Siechnice (formerly german: Tschechnitz, renamed ''Kraftborn'' in the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

era) is a town in

Wrocław County __NOTOC__ Wrocław County ( pl, powiat wrocławski) 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 ...

, 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 gained town status in 1997, and as of 2019 has a population of 8,113. Siechnice is part of the

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 liv ...

. Siechnice lies approximately south-east 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 ...

, and since 1 January 2010 has been the seat of the gmina (administrative district) of Gmina Siechnice. Previously the district was called ''Gmina Święta Katarzyna'', and Siechnice was the only town in Poland which neither gave its name to the gmina in which it lay nor served as its administrative seat. In Siechnice there is a coal power plant called "Czechnica". It is a part of power planting system which supplies Wrocław.

History

The settlement was mentioned in 1253 under the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

ized name ''Sechenice''. Between 1323 and 1810 the village was owned by the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star, whose symbol is depicted in the town's coat of arms. The village was devastated 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 ...

and 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 (175 ...

. In 1909, it gained a railway connection with the

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 ...

n capitals

and Opole. Siechnice was 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 ...

on January 1, 1997.

Transport

The town has a railway station which connects Siechnice with

and

Jelcz-Laskowice Jelcz-Laskowice is a town in Oława County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Jelcz-Laskowice. It lies on the Odra (Oder) river, approximately north of Oław ...

Gallery

Siechnice 2016r. town hall.jpg, Town hall Elektrownia Siechnice.jpg, Czechnica power plant Osiedle elektrowni Siechnice.jpg, Housing for the Czechnica power plant employees Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Siechnice (2).jpg, Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

References

Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Wrocław County {{Wrocław-geo-stub