztor w Krzeszowie, german: Kloster Grüssau) is a historical Baroque Cistercian monastery in Krzeszów, Lower Silesia, Poland. The name ''Grüssau Abbey'' refers to a house of the Benedictine Order founded in 1947 in t ...

in 1703. During the

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 mid-18th century 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 ...

and, subsequently, in 1871 became part of Germany. After

secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

, from 1810 the castle was abandoned and slowly deteriorated. Restoration efforts of the castle did not begin until 1905. 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 a subcamp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp for

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. Towards the end of World War II, 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 ...

occupied the region in spring 1945. On May 9, 1945, Bolkenhain was placed under Polish administration by the Soviet military authorities. The German town of Bolkenhain was renamed Bolków. In the summer of 1945, the wild expulsion of the local population began. The expulsion campaigns carried out using armed Polish militia continued until the end of the year. There were numerous riots against the local civilians. With the violent expulsion organized by the Polish administrative authorities from 1946 onwards, almost all Germans had to leave the city. The transports went to the

British zone of occupation Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France ...

in 1946 and to the Soviet zone of occupation in 1947. Although Bolkenhain had not suffered any war damage, after 1945 the town fell into neglect. A training camp for Jewish volunteers to

Hagana Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the Is ...

was established in 1947 in Bolków. The camp trained 7000 soldiers who then traveled to Palestine and it existed until the end of 1948. In the 1950s, the Bolkenhainer industry was built up by the Polish authorities, partly with the help of remaining German specialists. From 1957 the city was rebuilt, which also allowed tourism to develop again. Around 1966 a large textile factory was built and in 1971 Bolków was declared a spa town . After the political change of 1989, the industry in Bolków was in a severe crisis, which resulted in up to 30%

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...

. Since 1997 the

is the site of the annual "Castle Party" Gothic rock

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

Sights

The most notable landmark of the town is the medieval

, dating back to the 13th century. Other sights include the town hall, Church of Saint Hedwig, the Market Square filled with colourful townhouses, and other historic buildings and structures. 2165viki Zamek Bolków. Foto Barbara Maliszewska.jpg,

courtyard Bolków kościół św. Jadwigi 20.07.2010 p.jpg, Church of Saint Hedwig Ul. Niepodległości, Bolków (1).JPG, Niepodległości Street with the town hall in the background Bolków (0069).jpg, Baroque chapel

Notable people

* Herbert Puschmann (1920–1944),

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

pilot * Heinrich Windelen (1921–2015), German politician

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Bolków.

References

External links

*
View of the castle from the drone
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolkow Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Jawor County Cities in Silesia