Łęknica (; , ) is a

border town A border town is a town or city close to the boundary between two countries, states, or regions. Usually the term implies that the nearness to the border is one of the things the place is most famous for. With close proximities to a different coun ...

in western

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, one of the two gminas of

Żary County __NOTOC__ Żary County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland, on the German border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms ...

Lubusz Voivodeship Lubusz Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) in western Poland with a population of 972,140. Its regional capitals are Gorzów Wielkopolski and Zielona Góra. The region is characterized by a landscape of forests, lake ...

. Muskau Park (''Park Mużakowski''), a Polish-German

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

and Historic Monument of Poland, stretches north of the town centre.

Geography

The town is situated in the Polish part of the historic

Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (, ; , ; ; or ''Milsko''; ) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the north, it makes up the region of Lusatia, named after the Polabian Slavs, Slavic ''Lusici'' tribe. Both parts of Lusatia a ...

region, in the broad valley of the

Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (; ; ; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.

river, which forms the border with

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. A bridge across the river connects it with the opposite German town of Bad Muskau, another border crossing in the south leads to Krauschwitz. Łęknica's population numbers 2,478 (2019).

History

The area along the Neisse river was already settled in the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. While neighbouring Muskau was already mentioned in 1249 and was awarded town rights in 1452, the village of ''Lugnitz'' was first documented in 1505, then part of the Muskau

state country State country (; ; ) was a unit of administrative and territorial division in the Bohemian crown lands of Silesia and Upper Lusatia, existing from 15th to 18th centuries. These estates were exempt from feudal tenure by privilege of the Bohemian ...

. According to the 1635 Peace of Prague, Lugknitz together with Upper Lusatia passed from the Bohemian Crown to the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

and from 1697 to 1763 it was also under the rule of Polish kings in personal union. One of two main routes connecting

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

ran through the area at that time. Upon the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

in 1815, it was ceded to

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and incorporated into the

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1742 and established as an official province in 1815, then became part of the German Empire in 1871. In 1919, as ...

. About 1880 it was still a small Sorbian agricultural village, one of only two Sorbian-speaking settlements east of the Neisse river, the other being Bronowice (''Braunsdorf/Brunojcy''). That changed with the turn of century, when industry was established on the Neisse. Brown coal started to be mined. Based on rich clay deposits, ceramic companies emerged and also glass factories. From 1940 to 1945 the village was included within the town limits of Muskau as its eastern right-bank district. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 70% of the town was destroyed, as well as much of the industry (brown coal mine "Babina" from 40%, glassworks 30% and slate factories 50%). The town was separated from Bad Muskau by the new state border along the

Oder–Neisse line The Oder–Neisse line (, ) is an unofficial term for the Germany–Poland border, modern border between Germany and Poland. The line generally follows the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers, meeting the Baltic Sea in the north. A small portion ...

, the remaining German population was expelled and the place was gradually settled with Polish military veterans, refugees, people returning from forced labour in Germany, people repatriated from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and in 1958, 18 families repatriated from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

settled in the town. The settlement changed name several times, ''Łuknica'' in 1945–1947, then ''Ługnica'' and ''Łęknice''. It received the name ''Łęknica'' in 1956 and obtained town privileges in 1969. In 1972 the border crossing between Poland and

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

was opened and visa-free local border traffic was allowed.

Twin towns – sister cities

Łęknica is twinned with: * Bad Muskau, Germany * Hejnice, Czech Republic

Gallery

File:Park Muzakowski1.jpg, Mużakowski Park File:Park Muzakowski2.jpg, Mużakowski Park File:Park von Muskau in Łęknica und Bad Muskau.jpg, Mużakowski Park File:Bad Muskau - Park - Łęknica 01 ies.jpg, Polish boundary stone File:Polenmarkt Łęknica 11.jpg, Polenmarkt

References

External links

Official town webpageSatellite photo from Google Maps
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Lubusz Voivodeship Populated riverside places in Poland Żary County Germany–Poland border crossings