Boguszów-Gorce () is a town in Wałbrzych County,

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. As of June 2021, it has a population of 15,085. The town is located approximately west of

Wałbrzych Wałbrzych (; ; or ''Walmbrich''; or ) is a city located in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland, seat of Wałbrzych County. Wałbrzych lies approximately southwest of the voivodeship capital Wrocław and about from the Czec ...

, and south-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 ...

. It lies on the border between the Wałbrzych Mountains and the Stone Mountains in the Central Sudetes.

History

Boguszów was granted town rights by King Vladislaus II in 1499. It was a mining town, and in 1502 Vladislaus II relinquished to the town a quarter of the

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

owed to him from the town's

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

mines. In the 16th century, the town became the most important

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

and silver ore mining center in the Sudeten part of Silesia, but by the end of the 16th century much of the deposits had been exploited, and then eventually local mining collapsed during 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 ...

. Local mines supplied silver to the mints in Wrocław and Złoty Stok. A new mining company was founded in 1701, which, however, did not revive local mining. In the late 18th century,

bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the coal seam, ...

and

baryte Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate (Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), ...

mining began on a larger scale. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the Germans operated a forced labour camp for Allied

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

in the town. In the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

and the 1950s, the villages of Sobięcin Górny, Koło, Lubominek and Stary Lesieniec were included within the town limits of Boguszów. In 1962, Gorce was granted town rights. Boguszów-Gorce was established in 1973 from the merger of the towns of Boguszów and Gorce and the village of Kuźnice Świdnickie. In 2016, a hoard of 1,385 late medieval coins, Prague groschen of Kings Charles IV and

Wenceslaus IV Wenceslaus IV (also ''Wenceslas''; ; , nicknamed "the Idle"; 26 February 136116 August 1419), also known as Wenceslaus of Luxembourg, was King of Bohemia from 1378 until his death and King of Germany from 1376 until he was deposed in 1400. As he ...

, was found on the border of Boguszów-Gorce and Wałbrzych. The hoard may have been hidden after 1420 during 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 ...

. It is one of the largest groschen hoards found in Poland.

Notable people

Soviet and Russian singer (Polish of origin)

Edita Piekha Edita Stanislavovna Piekha (born 31 July 1937) is a Soviet and Russian singer and actress of Polish descent. The peak of her popularity in the countries of the former USSR was in the 1960s. Her most famous song is “Our Neighbor”. (Наш с� ...

lived here from 1946-1955 with mother, stepfather and brother.

Twin towns – sister cities

Boguszów-Gorce is twinned with: * Smiřice, Czech Republic

References

Bibliography

* {{Authority control Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Wałbrzych County Cities in Silesia Populated riverside places in Poland