Głogówek (, , , ) is a small historic 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 ...
. It is situated on the
Osobloga River, in
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 ...
of the greater
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, ...
n region. The city lies approximately from
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 ...
, the capital of the
voivodeship
A voivodeship ( ) or voivodate is the area administered by a voivode (governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in ...
, and is about from the
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus
*Czech (surnam ...
border. The name of the city comes from the
Polish word , meaning '
hawthorn'. The plant was abundant in the area when the city was founded. The town is well known for its preserved medieval core, market square and many architectural monuments.
Since 2009, the town has been bilingual in Polish and German, a substantial German minority having remained in the area after the bulk of Silesia was ceded to Poland at the end of
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 ...
.
History
Previously, it was believed that the first historical mention of Głogówek was in the year 1076, however this is now known to be false. The sources which frequently cited the city's 11th-century founding were misinterpreted, and referred instead to 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 ...
n town of
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 ...
. Given the ages of some texts, a mistake in identifying the first historical mentions of the two settlements is understandable. At the time, military conflict in the region was common, and the use of the Głogów fortress may very well have inspired the names of smaller villages in the surrounding area, causing the confusion.
The first unequivocal historical mention of Głogówek in a Silesian source dates from 1212. This source is a list of villages which were in the
tithing
A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or ...
area of the
Leubus Cloister. The village was referred to as "Glogov" in 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 ...
text, which describes, in some detail, the boundaries of the village. This description could only apply to the present-day village, and is considered to be the first unambiguous mention of Głogówek. It was part of the
Duchy of Opole
The Duchy of Opole (; ) or Duchy of Oppeln () was one of the duchies of Silesia ruled by the branch of Polish Piast dynasty, formed during the medieval fragmentation of Poland into provincial duchies. Its capital was Opole () in Upper Silesia.
S ...
of fragmented
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 ...
-ruled
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 ...
.
Town privileges
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 traditio ...
were granted to Głogówek by local dukes in 1275. Another error in Silesian record-keeping states that Głogówek, still a fairly small town, had 12 official representatives, a number much too large for a city of that size.
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 ...
, the largest city in the province nowadays, had only five at the time.
In 1327, Głogówek fell under
Bohemian
Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to:
*Anything of or relating to Bohemia
Culture and arts
* Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers.
* Bohemian style, a ...
suzerainty, however, it remained under the rule of local Polish dukes of the Piast dynasty until 1532. The town's city rights were renewed again in 1373, this time under the
Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg rights (, , ; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages gr ...
provision. In 1379, a
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
,
Saint Bartholomew
Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2).
New Testament references
The name ''Bartholomew ...
's, was built. Only a few years later, the
duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
Vladislaus II of Opole (+1401), built another large cloister in
Mochów, associated with
Częstochowa
Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...
in the area. From 1420 to 1460 Głogówek was the capital of the
Duchy of Głogówek and Prudnik, which in 1460 was reintegrated with the Duchy of Opole.
In 1532 the town was incorporated into the
Habsburg Empire
The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
as part of the
Bohemian Crown Lands
The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were the states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods with feudal obligations to the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of Bohemia, an electorate of the Hol ...
. From the late 16th century it was owned by the Oppersdorff family.
George III Oppersdorff, as a supporter of Catholicism, built several chapels in the 17th century and made the town a regional pilgrimage destination. Due to his Catholicism, 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 ...
, he had to take refuge in nearby Poland, where, thanks to the help of Polish king
Władysław IV Vasa
Władysław IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and claimant of the thrones of Monarchy of Sweden, Sweden and List of Russian monarchs, Russia. Born into the House of Vasa as a prince ...
, he stayed at the
Wawel
The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established o ...
and
Niepołomice
Niepołomice (pronounced ) is a town in southern Poland, seat of Gmina Niepołomice in the Wieliczka County in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship.
It is situated on the Vistula River, on the verge of the large virgin Niepołomice Forest.
There is ...
royal castles.
[ During the war, in 1632, the town was invaded and partly destroyed by ]Saxon
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
troops, and in 1643, it was largely destroyed by the Swedes
Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...
and about 500 of its inhabitants died of an epidemic. During the Swedish invasion of Poland
The Deluge was a series of mid-17th-century military campaigns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense, it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648 and the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, comprising the Pol ...
, Polish King
Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...
John II Casimir Vasa
John II Casimir Vasa (; ; 22 March 1609 – 16 December 1672) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1648 to his abdication in 1668 as well as a claimant to the throne of Sweden from 1648 to 1660. He was the first son of Sigis ...
stayed in the castle in Głogówek from October 17, 1655, until December 18 of the same year. Hetman Stefan Czarniecki
Stefan Czarniecki (Polish: of the Łodzia coat of arms, 1599 – 16 February 1665) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish szlachta, nobleman, general and military commander. In his career, he rose from a petty nobleman to a magnate hol ...
, poet Jan Andrzej Morsztyn
Jan Andrzej Morsztyn (1621–1693) was a Polish poet, member of the landed nobility, and official in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was ''starosta'' of Zawichost, Tymbark and Kowal. He was also pantler of Sandomierz (1647–58), Roya ...
, future king Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki
Michael I (, ; 31 May 1640 – 10 November 1673) was the ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 29 September 1669 until his death in 1673 ...
, and parliamentarian Jakub Sobieski, father of the future king John III Sobieski
John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696.
Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...
, also visited the town at that time. John II Casimir Vasa visited the town again, after his abdication
Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the Order of succession, succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of ...
, in 1669.
