Świny is a village in the administrative district of

Gmina Bolków __NOTOC__ Gmina Bolków is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Jawor County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the town of Bolków, which lies approximately south-west of Jawor and west of the regio ...

, within

Jawor County __NOTOC__ Jawor County () 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 government reforms passed in ...

Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesian Voivodeship (, ) in southwestern Poland, is one of the 16 Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. It covers an area of and has a total population of 2,899,986. It is one of the wealthiest ...

, in south-western Poland.

Geography

It lies in the

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a historical and geographical region mostly located in Poland with small portions in the Czech Republic and Germany. It is the western part of the region of Silesia. Its largest city is Wrocław. The first ...

region on the Polish National road 3 north-east of

Bolków Bolków () is a town in Jawor County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Bolków and part of the '' Neisse-Nysa-Nisa'' Euroregion. Overview The town lies at ...

, about south-west of

Jawor Jawor () is a town in south-western Poland with 22,890 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the seat of Jawor County, and lies approximately west of the regional capital Wrocław. One of the oldest towns ...

and west of the regional capital

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

History

A settlement on the historic road leading from the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

across the Western Sudetes to the

Duchy of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia, also later referred to in English as the Czech Duchy, (Old Czech: ) was a monarchy and a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire in Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages, Early and High M ...

already existed in the 10th/11th century. According to legend, a Bohemian knight Biwoy about 716 killed a wild boar ("swine") by his own hand and dedicated it to the Přemyslid ancestress

Libuše , Libussa, Libushe or, historically ''Lubossa'', is a legendary ancestor of the Přemyslid dynasty and the Czechs, Czech people as a whole. According to legend, she was the youngest but wisest of three sisters, who became queen after their father ...

, wherefore he received her sister Kazi's hand and was enfeoffed with the surrounding estates. Indeed, the forebears of the local Lords of Świny (''Schweinichen'') may have established themselves in the area when

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

came under the rule of the

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of King Casimir III the Great. Branches of ...

duke

Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was Duchy of Poland (966–1025), Duke of Poland from 960 until his death in 992 and the founder of the first unified History of Poland, Polish state, the Civitas Schinesghe. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was t ...

. Świny Castle was first documented in 1108 by the medieval chronicler

Cosmas of Prague Cosmas of Prague (; ; – 21 October 1125) was a Czech priest, writer and historian. Life Between 1075 and 1081, he studied in Liège. After his return to Bohemia, he married Božetěcha with whom he had a son, named Jindřich Zdík, and remai ...

, author of the ''Chronica Boemorum'', who mentioned one

Voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

Mutina of the

Vršovci The Vršovci (also Vrshovici; singular: Vršovec) were an ancient Czech noble family in the Duchy of Bohemia. History In Bohemia First noted in the power struggles of the 10th–12th centuries in Bohemia. The Vršovci were the third most power ...

dynasty meeting his uncle Nemoy at ''Castrum Suini in Poloniae'' to plot against Duke

Svatopluk of Bohemia Svatopluk the Lion (; died 21 September 1109) was Duke of Bohemia from 1107 until his assassination in 1109. His rule was overshadowed by the fierce conflict around the Bohemian throne in the 12th century. Family A member of the Přemyslid dyn ...

. ''Suini'' is thereby the oldest known castle in Lower Silesia. It again appeared as ''Zpini'' in an 1155 deed issued by

Pope Adrian IV Pope Adrian (or Hadrian) IV (; born Nicholas Breakspear (or Brekespear); 1 September 1159) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 4 December 1154 until his death in 1159. Born in England, Adrian IV was the first Pope ...

From the 13th century on, Świny apparently was the administrative seat of a Polish

castellany A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

on the trade route from the Silesian capital

across the Bohemian border at

Kamienna Góra Kamienna Góra (, ) is a town in south-western Poland with 18,235 inhabitants (2023). It is the seat of Kamienna Góra County, and also of the rural district called Gmina Kamienna Góra, although it is not part of the territory of the latter (t ...

Trutnov Trutnov (; ) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 30,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative division Trutnov consists of 21 ...

and

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. A parish church is first documented in 1313. However, over the centuries it lost its meaning, after the Silesian duke

Bolesław II Rogatka Bolesław or Boleslav may refer to: People * Bolesław (given name) (also ''Boleslav'' or ''Boleslaus''), including a list of people with this name Geography * Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland * Bolesław, Olkusz C ...

about 1270 erected neighbouring

Castle, and the castellany was relocated by the

Silesian Piast The Silesian Piasts were the elder of four lines of the Polish Piast dynasty beginning with Władysław II the Exile (1105–1159), eldest son of Duke Bolesław III of Poland. By Bolesław's testament, Władysław was granted Silesia as his here ...

dukes of

and

Świdnica Świdnica (; ; ) is a city on the Bystrzyca (Oder), Bystrzyca River in south-western Poland in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. As of 2021, it has a population of 55,413 inhabitants. It is the seat of Świdnica County, and also of the smaller dis ...

. Nevertheless, Świny, spared from demolitions in both the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

and the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, remained one of the largest castle complexes in the Silesian lands. In the 16th century the members of the Schweinichen noble family hosted a circle of mystics, among them

Jakob Böhme Jakob Böhme (; ; 24 April 1575 – 17 November 1624) was a German philosopher, Christian mysticism, Christian mystic, and Lutheran Protestant Theology, theologian. He was considered an original thinker by many of his contemporaries within the L ...

Abraham von Franckenberg Abraham von Franckenberg (24 June 1593 – 25 June 1652) was a German mystic, author, poet and hymn-writer. Life Abraham von Franckenberg was born in 1593 into an old Silesians, Silesian noble family in Ludwigsdorf bei Oleśnica, Oels. He atten ...

and

Angelus Silesius Angelus Silesius, Order of Friars Minor, OFM (9 July 1677), born Johann Scheffler, was a German Roman Catholicism, Catholic priest, physician, Mysticism, mystic and Christian poetry, religious poet. Born and raised a Lutheranism, Lutheran, he be ...

. Plundered by

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

troops in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, the castle was put up for compulsory sale in 1769. It was later held by the Austrian House of Hoyos and rapidly decayed.

References

External links

View of the Castle in Świny from the drone
{{Gmina Bolków Villages in Jawor County