Polanica-Zdrój () is a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

Kłodzko County __NOTOC__ Kłodzko County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on 1 January 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 lies approximately south-west of

Kłodzko Kłodzko (; ; ; ) is a historic town in south-western Poland, in the region of Lower Silesia. It is situated in the centre of the Kłodzko Valley, on the Eastern Neisse (Nysa Kłodzka) river. Kłodzko is the seat of Kłodzko County (and of the ru ...

, and 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 ...

. As at 2021, the town has a population of 6110.

History

Polanica-Zdrój was first documented in 1347 under the name ''Heyde'', when it was part of the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

. At the time it belonged to the House of Glaubitz, and in the following centuries it often changed owners. From the end of the 16th century the village was co-owned by the

Jesuits 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 ...

, who contributed to its development. In 1645 it was destroyed 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 1742 the settlement – like all the area – was annexed by 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 ...

. The settlement grew quickly during the 19th century, becoming a popular health resort in the 1870s, after Prussia had become a component state of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1871. In 1890 a rail connection to Glatz (Kłodzko) was completed. Until 1933, that is the year the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

came to power in Germany, a Polish guesthouse existed in the town. During both world wars the sanatoria were turned into military hospitals. The town became part of Poland after

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 ...

. It was granted

town rights 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 tradition ...

in 1945 and its first mayor was Kazimierz Dąbrowski. On 28 June 1972 the Catholic parishes of Polanica-Zdrój were redeployed from the traditional Hradec Králové diocese (est. 1664; Ecclesiastical Province of Bohemia) into the Archdiocese of Wrocław. The amateur film festival POL-8 takes place in Polanica-Zdrój. Since 1963, it has hosted the annual

Akiba Rubinstein Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein (1 December 1880 – 14 March 1961) was a Polish chess player. He is considered to have been one of the greatest players never to have become World Chess Champion. Rubinstein was granted the title International Grandma ...

Memorial chess tournament, honoring the great Polish Grandmaster (1882–1961). This event always attracts a high-class field of top players. Polanica-Zdrój hosted the first two international conventions of historians and survivors of the

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 ...

in 1995 and 1998.

Demographics

Surroundings

* Historical city of

with the Kłodzko Fortress with de galleries & the Saint John bridge (called a "

Charles Bridge Charles Bridge ( , ) is a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the early 15th century.; The bridge replaced ...

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 ...

in miniature") from 1390, as well as its houses from the 15th and 16th century * Spa resorts in

Duszniki-Zdrój Duszniki-Zdrój (; ; ), often simplified to Duszniki, is a spa town in Kłodzko Valley and Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 4,329. Situated on the Bystrzyca Rive ...

Kudowa-Zdrój Kudowa-Zdrój (, ), or simply Kudowa, is a town located below the Table Mountains in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in the southwestern part of Poland. It has a population of around 10,000 and is located at the Polish-Czech border, j ...

& Lądek-Zdrój * Śnieżnik Mountains & Stołowe Mountains * Medieval town of Niemcza * Cistercian monastery at Henryków * Wojsławice Arboretum

Twin towns – sister cities

Polanica-Zdrój is twinned with: * Česká Skalice, Czech Republic * Janské Lázně, Czech Republic *

Telgte Telgte (, regionally ; ) is a town in the Warendorf (district), Warendorf district, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the river Ems (river), Ems 12 km east of Münster and 15 km west of Warendorf. Telgte is famous as a place of pilgri ...

, Germany *

Kartuzy Kartuzy (; , or ; former ) is a town in northern Poland, located in the historic Eastern Pomerania ( Pomerelia) region. It is the capital of Kartuzy County in Pomeranian Voivodeship. Geographical location Kartuzy is located about west of Gdań ...

, Poland * Comacchio, Italy

Gallery

File:2014 Polanica-Zdrój, układ urbanistyczny 01.jpg, Bystrzyca Dusznicka River in the town centre File:2014 Polanica-Zdrój, kościół Wniebowzięcia NMP 02.JPG, Church of the Assumption File:Polanica Zdrój, dom zdrojowy, 01.JPG, The Drinking House in Polanica-Zdrój File:Polanica Zdrój, dom zdrojowy, 21.JPG, Interior of the Drinking Room File:P1820002a.jpg, The Spa Park File:Polanica Zdrój - Willa.JPG, Polanica-Zdrój villa File:Polanica Zdrój, park zdrojowy, 06.JPG, The Chess Pavilion File:Polanica-Kurtheater.jpg, Mieczysława Ćwiklińska Theatre File:2015 Stacja kolejowa w Polanicy-Zdroju 01.JPG, The Railway Station File:2014 Kaplica św. Antoniego w Nowym Wielisławiu, 05.JPG, St. Anthony's Chapel, 18th century File:Polanica Zdrój, park zdrojowy, 02.JPG, A fountain in the park File:Sokołówka (Polanica-Zdrój). Klasztor.jpg, Sokołówka Monastery

References

External links

Official web site, in Polish, English and German

Jewish Community in Polanica-Zdrój
on Virtual Shtetl {{Authority control Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Spa towns in Poland