After the First Silesian War
The First Silesian War () was a war between Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia and Habsburg monarchy, Austria that lasted from 1740 to 1742 and resulted in Prussia's seizing most of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Poland) from Austria. The ...
in the mid-18th century, Głogówek, under its German name ''Oberglogau'', came under Prussian
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...
control. The town was, for the most part, destroyed in a large fire in 1765. In addition, Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
came to stay in the castle, using it to finish his fourth symphony. From 1871 the town was part of the German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
. It was connected to the railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
network in 1876 when its population, which was almost completely bilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
, stood at 6,000.
After 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 ...
, Oberglogau became part of the Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
. In the Upper Silesia plebiscite
The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty and carried out on 20 March 1921 to determine ownership of the province of Upper Silesia between Weimar Germany and the Second Polish Republic. The region was ethni ...
mandated by the Versailles Treaty
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace of Versailles, exactl ...
4,995 inhabitants (95.9%) voted for remaining part of Germany. 215 inhabitants (4.1%) voted for Poland. The town's ordynat John George Oppersdorff, who advocated the reintegration of the town with Poland, in 1930 as punishment for his pro-Polish stance was forced to renounce his fee tail
In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust, established by deed or settlement, that restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents that property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise ali ...
and hand it over to his son who in turn left the town in 1945 before the approaching Soviets.[ 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 ( ...
, a local branch of the Union of Poles in Germany
Union of Poles in Germany (, ) is an organisation of the Poland, Polish minority in Germany, founded in 1922. In 1924, the union initiated collaboration between other minorities, including Sorbs, Danish minority in Southern Schleswig, Danes, Fris ...
was located in the town, and in 1931 the Polish Bank Ludowy ("People's Bank") was founded. Polish activist were persecuted since 1937, and, after the German invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
, which started 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 assets of the Polish bank were confiscated. In 1938, the German mayor removed the Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
Marian column from the Market Square.[Adamus, p. 225] In 1936, the town had 7,742 inhabitants.
During the Second World War, the town was the base for a working party (E600) of British and Commonwealth prisoners of war, under the administration of the Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...
at Lamsdorf (currently Łambinowice
Łambinowice is a village in Nysa County, Opole Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Łambinowice. It lies approximately north-east of Nysa, Poland, Nysa and south-west of the region ...
). The prisoners were working in a sugar beet factory (''Hotzenplotzer Zuckerfabrik''). In 1942 the historic church bell from the Franciscan church was taken to Western Germany for armaments.[Adamus, p. 222] In January 1945, as the Soviet armies resumed their offensive and advanced from the east, the prisoners were marched westward in the so-called Long March or Death March. Many of them died from exposure or exhaustion. Some prisoners got far enough to the west to be liberated by the allied armies after some four months of travelling on foot in appalling conditions. 40% of the town were destroyed during the war.
After the war, the town was placed under Polish administration 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 ...
(pending a final peace conference which eventually never took place) and renamed to Głogówek. Contrary to most other towns in 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, ...
, not the entire German population was expelled. For this reason, a German minority has remained in the town. Since 2009, the town has been officially bilingual in Polish and German.
Fortunately, the old church bell survived the war, and was found in 1949 in Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, then was placed in a church in Fulda
Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival.
Histor ...
, West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
before returning to Głogówek in 1994,[ whereas the Marian column returned to Głogówek in 1960.][ In 1975 the Regional Museum of Głogówek was founded in the castle complex.][
]
Sports
The local football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
team is Fortuna Głogówek. It competes in the lower leagues.
Notable people
Natives
* House of the Von Oppersdorf(f), a Silesian nobile house
** Franz ''Graf von'' Oppersdorff (1778–1818), a great lover of music, patron of Beethoven
** Eduard Maria ''Graf von'' Oppersdorff, ''Freiherr von'' Aich und Friedstein (1800–1889)
** Hans Georg ''Graf von'' Oppersdorff (1866–1948)
* Johann (Giovanni) Stanetti (1663–1726), Austrian sculptor
* Johann Sedlatzek
Johann Jean Sedlatzek (also Johann John Sedlaczek; 6 December 1789 – 11 April 1866) was a Silesians, Silesian flautist born in Głogówek (Oberglogau),History of Oberglogau in Brief. "http://www.smarzly.de/6.html". Smarzly 2003. Retrieved on 16 ...
(1789–1866), Austrian flutist
* Wilhelm Fraenkel (1844–1916), Austrian Jewish architect and master public servant for urban development () of Vienna
* Karl Zuschneid (1856–1926), German musicologist and director of the Mannheim Academy of Music
* Gerhard Strecke (1880–1968), German composer and actor
* Albert Willimsky (1890–1940), German Catholic priest, anti-Nazi activist and martyr
* Walter Ofiera, (1911–1995), German actor
* Joachim Georg Görlach (1931–2009), German composer, conductor and journalist
* Siegfried Tann (b. 1942), German politician of the CDU[ :de:Siegfried Tann]
* Lukas Klemenz (b. 1995), Polish football player
Other residents
* Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
(1770–1827), German composer and pianist
* The grandfather of American actress Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 and May 1986 cover ...
, Friedrich Karl Johannes von Schlebrügge, was born on 21 November 1886 in Oberglogau and emigrated in the 1930s to Sweden.
* The great-grandmother of the United States' Democratic Party's 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...
, Mathilde Fränkel, was born on 14 August 1845 in Oberglogau.
Twin towns – sister cities
See twin towns of Gmina Głogówek.
References
External links
Official website of the city
Głogówek Online
Information Portal of Głogówek Community
Jewish Community in Głogówek
on Virtual Shtetl
{{Authority control
Prudnik County
Cities and towns in Opole Voivodeship
Cities in Silesia
Historic Jewish communities in Poland
Populated riverside places in Poland
Capitals of former nations