Kąty Wrocławskie (; ), often abbreviated to Kąty, is a town in

Wrocław County __NOTOC__ Wrocław 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 passed ...

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 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 the seat of the administrative district (

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' ) is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,479 gminy throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. 940 gminy include cities and tow ...

) called

Gmina Kąty Wrocławskie __NOTOC__ Gmina Kąty Wrocławskie is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Wrocław County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the town of Kąty Wrocławskie, which lies approximately south-west of the ...

. It lies approximately 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 ...

. The river Bystrzyca, a tributary of 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 ...

, flows through the town on the eastern side. As of 2019, the town has a population of 6,994. It is part of the larger Wrocław metropolitan area.

History

Early Medieval History

In the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

, the region in which Kąty Wrocławskie is in today was inhabited by the

Silesians Silesians (; Silesian German: ''Schläsinger'' ''or'' ''Schläsier''; ; ; ) is both an ethnic as well as a geographical term for the inhabitants of Silesia, a historical region in Central Europe divided by the current national boundaries o ...

, one of the Polish tribes, which became part of the Polish state after its establishment in the 10th century. The Polish settlement with a wooden church probably already existed in 1101, as mentioned in later centuries. As a result of the 12th-century fragmentation of

it was part of various Polish duchies of Lower Silesia, the first being the

Duchy of Silesia The Duchy of Silesia (, ) with its capital at Wrocław was a medieval provincial duchy of Poland located in the region of Silesia. Soon after it was formed under the Piast dynasty in 1138, it fragmented into various Silesian duchies. In 1327, t ...

. A castle already existed in 1293, and remained in possession of the Polish

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 1474.

Founding of the town

The town was established in 1297 by

Bolko I the Strict Bolko (Bolesław) I the Strict, also known as Bolko (Bolesław) of Jawor ( or ''Srogi'' or ''Jaworski''; 1252/56 – 9 November 1301), was a Duke of Lwówek Śląski, Lwówek 1278–81 (with his brother as co-ruler) and Duchy of Jawor, Jawor after ...

under the Neumarkter Recht/Prawo średzkie law. In 1298, records show that a town, named ''Kant'' was already established. In 1302, more records mention the presence of a hereditary

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 ...

ruling over the town, as well as the existence of a

Catholic 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 ...

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 ...

church of Saints Peter and Paul. In the first years of its existence, Kąty Wrocławskie was ruled by the Polish dukes of Wrocław, and it was only until later that the town became fully sovereign. In 1310, the town became a notable center of trade in the region. The success of the town was helped by the existence of a nearby ford in the river Bystrzyca. In 1322, the town was gifted to the daughter of the

Henry VI the Good Henry VI the Good (also known as of Wrocław or of Breslau) (; ) (18 March 1294 – 24 November 1335) was a Duke of Wrocław from 1296 (with his brothers as co-rulers until 1311). He was the second son of Henry V the Fat, Duke of Legnica and W ...

, who married Konrad I of Oleśnica. From 1329, the town belonged to the Duchy of Jawor-Świdnica, later coming under the control of the Duchy of Ziębice. In 1339, the duke Bolko II the Small sold the town to Konrad II the Gray. In 1419, Konrad IV the Elder, in exchange for a loan, gave the town to the Bishop of Wrocław. Because the loan never got paid back, Kąty Wrocławskie became the property of the Diocese of Wrocław. In the mid-15th century,

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 ...

invaded and partially destroyed the town and its walls. Later in the 15th century, a fire severely damaged the town. 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 ...

the town was plundered several times by various armies, including 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, ...

in 1632 and

Austrians Austrians (, ) are the citizens and Nationality, nationals of Austria. The English term ''Austrians'' was applied to the population of Archduchy of Austria, Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. Subsequently, during the 19th century, ...

in 1633. Until 1810 the town remained under the suzerainty of the Diocese of Wrocław. In 1843 a railway connection with

was opened, the second oldest 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, ...

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Kąty Wrocławskie.

References

Footnotes

External links

Official town websiteNon-official website
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Wrocław County Cities in Silesia