Biała, informally ''Biała Prudnicka'' (, ), is a town in southern

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 ...

, located in the southern part of

Opole Voivodeship Opole Voivodeship ( , , ), is the smallest and least populated voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province's name derives from that of the region's capital and largest city, Opole. It is part of Silesia. A relatively lar ...

Prudnik County __NOTOC__ Prudnik County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Opole Voivodeship, south-western Poland, on the Czech border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government ref ...

near the border with the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It is the administrative seat of Gmina Biała. As of December 2021, it has a population of 2,336. The town was founded in the 12th–13th century. Over the centuries, Biała was located within Poland,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

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, ...

, Germany, and eventually again Poland. A significant German minority resides in the vicinity. The town also possesses numerous architectural monuments and historic buildings.

Etymology

The name "''Biała''" was created after Polish word ''biały'' (white).

Geography

Biała is located in the historic

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, ...

(

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

) region at the confluence of the Biała river. The city is situated on the Biała Uplands (; a part of the

Silesian Lowlands Silesian Lowlands (or Silesian Plains, , , ) are lowlands located in Silesia, Poland in Central Europe. A small part is located in the Czech Republic. The Silesian ridge runs through northern Silesia from west-northwest to east-southeast and adjo ...

History

Middle Ages

The region became part of the emerging Polish state under its first historic ruler

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 ...

in 990. A Polish stronghold existed in present-day Biała, and in the 12th-13th century it was already a seat of local

castellan 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 ...

s. Biała was located on a

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over land or water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a singl ...

connecting

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

and Nysa, and various crafts developed. As a result of the

fragmentation of Poland The period of rule by the Piast dynasty between the 10th and 14th centuries is the first major stage of the history of Poland, history of the Polish state. The dynasty was founded by a series of dukes listed by the chronicler Gall Anonymous in t ...

, it was part of the duchies of

Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...

Niemodlin Niemodlin (; ) is a town in Opole County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 6,315 inhabitants (2019). History The community was first mentioned as ''Nemodlin'' in a 1224 deed and received town privileges in 1283. The German place-name ''Falkenberg ...

and Oleśnica, and remained ruled by local Polish dukes of the

Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...

until 1532, although in 1327 it fell under the suzerainty of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. In the southwestern corner of their domain, the dukes of Opole built a castle, named Biała (in medieval documents mentioned under the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

ized name ''Bela''), on the Biała river. This castle was the seat of power of a local

mayor of the palace Under the Merovingian dynasty, the mayor of the palace or majordomo, ( or ) was the manager of the household of the Frankish king. He was the head of the Merovingian administrative ladder and orchestrated the operation of the entire court. He ...

. Around the foot of the castle, a village, settled by new colonists, including Germans, the seat of its local

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

, served as a setting-off point for further settlement in the region, which was densely forested and bordered

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

. The village was first mentioned historically in 1225. In 1270 Biała, was a county seat, and it 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 ...

in 1311, later modeled on

Środa Śląska Środa Śląska (, ; ) is a town in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of Środa Śląska County, and of the smaller administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Środa Śląska. The town lies approximately w ...

and

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 ...

. Around the year 1270, a new settlement, named Zolez and later Zülz, was founded between castle and the small surrounding village. Its construction was highly traditional. The town was walled after its completion, with two gates being constructed to allow access. A marketplace was built in the center of the town as well. Around this time, several surrounding municipalities changed their names. Biała, named for the castle, became the Old Town, while the new settlement, to the east, was already named Zülz, by the colonists, and was renamed Alt Zülz (English: Old Zülz). The church at Alt Zülz, which had been the main church in the area, was made a satellite church of a new, larger city church, built in 1400 by local Polish dukes. Zülz became the seat of a

vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

in 1311. In 1428 it was plundered by the

Hussites upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century upright=1.2, The Lands of the Bohemian Crown during the Hussite Wars. The movement began during the Prag ...

. In 1502 and 1503 Duke Jan II the Good granted various new privileges to the town. In 1335, the town became a Presbyterium, a local seat of power of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. However, this was not permanent. After the death of the last duke of Opole, Jan II the Good in 1532, the town was incorporated to the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

-ruled

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

and the Habsburgs soon mortgaged the town's ecclesiastical position to pay off debts. Also by the end of the 14th century, the city had acquired a large

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

population. Over the next 200 years, the town passed into the possession of various groups, including the

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

s of

Prószków Prószków (, ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Poland, town in Opole County, Opole Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Gmina Prószków, a Polish/German Bilingual communes in Poland, bilingual commune since 2006. ...

. This was significant, as under the rule of the barons, Zülz was only one of two

n cities, the other being

Głogów Głogów (; , rarely , ) is a city in western Poland. It is the county seat of Głogów County, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Głogów is the sixth largest town in the Voivodeship; its population in 2021 was 65,400. Among the oldest towns in Po ...

, which did not expel their Jewish populations. Under a 1601 petition of the barons, Bohemian King

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...

extended special protective privileges to the Jewish population of Zülz.

Modern era

The town was doubly devastated in the 1630s, as both 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 ...

and the

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

killed nearly the entire population of the town. To mark the terrible occurrence, a memorial remembering those who died around that time was constructed. In 1645 along with Opole and Racibórz it returned to Poland under the

House of Vasa The House of Vasa or Wasa was a Dynasty, royal house that was founded in 1523 in Sweden. Its members ruled the Kingdom of Sweden from 1523 to 1654 and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1587 to 1668. Its agnatic line became extinct with t ...

