Namysłów (pronounced , ; ) is a historic

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

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 ...

, within

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 ...

. Located along the

Widawa The Widawa () is a river in Poland, a right-bank tributary of the Oder River. Towns along the Widawa include Namysłów, Bierutów, and Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. ...

River, it is the capital of

Namysłów County __NOTOC__ Namysłów County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Opole Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 19 ...

. Its population was 16,551 in 2019.

History

The town began to develop during the 13th century, but was destroyed in 1241 during the

first Mongol invasion of Poland The Mongol invasion of Poland from late 1240 to 1241 culminated in the Battle of Legnica, where the Mongols defeated an alliance which included forces from Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth, fragmented Poland and their allies, led by Henry ...

. It was refounded by Polish Duke Bolesław II the Bald in 1249. During the medieval

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 ...

it was colonized by

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

, who used the Germanized name ''Namslau''. According to German linguist Heinrich Adamy the town's name is derived from the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

name ''namysł'', which means "thinking". According to another theory, the name of the city comes from the old Polish name Namysł. In

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

manuscripts and documents such as the ''

Liber fundationis episcopatus Vratislaviensis (, 'Book of endowments of the Bishopric of Wrocław') is a Latin manuscript catalog of documents compiled in the later 13th or in the early 14th century. It lists towns and villages obliged to pay a tithe to the Bishopric of Wrocław. As a pr ...

'' it appeared under 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 ...

ized name ''Namislavia''. Located within the fragmented

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

, until 1294 it was part of the

Duchy of Wrocław 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, the ...

, then the

Duchy of Głogów The Duchy of Głogów (, ) or Duchy of Glogau () was one of the Duchies of Silesia, formed in course of the medieval fragmentation of Poland into smaller provincial duchies. Its capital was Głogów in Lower Silesia. It existed in 1177–1185 an ...

, in years 1312–23 it was briefly the seat of the

Duchy of Namysłów Duchy of Namysłów — principality created in 1312 after the division of the estate of Duke Henry III, Duke of Głogów, Henry III of Głogów, comprising Kalisz and Namysłów. In 1348, by the Treaty of Namysłów, Treaty of Namyslow, it cam ...

, then it was part of the

Duchy of Brzeg The Duchy of Brzeg () or Duchy of Brieg (; ) was one of the Duchies of Silesia, created in 1311 during the fragmentation of the Duchy of Legnica. A Bohemian fief from 1329, it was ruled by the Silesian Piasts until their extinction in 1675. Its ca ...

until 1338, then the revamped Duchy of Namysłów again until 1341, and afterwards it came directly under the rule of King

Casimir III of Poland Casimir III the Great (; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, retaining the title throughout the Galicia–Volhynia Wars. He was the last Polish king fr ...

until 1348. A castle, first documented in 1312, was a residence of Casimir III in 1341. The

Treaty of Namysłów The Treaty of Namslau or Namysłów, also known as the Peace of Namslau/Namysłów, was a peace treaty between King Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV of Bohemia and King Casimir III of Poland. It was signed at Namysłów () in Silesia, o ...

, in which Casimir renounced his claims to

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, ...

to King Charles IV of Bohemia, was signed in the town in 1348. The town was a center of

brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

and clothmaking. Namysłów was briefly an

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

during the 14th century and was enriched by the trade route from

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 ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, especially with

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

. The town was unsuccessfully besieged by

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 ...

in 1428. A privileged rifleman's guild was established in the town in 1434. Besides Wrocław, it was the only Silesian town which refused to pay homage to King

Ladislaus the Posthumous Ladislaus V, more commonly known as Ladislaus the Posthumous (; ; ; ; 22 February 144023 November 1457), was Duke of Austria and King of Hungary, King of Croatia, Croatia and King of Bohemia, Bohemia. He was the posthumous birth, posthumous son ...

in 1453. It passed to the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

in 1469 and back to the

Bohemian Crown 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 ...

in 1490, ruled by the

Jagiellonian dynasty The Jagiellonian ( ) or Jagellonian dynasty ( ; ; ), otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty (), the House of Jagiellon (), or simply the Jagiellons (; ; ), was the name assumed by a cadet branch of the Lithuanian ducal dynasty of Gediminids upon recep ...

until 1526, and by 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 ...

afterwards becoming part of the

Habsburg monarchy 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 ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Around 1500, with Lower Silesia having become largely German-speaking, the area around Namysłów had remained Polish-speaking. After a lengthy siege, the town was sacked by Swedish troops 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 ...

. In 1703 Leopold I, granted the castle to the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

, who subsequently created a

commandery In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

. Namslau passed to the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

in the 1742

Treaty of Breslau The Treaty of Breslau was a preliminary peace agreement signed on 11 June 1742 following long negotiations at the Silesian capital Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) by emissaries of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria and King Frederick II of Pru ...

