Sobótka (pronounced , german: Zobten am Berge) 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 is the seat of the administrative district ( gmina) called Gmina Sobótka. Sobótka is located about southwest 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 ...

on the northern slope of

Mount Ślęża Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

, part of the Central Sudetes mountain range. , the town has a population of 6,981.

History

The area had been settled since prehistoric times, as evidenced by numerous archaeological artefacts, and in the 2nd century BC Mount Ślęża was a religious site of the Celtic

Boii The Boii (Latin plural, singular ''Boius''; grc, Βόιοι) were a Celtic tribe of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul ( Northern Italy), Pannonia (Hungary), parts of Bavaria, in and around Bohemia (after whom ...

tribe, marking a northern outpost of their settlement area. In 1128, the Polish voivode

Piotr Włostowic Herb ŁabędźPiotr Włostowic ( 1080 – 1153), also known as Peter Wlast or ''Włost'') was a Polish noble, castellan of Wrocław, and a ruler (''możnowładca'') of part of Silesia. From 1117 he was voivode (''palatyn'') of the Duke of Poland ...

established an

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

monastery on Mount Ślęża which was later moved to

, while the area remained a property of the Augustinian order. The settlement was first mentioned in an 1148 bull issued by

Pope Eugene III Pope Eugene III ( la, Eugenius III; c. 1080 – 8 July 1153), born Bernardo Pignatelli, or possibly Paganelli, called Bernardo da Pisa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1145 to his death in 1153. He ...

as ''Sabath'', the name most likely referring to a weekly Saturday ( la, sabbatum, pl, sobota) market. The

market rights A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

were confirmed by the Silesian duke Bolesław I the Tall in 1193. His son Duke

Henry I 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 Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1201, Duke of Kraków and High Duke of all Pol ...

granted Sobótka town privileges based on the

Magdeburg Law Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...

in 1221. The location of the city is on the ancient

Amber Road The Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber from coastal areas of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Prehistoric trade routes between Northern and Southern Europe were defined by the amber trade. ...

and its first role was trade. After the Polish King

Casimir III the Great Casimir III the Great ( pl, Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars. He ...

renounced his rights to Silesia in 1348, Sobótka, as part of the

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 " ...

, eventually passed to the Bohemian crown in 1392. King

Wenceslaus Wenceslaus, Wenceslas, Wenzeslaus and Wenzslaus (and other similar names) are Latinized forms of the Czech name Václav. The other language versions of the name are german: Wenzel, pl, Wacław, Więcesław, Wieńczysław, es, Wenceslao, russian ...

confirmed Sobótka's town privileges in 1399. The town was again purchased by the Augustinians in 1494. As part of the Habsburg monarchy the town was devastated by 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 ...

. With most of Silesia it was annexed by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

in 1742. King

Frederick William III Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...

finally

secularized 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 ...

the Augustinian territory in 1810. From 1871 to 1945 it was part of Germany. After the defeat of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

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 town became part of Poland again, in accordance with the provisions of the Potsdam Agreement. On December 31, 1959, the village of Strzeblów was included within the town limits.

Sights

The main attraction of the area is the

, one of the 28 peaks of the

Crown of Polish Mountains Crown of Polish Mountains – a list of 28 peaks one per each of the mountain ranges of Poland. It was suggested by geographer, traveller and writer and dr Wojciech Lewandowski in the tourism and local lore magazine '. The list was on Decemb ...

. The name of the region

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 ...

comes from the name of that mountain. Now it is under reservation as ”Góra Ślęża landscape and geological reservation park”. With its 718 m.s.l. is the highest peak of the Sudetes Foreland. Its specific microclimate allows develop of the large species of Fauna and Flora. In ancient time (bronze) it was the Pagan Solar Cult center. The

Christianization Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

of the territory begins in the 10th century. The old Tourist House of

PTTK ''Polskie Towarzystwo Turystyczno-Krajoznawcze'', PTTK (Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society) is a Polish non-governmental tourist organization with 312 branches across the country. The PTTK is one of the oldest tourist societies in Europe. ...

and the 19th-century Church of the Visitation of Mary are located at the sight. There are many touristic paths as well for the pedestrians and for the cyclists. In the oldest house in center of Sobótka there is an archeological museum of Mr. Stanisław Dunajewski showing the large exposition of what was found nearby Ślęża Mountain. Historic sights include the Sobótka-Górka castle, the churches of Saint Anne (XIII/XIV) and Saint Jacob (1738) and the town hall.

Historical names of the city

* 1148 – "Sabath" * 1193 – "Sobath" * 1200 – "Sobat" * 1256 – "Czobotha" * 1329 – "Zobota" * 1336 – "Zobotka" * 1343 - "Czoboten" * 1399 - "Czobothen" * 1404 - "Czobotaw" * 1561 - "Zobten" * 1938 - "Zobten am Berge" * 1945 - "Sobótka"

Notable people

Dieter Grahn Dieter Grahn (born 20 March 1944) is a German rower who competed for East Germany in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics. He was born in Zobten, Silesia, Germany (today in Poland). In 1968 he was a crew member of the East ...

(born 1944), German rower *

Tadeusz Dolny Tadeusz Dolny (born 7 May 1958) is a retired Polish football player and his last international game for Poland was against Germany. He played for a few clubs, including Górnik Zabrze Górnik Zabrze Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as G ...

(born 1958), retired Polish football player

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Sobótka.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sobotka Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Wrocław County