, and in 1666 it fell to Bohemia again. Despite being outside of Polish rule after 1666, in the late 17th century church services in Polish were still held in Biała and surrounding villages. Special commercial rights granted to the town in 1699 allowed local Jews to do business with people from

, and the rest of

, giving them rights equal to local

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

merchants. These rights served as the impetus for a strong Jewish immigration into Zülz, mainly in the 18th century. This earned the city the nickname ''Judenzülz,'' although the local Jewish community had given the town another nickname, the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

''Makom Zadik'' (English: Place of the Protected). After the 1742 partition of Silesia, Zülz was annexed by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

. The main effect of this came several decades later, in the form of an emancipation decree issued by Frederick William III. This proclamation ended the second-class status of Jews. Many Jews took this opportunity and moved to larger cities, leaving Zülz. This emigration was so strong that by 1914, the Jewish community in Zülz was largely defunct. At the same time the indigenous Polish population was subject to increasing

Germanisation Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people, and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In l ...

policies. Due to the lack of Polish schools, local Poles sent their children to schools in so-called

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

in the

Russian Partition The Russian Partition (), sometimes called Russian Poland, constituted the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that were annexed by the Russian Empire in the course of late-18th-century Partitions of Poland. The Russian ac ...

of Poland. Polish activist and publicist , who was a Polish teacher in the town in the 1870s, became the subject of an investigation by the local Prussian administration and police for writing about this practice in the ''Gazeta Toruńska'', a major Polish newspaper in the

Prussian Partition The Prussian Partition (), or Prussian Poland, is the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired during the Partitions of Poland, in the late 18th century by the Kingdom of Prussia. The Prussian acquisition amounted to ...

of Poland. The castle, like the town, passed through the ownership of many different groups. In 1727, the castle was still in the possession of the barons of Prószków (then ''Proskau''), who began a restoration of both the castle and its architecturally notable 16th-century

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

. In 1748, the castle passed into the ownership of Bartolomaius von Oderfeld, as he was the new ruler of the area. In 1756, the castle became the property of count Rudolf Matuszka from

and his descendants, until the breakup of the local administrative units to which Zülz belonged, in 1841. The city of Zülz purchased the castle outright in 1874, which was then used for city business and administration until 1923. The castle became a girls' school in 1926. The city was connected to the railroad network on October 22, 1896, with the completion of a railroad spur from the nearby town of Prudnik. Another connection, a spur connecting the city to the northeast with the town of Gogolin, was completed on December 4 of the same year. In 1933 the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

came to power in Germany, and in 1934 Polish-language church services were cancelled. After

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 ...

, the town passed to Poland in accordance to the

Potsdam Agreement The Potsdam Agreement () was the agreement among three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union after the war ended in Europe that was signed on 1 August 1945 and published the following day. A ...

. In line with Communist propaganda that the lands were "recovered" lands, the town was given its allegedly original name ''Biała''.

Historical population

* 1782: 2,022 * 1787: 2,408 * 1825: 2,462 * 1905: 2,816 * 1939: 3,784 * 1961: 2,832 * 1971: 3,100 * 2021: 2,336

Education

* Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz public school and preschool * Technikum * Zasadnicza Szkoła Zawodowa

Economy

The biggest corporation in Biała was Zakłady Przemysłu Dziewiarskiego i Pończoszniczego w Białej Prudnickiej. Currently, the major industrial plant in Biała is Ustronianka Sp. z o.o.

Religion

Catholic Church

* Biała Deanery * Assumption of Mary parish (8 1 Maja St.) * Assumption of Mary church (8 1 Maja St. ) * Saints Peter and Paul church (8 Stare Miasto St.)

Cemeteries

* Cmentarz Komunalny * Jewish cemetery

Sport

Sports venues

* Football pitch at Koraszewskiego Street * Football pitch in the Town Park

Sports teams

* LKS Polonia Biała (football) * AP Biała (football) * Tigers Biała (football) * White MTB Team Biała (cycling)

International relations

Twin towns - sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Biała.

Notable people

* Solomon Pappenheim (1740–1814), theologian, writer, rabbi * Adolf Martin Schlesinger (1769–1838), music publisher * Samuel Fränkel (1801–1881), industrialist * Louis Loewe (1809–1888), linguist *

David Deutsch David Elieser Deutsch ( ; ; born 18 May 1953) is a British physicist at the University of Oxford, often described as the "father of quantum computing". He is a visiting professor in the Department of Atomic and Laser Physics at the Centre for ...

(1810–1873), rabbi * (1841–1902), local Polish teacher, activist and publisher *

Harry Thürk Harry Thürk (8 March 1927 – 24 November 2005) was a German writer. Life In 1934, Thürk moved with his family to Prudnik, Neustadt. After attending trade school, he began to work for the German train system (Reichsbahn). After being drafted ...

(1927–2005), writer * Anna Myszyńska (1931–2019), writer * (born 1969), politician, member of the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

(Polish parliament)

References

External links

Official website of Gmina Biała

Jewish Community in Biała Prudnicka
on

Virtual Shtetl The Virtual Shtetl () is a bilingual Polish-English portal of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, devoted to the Jewish history of Poland. History The Virtual Shtetl website was officially launched on June 16, 2009 by founder A ...

"Die Juden in Zülz"
a digitized book at the

Leo Baeck Institute, New York The Leo Baeck Institute New York (LBI) is a research institute in New York City dedicated to the study of German-Jewish history and culture, founded in 1955. It is one of three independent research centers founded by a group of German-speaking J ...

{{Authority control Cities in Silesia Cities and towns in Opole Voivodeship Prudnik County Historic Jewish communities in Poland Populated riverside places in Poland