Ołbin (, , ) is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

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 ...

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 ...

, located in the northern part of the city. It was established in the territory of the former

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

district.

Name

The settlement was first documented in 1175 under the name ''Olbin''. It was later referred to as ''Olpinow'' (1202), ''Vlbim'' and ''Uolbim'' (1253), ''Olbina'', ''Albingum'', ''Olbingum'', and ''Elbinga'' (1264). By the end of the 13th century, the village was known as ''Olbing''. The origin of the name Ołbin has not been clearly established. According to some historians, the name may derive from the Latin name Albin, which was popular in the 11th and 12th centuries. The second theory regarding the origin of the name comes from an old Slavic word olbąd''' ('swan'). Currently, swans of this species can be observed daily at a small pond in , located in the center of the district.

History

Abbey of Ołbin

The Abbey of Ołbin was founded by

Piotr Włostowic Herb ŁabędźPiotr Włostowic (or Włost; 1080 – 1153), also known as Peter Wlast, was a Polish noble, castellan of Wrocław, and a ruler (''możnowładca'') of part of Silesia. From 1117 he was voivode (''palatyn'') of the Duke of Poland Bol ...

in between 1080 and 1153. A sarcophagus was erected for him around 1270 in the middle of the abbey choir. It was probably destroyed in 1529 when the abbey was torn down, and fragments of its architecture were incorporated into buildings in the city. The Breslau City Council made this decision in the face of the threat of Turkish invasion; officially to prevent the complex from being exploited by enemies, but in fact the decision was also part of the resentment against the Catholic monastery complex and its inhabitants.

German rule

Elbing was outside the borders of Breslau (Wrocław) until the early 19th century. Only a portion of it, which was closely associated with the foreground of the city fortifications protecting the Cathedral Island, was incorporated into the city's administration in the second half of the 18th century. The area, located on the northern bank 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 ...

, was frequently plundered by the besieging armies of Breslau. After Napoleon's army captured the city in 1807, the French command decided to demolish the city's fortifications and fill in part of the moat. Soon after, Elbing, along with several other areas bordering the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

, was incorporated into the city limits.

Post-war

The settlement, densely built up mainly with tenement houses, was established at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. During the

siege of Breslau The siege of Breslau, also known as the battle of Breslau, was a three-month-long siege of the city of Wrocław, Breslau in Lower Silesia, Nazi Germany, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland), lasting to the end of World War II in Europe. From 13 Fe ...

in 1945, the buildings in the area sustained less damage compared to other parts of the city, such as the neighboring Grunwald Square. Only 30% of the buildings in the neighborhood were damaged. The present-day districts of Ołbin and

Nadodrze Nadodrze () is a district in Wrocław, Poland, separated in 1991 from a larger district, Ołbin, which now lies to the east of it. It also borders Kleczków to the north and the Old Town to the west. Nadodrze was incorporated into the city in ...

played a significant role immediately after the war. Starting in July 1945, Wrocław Nadodrze was the only train station receiving trains from the east. The first

streetcar line A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segment ...

(No. 1) in Wrocław connected it to

Biskupin Biskupin () is an archaeological site and a life-size model of a late Bronze Age fortified settlement in north-central Poland that also serves as an archaeological open-air museum. When first discovered it was thought to be early evidence of a ...

, a relatively less damaged part of the city. Ołbin and Nadodrze were ideal places for repatriates to settle and for locating post-war city authorities and public institutions due to their well-preserved public and residential infrastructure. The first elementary school was established on Nowowiejska Street, followed by the first high school on Poniatowskiego Street, and the first branch of the Polish Post Office on Jedności Narodowej Street. In 1991, after reforms in the administrative division of Wrocław, Ołbin became one of the city's 48 districts.

References

{{Districts of Wrocław Districts of Wrocław