Borowice () is a village in the administrative district of

Gmina Podgórzyn __NOTOC__ Gmina Podgórzyn is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Jelenia Góra County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the village of Podgórzyn, approximately south-west of Jelenia Góra and west of the ...

, within

Jelenia Góra County __NOTOC__ Karkonosze 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 pass ...

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. It lies approximately south of

Jelenia Góra Jelenia Góra (; ; ) is a historic city in southwestern Poland, within the historical region of Lower Silesia. Jelenia Góra is situated in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, close to the Karkonosze mountain range running along the Polish-Czech bo ...

, 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

The area became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century. Initially it was administratively part of the

Wleń Wleń () is a small historic town in Lwówek Śląski County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies on the Bóbr river in the historic Lower Silesian region, approximately south-east of Lwówek Śląski, and west of the re ...

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 ...

y. The village was founded in 1644 by Swiss carpenter Martin Markensteiner, who fled from

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 ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

, in 1940–1942, the Germans used Belgian,

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and Soviet prisoners of war and possibly also Czech and Polish civilians for

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

to build a road connecting the village with

Przełęcz Karkonoska Przełęcz Karkonoska or Karkonosze Pass (, literally "Silesian Pass") is a mountain pass in the central Giant Mountains on the Polish-Czech border. At , it is the lowest point of the main ridge of the Giant Mountains. In the Czech Republic, the ...

, now known as ''Droga Borowicka'' ("Borowice Road"), however, the construction was not completed.

Gallery

File:Borowice (007) jar.jpg, Wooden house File:Borowice (015) jar.jpg, Hotel Borowice Cemetery 01.jpg, Memorial to Allied POWs murdered by Nazi Germany in WWII

References

Villages in Karkonosze County Populated places established in 1644 Populated riverside places in Poland {{JeleniaGóra-geo-stub