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Bytom Odrzański () is a town on the
Oder The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...
river 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 ...
, in
Nowa Sól County __NOTOC__ Nowa Sól County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its ...
of
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 ...
. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 4,191.


History

Archaeological findings from the
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...
and
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 ...
around Bytom suggest an early settlement. A Slavic gród is mentioned in 1005. It became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century. During the invasion of Poland by Henry V, Polish ruler
Bolesław III Wrymouth Bolesław III Wrymouth (; 20 August 1086 – 28 October 1138), also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between 1107 and 1138. He was the onl ...
successfully defended the settlement in August 1109. The chronicles of Gallus Anonymus dedicate a lengthy passage concerning the battle, and praising the strong defense of the settlement and bravery of its defenders. This battle and Gall's praise is mentioned today on the main site of the town. A medieval
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 is first mentioned in 1203 on a ford crossing the Oder, held by the
Silesian Piasts 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 Wrymouth, Bolesław III of Poland. By Bolesław's Testament of Bolesław III Krzy ...
. During inheritance conflict of Polish high duke Bolesław IV the Curly with the sons of his elder brother Władysław II the Exile and Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...
the town was abandoned by Polish troops, due to its state of neglect, and burned down to prevent enemy from using its food supplies as well as having a place to restKsiążęta piastowscy Śląska Zygmunt Boras "Śląsk", 1982 page 33 The parish church was a filial of the Cistercian Lubiąż Abbey and first documented in 1175. The settlement itself was granted German town law in 1263 and subsequently experienced arrival of immigrants during the ''
Ostsiedlung (, ) is the term for the Early Middle Ages, early medieval and High Middle Ages, high medieval migration of Germanic peoples and Germanisation of the areas populated by Slavs, Slavic, Balts, Baltic and Uralic languages, Uralic peoples; the ...
''. Bytom remained under the rule 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 1504. Then it was integrated with the Jagiellonian-ruled Bohemian (Czech) Kingdom, and after 1526, together with Bohemia, it came under the authority of the
House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...
. In 1475 the town belonged to merchant Andreas Neumann (75%) and Georg von Glaubitz (25%). Johann von Rechenberg acquired both parts in 1524 and introduced the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
to the town. In 1540 the first Protestant pastor was appointed. In 1561 Franz von Rechenberg sold Beuthen to Fabian von Schoenaich. Von Schoenaich fought on the Catholic side in the
Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (; July 1546May 1547) was fought within the territories of the Holy Roman Empire between the allied forces of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Maurice, Duke of Saxony against the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League, with the forc ...
, but protected the Protestants in his domain. His cousin and successor Georg von Schoenaich made great contributions to the development of the town by the cultivation of the right bank of the Oder river, the planting of several fruits and grapes and the building of a new town hall (1602) and a bridge across the Oder. In 1618 a Protestant chapel was built, which was closed after 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 ...
by imperial order in 1653. The biggest achievement by Georg von Schoenaich however was the establishment of a
humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...
''Gymnasium academicum'' school in 1601. The school had 12 chairs, among them one for Protestant theology, for jurisprudence, medicine and – a novelty – morals. Between 1609 and 1613 a new school house was built. One of the gymnasiums students was Martin Opitz, who wrote his ''Aristarchus, sive De contemptu linguae Teutonicae'' there, which presented the German language as suitable for poetry. In 1628 the school however was already closed again by imperial order, since the gymnasium was considered
Calvinistic Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...
. Beuthen was fortified in 1616 by fortress master Andreas Hindenberger. During the Thirty Years' War winter king Frederick V allegedly stayed overnight on his flight from Bohemia. After the occupation of the town by Liechtenstein dragoons Beuthen was recatholized by force in 1628. The Stephans church and the hospital were taken from the Protestants in 1653. A fire in 1694 destroyed parts of the town and the town hall, which was rebuilt in 1696. The town was raised to the status of a
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 ...
by decree of Emperor Leopold I of Habsburg in 1697. After
Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself '' King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prus ...
seized Silesia in the 1740s the Protestant school was opened again, and between 1744 and 1746 a Protestant church was built. Between 1766 and 1884 it was a garrison town. During the late 19th century
brown coal Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, Combustion, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered ...
mining became an important pillar of the local economy. The
Prussian state railways The term Prussian state railways (German: ''Preußische Staatseisenbahnen'') encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the state of Prussia. The words "state railways" are not capitalized because Prussia did not have a ...
opened a connection to Beuthen in 1871. From 1871 to 1945 it was part of Germany. In 1945 around 40% of the town was destroyed, however, the central marketplace with many historical monuments, such as the iconic Town Hall, remained intact. Beuthen, along with the bulk of Lower Silesia, passed once again to Poland in accordance with 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 ...
. The town was renamed to Bytom Odrzański to distinguish it from
Bytom Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian language, Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital. It is one ...
in
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 ...
, by adding the adjective ''Odrzański'' after the Oder river.


Demographics


Notable people

* Martin Opitz (1597–1639) attended the ''gymnasium'' at Bytom in 1617 * Jochen Klepper (1903–1942), journalist and writer


Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Bytom Odrzański.


References


External links


Official town webpage
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Lubusz Voivodeship Nowa Sól County Populated riverside places in Poland