Krzeszów (pronounced (german: Grüssau) is a village in south-western Poland. It is part of the administrative district of Kamienna Góra County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship (formerly in Jelenia Góra Voivodeship). Krzeszów boasts the former Grüssau Abbey, one of the most valuable relics of

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...

in Europe. The village is located in the Zadrna valley of the Central Sudetes, within the historic

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 ...

region. It lies approximately south of

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 Kamienna Góra County, and also of the rural district called Gmina Kam ...

, and 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 ...

. It has a population of 1,400.

History

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 ...

abbey of ''Grissobor'' was established on 8 May 1242 by Anne of Bohemia, widow of Duke

Henry II the Pious Henry II the Pious ( pl, Henryk II Pobożny; 1196 – 9 April 1241) was Duke of Silesia and High Duke of Poland as well as Duke of South-Greater Poland from 1238 until his death. Between 1238 and 1239 he also served as regent of Sandomierz and ...

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 ...

. It was located on the rim of the Silesian Przesieka, probably at neighbouring Krzeszówek. At first a filial of the Bohemian Opatovice monastery, the estates were acquired by the Silesian 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–Jawor in 1292, himself a grandson of late Duke Henry II, who brought Cistercian monks from nearby Henryków and endowed them with suitable assets at Krzeszów. The 14th century was marked as a period of impressive development and vast influence of Krzeszów Abbey. Its estates comprised about 40 villages and the towns of Lubawka and Chełmsko. Meanwhile, upon the death of Duke Bolko II the Small in 1368, the time of the Świdnica–Jawor

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 ...

line's extinction started its decline. The duchy was inherited by the Bohemian Crown and during the

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 Huss ...

invasions and again during 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 ...

, the abbey was totally destroyed and plundered. However, after the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, a new prosperous period for the abbey began. Gruessau Theodor Blaetterbauer

Upon the

First Silesian War The First Silesian War (german: Erster Schlesischer Krieg, links=no) was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1740 to 1742 and resulted in Prussia's seizing most of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Poland) from Austria. T ...

, Grüssau with Silesia 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 ...

in 1742. In 1810 the estates were

secularised 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 ...

and from 1815 were part of the

Silesia Province The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...

. In 1945 it was conquered 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, afte ...

in the course of the Vistula–Oder Offensive, upon the Potsdam Agreement, the area fell to the Republic of Poland and the remaining German population was expelled. The abbey was resettled with Benedictine nuns, themselves expelled from

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

in former Polish

Kresy Eastern Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Wschodnie) or simply Borderlands ( pl, Kresy, ) was a term coined for the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic during the History of Poland (1918–1939), interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural ...

. The buildings include the

Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary ( hu, Nagyboldogasszony-bazilika) was a basilica in Székesfehérvár ( la, Alba Regia), Hungary. From the year 1000 until 1527, it was the site of the coronation of the Hungarian monarch ...

, the mausoleum of the Świdnica-Jawor Piasts, the Church of St. Joseph, the abbey buildings, a guest house called the 'House of the Abbot', numerous calvary chapels and household buildings.

External links

Krzeszów and suburbsKrzeszów
* ttp://fotopano.pl/showpano.php?id=52 Spherical panorama of Minor Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary
Spherical panorama of Minor Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

na portalu polska-org.pl {{DEFAULTSORT:Krzeszow, Lower Silesian Voivodeship Villages in Kamienna Góra County