Nysa ( or ''Neiße'') is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

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 ...

on the Eastern Neisse ( Polish: ''Nysa Kłodzka'') river, situated in the

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 ...

. With 43,849 inhabitants (2019), it is the capital of Nysa County. It comprises the urban portion of the surrounding Gmina Nysa. Historically the city was part of

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 ...

. One of the oldest cities 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, ...

, most possibly founded in the 10th century, Nysa was historically one of the leading cities in the region, and from 1290 to 1742 the capital of an episcopally-ruled eponymous duchy. In early modern times it became a center of printing and education, place of study of several notable individuals, including King of Poland Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki. In the 19th and 20th centuries it was the location of German-operated prisoner-of-war camps for soldiers of various nationalities, including future leader of France,

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

. Nysa contains several notable heritage sights in Gothic,

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

and

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 ...

styles, most notably the Basilica of St. James and St. Agnes, a Historic Monument of Poland.

History

Medieval period

Nysa, one of the oldest towns in

, was probably founded in the 10th century. The name of the Nysa river, from which the town takes its name, was mentioned in 991, when the region formed part of the

Duchy of Poland Civitas Schinesghe (; ), also known as the Duchy of Poland or the Principality of Poland, is the historiographical name given to a polity in Central Europe, which existed during the medieval period and was the predecessor state of the Kingdom of ...

under

Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was Duchy of Poland (966–1025), Duke of Poland from 960 until his death in 992 and the founder of the first unified History of Poland, Polish state, the Civitas Schinesghe. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was t ...

. A Polish stronghold was built in Nysa in the 11th and 12th century due to the proximity of the border with the Czech Duchy. As a result of the fragmentation of Poland, it became part of 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 ...

, and from the 14th century it functioned as the capital of the Duchy of Nysa, administered by the Bishopric of Wrocław. In the 12th century the Gothic Basilica of St. James and St. Agnes was built (later rebuilt after the war devastations of the 13th and 14th centuries). Now designated a Historic Monument of Poland, it is the most distinctive and most valuable landmark of Nysa. Nysa was granted town rights around 1223 by bishop Lawrence, confirmed by Duke Bolesław II Rogatka of Legnica in 1250, and attracted Flemish and German settlers. In 1241 it was ravaged by the Mongols 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 ...

. In 1245, it was granted staple right and two yearly

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

s were established. In the early-14th century Nysa became an important trade- and craft-center of

, before it passed under the suzerainty of the Bohemian Crown in 1351, under which it remained until 1742. It also became one of the leading cultural centers of

The town's fortifications, dating from 1350, served to defend against the Hussites in 1424. During the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

, in 1428 it was the site of the , with

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

and

Czechs The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...

fighting on both sides. One of the prominent signs that Nysa was a significant center is the report in

Nuremberg Chronicle The ''Nuremberg Chronicle'' is an illustrated encyclopedia consisting of world historical accounts, as well as accounts told through biblical paraphrase. Subjects include human history in relation to the Bible, illustrated mythological creatures, ...

, published in 1493, which mentions the city among the major urban centers of Central and Eastern Europe. In the description of the town population included in this chronicle we read "plebs rustica polonici ydeomatis ...". The Nysa coat of arms at the entrance of the Charles Bridge in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, which is displayed alongside the arms of the most prominent Bohemian cities, also indicates the importance of the town.

Modern period

In the 16th century it was a Polish printing center. 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 ...

(1618–1648) Nysa was besieged three times. It was plundered by the

Saxons 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 ...

and

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, ...

. Polish prince (and later 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 ...

() visited the town several times between 1619 and 1638. In 1624 the '' Kolegium Carolinum Neisse'' (today's ''I Liceum Ogólnokształcące''), one of the most renowned schools of Silesia, was established as a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

college. Polish King Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki and Polish prince James Louis Sobieski both attended this school. During 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 ...

