Kamienna Góra (german: Landeshut, cs, Lanžhot or Kamenná Hora, szl, Kamiynnŏ Gōra) is a town 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 ...

with 19,010 inhabitants (2019). It is the seat of

Kamienna Góra County __NOTOC__ Kamienna Góra County ( pl, powiat kamiennogórski) 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 Poli ...

, and also of the rural district called

Gmina Kamienna Góra __NOTOC__ Gmina Kamienna Góra is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Kamienna Góra County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the town of Kamienna Góra, although the town is not part of the territory of the g ...

, although it is not part of the territory of the latter (the town forms a separate urban

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 ...

). Kamienna Góra on the

Bóbr Bóbr ( cs, Bobr, german: Bober, ) is a river which carries water through the north of the Czech Republic and the southwest of Poland, a left tributary of the Oder. Course The Bóbr has a length of (3 in Czech Republic, 276 in Poland, 10th ...

river is situated 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 ...

(from 1975–1998 it was in the former

Jelenia Góra Voivodeship Jelenia Gora Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Its capital city was Jelenia Gora. Major cities and towns (population i ...

) between the

Stone Mountains The Stone Mountains (, ) are a mountain range in the Central Sudetes on the border of the Czech Republic and Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinc ...

and the

Rudawy Janowickie The Rudawy Janowickie or Landeshut Ridge (german: Landeshuter Kamm, cs, Janovické rudohoří) is a mountain range in Sudetes in Poland. See also *Colourful lakelets Colourful lakelets (Polish "Kolorowe Jeziorka") is the name of three (somet ...

at the old trade route from

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 ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, today part of the National Road No. 5. It lies approximately south-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 ...

History

The area was part of the

Great Moravian Empire Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

in the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

, and became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century under its first ruler

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 ...

. During the times of 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 part of the duchies of

Legnica Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda (Kaczawa), Czarna Woda ...

Jawor Jawor (german: Jauer) is a town in south-western Poland with 22,890 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship (from 1975 to 1998 it was in the former Legnica Voivodeship). It is the seat of Jawor County, and lies appro ...

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 larges ...

. In the early 13th century, Polish Duke

Henry the Bearded Henry the Bearded ( pl, Henryk (Jędrzych) Brodaty, german: Heinrich der Bärtige; c. 1165/70 – 19 March 1238) was a Polish duke from the Piast dynasty. He was Dukes of Silesia, Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1201, Seniorate Province, Duke ...

erected a defensive castle at the site, due to its proximity to the

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 ...

–

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, ...

border. The settlement was mentioned in documents from 1232 (as ''Landeshut'') and 1249 (as ''Landishute'' and ''Landishute forensis auch Camena Gora''). In 1254 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 ...

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, ...

gave the area to the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery of Opatovice (in eastern

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 ...

), who already had established the

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 ...

at nearby Krzeszów. When the abbey passed to the

Cistercians The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

in 1289, Kamienna Góra was acquired by 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 ...

of Świdnica, who extended it as a stronghold against the nearby

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 ...

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 1292. It received new privileges from Duke

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 ...

in 1334. Nevertheless, the duchy fell to the Bohemian crown with Bolko's death in 1368. It burnt down during the 1426

Hussite 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 Hussit ...

campaign to Silesia and in the 1460s it 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 ...

, before in 1490 it fell back to Bohemia, then under the rule of Vladislaus II, who erected new town walls. During 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 was plundered by Austrian and Swedish troops. As a result of the war, only two residents remained in the town in 1639. After

Frederick II of Prussia 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 Sil ...

had conquered Silesia with ''Landeshut'' in 1742, his fierce opponent

Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' ( ...

once again struck back in the course of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. In 1760 Austrian troops under the command of field marshal Laudon invaded the province and on June 23 defeated a Prussian corps under

Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué Ernst Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué (4 February 1698 – 3 May 1774) was a Prussian Lieutenant general and General der Infanterie and a confidant of King Frederick the Great. Fouqué held the title of ''Freiherr'' (baron). Early life Born i ...

at the Battle of Landeshut. The town was not destroyed during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and II, but during the latter, the Germans established and operated 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

Gross-Rosen concentration camp , known for = , location = , built by = , operated by = , commandant = , original use = , construction = , in operation = Summer of 1940 – 14 February 1945 , gas cham ...

. Around 1,600 men, mostly

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 Ce ...

, and also smaller groups of other ethnicities, were imprisoned and used as

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 ...

in the subcamp, and many of them died. There was also a forced labour 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 ...

. It was captured by the

Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in th ...

on May 9, 1945, and after the war it became again part of Poland. According to the

Potsdam Agreement The Potsdam Agreement (german: Potsdamer Abkommen) was the agreement between three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union on 1 August 1945. A product of the Potsdam Conference, it concerned th ...

the German populace was expelled and the town was repopulated by

, expellees from former eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union and settlers from central Poland. Initially renamed to the 19th-century Polish name ''Kamieniogóra'', in 1946 the name ''Kamienna Góra'', which was first recorded in 1249, was adopted.