(Wrocław). During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, it was occupied by Austrian and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

troops. The town was occupied by French troops from 1806–07 during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

; the castle was secularized in 1810. Namslau became part of the new Prussian

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1742 and established as an official province in 1815, then became part of the German Empire in 1871. In 1919, as ...

in 1815 and was administered within Kreis Namslau, Regierungsbezirk Breslau. The town became 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 ...

in 1871 during the

unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federalism, federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). I ...

. Namslau began to develop rapidly during the 19th century. The first newspaper within the town was founded in 1846, and Namslau was connected with Breslau by

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

in 1862. It was connected by

railway 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 ...

to Breslau and Kreuzburg (Kluczbork) by 1868 and to Oppeln (Opole) by 1899. One of the most well-known companies in the town was Brauerei Haselbach. In 1862 the brewer August Haselbach acquired the castle brewery, built in 1538; he purchased the castle in 1895. The industrial brewery was used as the model for other Haselbach breweries throughout Germany. 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 ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

erected a subcamp of

Gross-Rosen concentration camp Gross-Rosen was a network of Nazi concentration camps built and operated by Nazi Germany during World War II. The main camp was located in the German village of Gross-Rosen, now the modern-day Rogoźnica in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, di ...

near the town. During the war, the town was the local center of the Polish underground resistance movement and the

Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

operated there. On 21 January 1945 the town was conquered by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, leaving most of the buildings destroyed. In April it came under Polish administration and after the war was finally reintegrated with Poland, its historic Polish name was restored. In 1965 a monument of Jan Skala, Sorbian poet and activist for the rights of non-German minorities in interwar Germany, killed nearby by a Soviet soldier during the war, was unveiled in Namysłów. Reconstruction of the old town began after the war, but the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

church, completed in 1789, was leveled in 1963.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of Namysłów depicted a black eagle on a yellow field, with an escutcheon of three red roses; the eagle's tail ended in a red star. These arms were similar to those now used by

. With the town's transfer to Poland in 1945, its arms were changed to depict the top half of a Silesian eagle above a red star on a yellow field.

Sights

Among the

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

landmarks of Namysłów are: * defensive town walls with the Krakowska Gate (''Brama Krakowska'') and numerous towers * Saints Peter and Paul church built in years 1405–41 ( Gothic) * Saints Francis of Assisi and Peter of Alcantara church and the former

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

monastery, dating back to the 14th century (Gothic) * Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, dating back to the 13th century * Namysłów Castle, dating back to the 14th century *

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

at the Market Square Other sights include the Park Północny (''Northern Park''), the old brewery, numerous historic townhouses and the monument of Sorbian poet Jan Skala. File:SM Namysłów Kościół św Apostołów Piotra i Pawła (0) ID 611055.jpg, Saints Peter and Paul church File:Namysłów zamek 03.JPG, Namysłów Castle File:SM Namysłów Kościół św Apostołów Piotra i Pawła - Nepomucen (1) ID 611057.jpg,

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 ...

statue of

John of Nepomuk John of Nepomuk (or John Nepomucene) (; ; ) ( 1345 – 20 March 1393) was a saint of Bohemia (a western part of what is now the Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia. Later accounts st ...

File:John Paul II Cemetery in Namysłów All Saints Chapel 2014 P02.JPG, All Saints Chapel File:Dworzec kolejowy w Namysłowie.jpg, Railway station File:Widok na Browar Namysłów z ulicy 3-Maja.JPG, Namysłów Brewery

Economy

The Namysłów Brewery (''Browar Namysłów'') is located in the town.

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 ...

club is . It competes in the lower leagues.

Notable people

* Albert Bielschowsky (1847–1902), historian *

Alfred Bielschowsky Alfred Bielschowsky (December 11, 1871 – April 5, 1940) was a German ophthalmologist. His specialty was physiology and pathology of the eye, particularly in regards to research of eye movement, space perception and diagnosis of oculomotor anomal ...

(1871–1940), ophthalmologist * Krystian Brzozowski (born 1982), sport wrestler * Teresa Ceglecka-Zielonka (born 1957), politician * Marta Chrust-Rożej (born 1978), Polish athlete * Helmut Friebe (1894–1970),

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

general * Werner Friebe (1897–1962), Wehrmacht general * Angelika Jurkowianiec (born 1996), model * Felix Liebrecht (1812–1890), folkloristADB:Liebrecht, Felix
In:

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

* Andrzej Markowiak (born 1951), politician * Hubert Mordek (1939–2006), historian * Franz Anton Morgenroth (1780-1847), composer * Serafin Szota (born 1999), footballer * Janusz Trzepizur (born 1959), high jumper

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Namysłów.

References

External links

*
Portal Namyslowianie.pl
Local News Service in Namyslow.
Jewish Community in Namysłów
on Virtual Shtetl {{Authority control Cities in Silesia Cities and towns in Opole Voivodeship Namysłów County Capitals of former nations