(

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

), in 1741, Nysa was besieged and captured by Prussians, King Frederick II of Prussia laid the foundations of its modern fortifications. In 1758, 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 besieged by the Austrians. On 25 August 1769 it was the site of a meeting between Frederick II and Emperor Joseph II, co-regent in 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 ...

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

, officer of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

and French Revolution and co-author of the

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human and civil rights document from the French Revolution; the French title can be translated in the modern era as "Decl ...

, was imprisoned in the town by the Prussians in 1794. Ring in Neisse Lithografie

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 ...

Neisse was taken by the French in 1807. It retained its mostly

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 ...

character within the predominantly

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 ...

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 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 ...

. Because of its many churches from the Gothic and

periods the town was nicknamed "the Silesian

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

". In 1816–1911, the town was the seat of the Neisse District, after which it became 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

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...

of 1864, Prussians held Danish prisoners of war in the town, who built a road named ''Aleja Duńczyków'' ("Avenue of the Danes"), which is commemorated by a memorial stone. During the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1870–1871 some 18,000 French POWs were brought to the town, however, 5,000 were soon relocated elsewhere. According to the Prussian census of 1910, the city of Neisse had a population of 25,938, of whom around 95% spoke German, 4% spoke Polish and 1% were bilingual.

World wars and interbellum

During

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 ...

and the post-war Polish Silesian Uprisings, a

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 ...

was located in the town. The WWI POW camp held Russian, British, French and Romanian officers.

, future leader of

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

against German occupation in World War II and later president of France, was imprisoned there in 1916, and after an unsuccessful escape attempt he was deported to a POW camp in Szczuczyn. Russian POWs, still detained by the Germans after the end of the war, raised a mutiny in December 1918, to which the Germans responded with fire. Two or three Russians and a German guard were killed, 11 Russians were wounded. After World War I, Neisse became part of the new Province of Upper Silesia within Weimar Germany. Polish insurgents of the Silesian Uprisings were imprisoned in the camp before being deported to other camps. 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 ...

the Germans established a subcamp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, three forced-labour camps, and several working parties of the Stalag VIII-B/344

at Łambinowice. The city's German population was mostly evacuated before the advancing Eastern Front, with some 2,000 mostly ill people and elders remaining. The city 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 ...

on 24 March 1945. Soviet troops then raped dozens of women, including nuns, teenage girls and elderly women, murdered 27 nuns and six monks, and set fire to an old people's home with the elderly locked inside. The town was placed preliminarily 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 ...

and renamed to the historic Polish ''Nysa''. The remaining German population of Nysa was expelled. Expulsions started in mid-June 1945, carried out by the Soviet-organized Polish militia who surrounded settlements, entered homes, and asked their inhabitants to leave their home with them. In the following years, new Polish settlers, some whom were themselves expelled or resettled from what is now western Ukraine (see: Kresy), made Nysa their new home. After the war, Polish troops were stationed in Nysa until 2001, when they were relocated to Kłodzko.

Nysa's monuments

As a result of destruction during

, in particular the heavy fighting of the Vistula–Oder Offensive and the Lower Silesian offensive of early 1945, during which the

pushed the German

Army Group A Army Group A () was the name of three distinct army groups of the ''German Army (1935–1945), Heer'', the ground forces of the ''Wehrmacht'', during World War II. The first Army Group A, previously known as "Army Group South", was active from Oct ...

out of southwest Poland and the adjacent German Lower Silesia, the historic aspect of the town has only partially been preserved due to wartime destruction. After Polish takeover of the town, hundreds of historic burgher houses deemed reconstructable were struck down in line with the Communist's ideological goals of degermanization and struggle against the bourgeoisie as well as to provide material for the re-building of

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. The most important monuments have been rebuilt.

Economy

Until recently, Nysa was a major industrial centre in the

. The town was home to metal works,

machinery A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolec ...

production, agricultural produce and construction materials. The year 2002 saw the closure of the ZSD company. The company constructed delivery vehicles, namely the ZSD Nysa, FSO Polonez and, until recently, the

Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...