Sights

The main historic district of Kamienna Góra is the Old Town (''Stare Miasto'') with the Freedom (''Plac Wolności''), Grunwald Squares (''Plac Grunwaldzki'') and Brewery (''Plac Browarowy'') Squares, filled with numerous historic buildings. Among the historic sights of Kamienna Góra are: *

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 ...

churches of Saints Peter and Paul and Corpus Christi *

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

Church of Our Lady of the Rosary * Town Hall * Weaving Museum ('' Muzeum Tkactwa'') * Lower Silesian Rehabilitation Center ('' Dolnośląskie Centrum Rehabilitacji'') * Culture Centre (''Centrum Kultury'') * ZUS office * preserved medieval town walls * ruins of the Grodztwo Castle * numerous historic townhouses and buildings, incl. the train station, tax office, high school, courthouse, etc. There are also several monuments dedicated to the victims of the local branch of the Nazi German

Gallery

File:PL Kamienna Góra, centrum miasta.jpg, Kamienna Góra with

Karkonosze The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše or Karkonosze (Czech: , Polish: , german: Riesengebirge) are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massi ...

mountain range File:Kamienna Góra, pl. Wolności DSCF2786.jpg, Historic townhouses at the Freedom Square File:KAMIENNA GÓRA, AB-139.jpg, Town Hall File:Kamienica, ob. Muzeum Tkactwa Dolnośląskiego, XVIII, XIX.jpg, Weaving Museum (''Muzeum Tkactwa'') File:Dolnośląskie Centrum Rehabilitacji - Aw58 - 27 maja 2009 r. DSC05217.jpg, Lower Silesian Rehabilitation Center File:Kościół pw. śś Apostołów Piotra i Pawła - Aw58 - 4 lutego 2010 r. DSC01006.jpg,

Church of Saints Peter und Paul File:Kamienna Góra, kościół pw. Matki Bożej Rażańcowej (Aw58) SDC11032.JPG,

Church of Our Lady of the Rosary File:Kamienna Góra, Centrum Kultury, ul. Kościuszki 4.jpg, Culture Centre File:Kamienna Góra, plac Wolnośći 6.jpg, Architectural decorations of one of the old townhouses File:Kamienna Góra, al. Wojska Polskiego 14, ZUS (2014)(02).jpg, ZUS office File:Budynek Zespołu Szkół Ogólnokształcących w Kamiennej Górze..jpg, High school (''

Liceum ogólnokształcące A general education liceum (Polish: ''Liceum ogólnokształcące'' ) is an academic high school in the Education in Poland, Polish educational system. They are attended by those who plan to further their academic education upon graduation from Educa ...

'') File:Dworzec kolejowy w Kamiennej Górze.jpg, Train station File:Kamienna Góra, ruiny zamku - 27 kwietnia 2012 r..JPG, Grodztwo Castle ruins File:Kamienna Góra - pomnik męczenników AL Landeshut.jpg, Memorial to murdered prisoners of the local branch of the Nazi German

File:Kamienna Góra, Kościół pw. Najświętszego Serca Pana Jezusa - 23.06.2011 r. (MW).JPG, Sacred Heart of Jesus Church File:Kamienna Góra, sąd rejonowy 2020.09.16. 125136-001.jpg, Courthouse

Notable people

Walter Arndt Walther Arndt (8 January 1891 in Landeshut, Silesia, now Kamienna Góra, Poland – 26 June 1944 in Brandenburg) was a German zoologist and physician. A curator at the in Berlin, and a professor, he was executed for being critical of the Nazi ...

(1891–1944), zoologist *

Gosia Dobrowolska Małgorzata Dobrowolska (born 2 June 1958, in Kamienna Góra Kamienna Góra (german: Landeshut, cs, Lanžhot or Kamenná Hora, szl, Kamiynnŏ Gōra) is a town in south-western Poland with 19,010 inhabitants (2019). It is the seat of Kami ...

(born 1958), actress * Rudolf Hamburger (1903–1980), architect and spy *

Viktor Hamburger Viktor Hamburger (July 9, 1900 – June 12, 2001)Garland E. AllenViktor Hamburger, 1900–2001. National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs, 2015, 39 pp. was a German-American professor and embryologist. His collaboration with neuroscien ...

(1900–2001), biologist *

Carl Gotthard Langhans Carl Gotthard Langhans (15 December 1732 – 1 October 1808) was a Prussian master builder and royal architect. His churches, palaces, grand houses, interiors, city gates and theatres in Silesia (now Poland), Berlin, Potsdam and elsewhere bel ...

(1732–1808), architect, designer of the

Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (german: Brandenburger Tor ) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after restoring the Orangist power by suppressing the Dutch popular unrest. One ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Kamienna Góra is twinned with: *

Bitterfeld-Wolfen Bitterfeld-Wolfen () is a town in the district Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated in south-eastern Saxony-Anhalt, west of the river Mulde, in an area that is dominated by heavy industry and lignite mining. The town was forme ...

, Germany *

Dvůr Králové nad Labem Dvůr Králové nad Labem (, german: Königinhof an der Elbe) is a town in Trutnov District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It lies in the Elbe river valley. Dvůr Králové nad Labem is known ...

, Czech Republic * Ikast-Brande, Denmark *

Trutnov Trutnov (; german: Trautenau) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 29,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrative parts Trutnov is ...

, Czech Republic *

Vierzon Vierzon () is a commune in the Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Geography A medium-sized town by the banks of the river Cher with some light industry and an area of forestry and farming to the north. It is situated some northwe ...

, France *

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest c ...

, Germany

References

External links

Official town website

Jewish Community in Kamienna Góra
on Virtual Shtetl
Satellite photo from Google MapsNews from local area
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamienna Gora Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Kamienna Góra County Cities in Silesia