C15 and Berlingo. Currently, the factory remains closed. Recently, the Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone is located by Dubois Street (''ul. Dubois'') and Karpacka Street (''ul. Karpacka''), largely revolving around agricultural goods and produce, as well as metal works.

Sports

* Stal Nysa SA – men's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

team playing in Polish Volleyball League (Polska Liga Siatkówki, PLS), new in 2020 season * KŻ Nysa – sailing club with seat on Nysa's lake * AZS PWSZ Nysa – students club of AZS * Polonia Nysa –

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 * Podzamcze Nysa – football club * AZS Basket Nysa –

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

club * NTSK Nysa – women's

club * Fort Nysa – rugby and

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

club *NTG Nysa –

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

club

Notable people

* Konrad Emil Bloch (1912–2000), German-American biochemist,

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

winner *

Emanuel Sperner Emanuel Sperner (9 December 1905 – 31 January 1980) was a German mathematician, best known for two theorems. He was born in Waltdorf (near Neiße, Upper Silesia, now Nysa, Poland), and died in Sulzburg-Laufen, West Germany. He was a student a ...

(1905–1980), German mathematician * Marcin Bors (born 1978), Polish record producer * Hans-Joachim Caesar, Reichsbank director, German bank comptroller in occupied France, 1940–44 * Emanuel Oscar Menahem Deutsch (1829–1873), scholar on the Middle East * Paweł Franczak (born 1991), Polish cyclist * Rudolf Fränkel (1901–1974), architect * Sigismund Freyer (1881–1944), German horse rider * Piotr Gacek (born 1978), Polish volleyball player * Bernhard Grzimek (1909–1987), zoologist and conservationist * Wilhelm Hasse (1894–1945), Wehrmacht general * Martin Helwig (1516–1574),

cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

* Max Herrmann-Neisse (1886–1941) German poet * Max Hodann (1894–1946), German physician * Carl Hoffmann (1885–1947), German cinematographer and film director * Jakub Jarosz (born 1987), Polish volleyball player * Valentin Krautwald (1465–1545), German religious reformer * Bartosz Kurek (born 1988), Polish volleyball player * Adam Kurek (born 1968), Polish volleyball player * Edmund Lesser (1852–1918), German dermatologist * Maria Merkert (1817–1872), founder of the Congregation of Saint Elizabeth * Kurt von Morgen (1858–1928), Prussian explorer and officer * Hans Guido Mutke (1921–2004), fighter pilot * Emin Pasha (''Eduard Schnitzer'') (1840–1892), physician and Ottoman governor of Equatoria * Karl-Georg Saebisch (1903–1984), German actor * Friedrich von Sallet (1812–1843), German satirical writer * Solomon Schindler (1842–1915), rabbi * Franz Skutsch (1865–1912), German classical philologist and linguist * Ryszard Wasko (born 1947), Polish artist* Max Ernst Wichura (1817–1866), German lawyer and botanist * Arnold von Winckler (1856–1945), Prussian general * Roman Wójcicki (born 1958), Polish footballer * Krzysztof Wójcik (born 1960), Polish volleyball player * Angela Zigahl (1855–1955), German teacher and politician * Ewa Wiśnierska (born 1971), member of the German paraglider team

Other residents

* Isidor Barndt *

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...

Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

* Karl Rudolph Friedenthal * Eduard von Grützner * Franz Ludwig von Pfalz-Neuburg *

Christoph Scheiner Christoph Scheiner (25 July 1573 (or 1575) – 18 June 1650) was a Jesuit priest, physicist and astronomer in Ingolstadt. Biography Augsburg/Dillingen: 1591–1605 Scheiner was born in Markt Wald near Mindelheim in Swabia, earlier margravate Burg ...

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand Freiherr von Steuben ( , ; born Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin Louis Freiherr von Steuben; September 17, 1730 – November 28, 1794), also referred to as Baron von Steuben, was a German-b ...

* Wacker von Wackenfels