Ruda is a village in the administrative district of

Gmina Wieluń __NOTOC__ Gmina Wieluń is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Wieluń County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. Its seat is the town of Wieluń, which lies approximately south-west of the regional capital Łódź. The gmina ...

, within

Wieluń County __NOTOC__ Wieluń County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Łódź Voivodeship, central Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its ...

Łódź Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province is named after its capital and largest city, Łódź, pronounced . Łódź Voivodeship is bordered by six other voivodeships: Masovian Voivodeship ...

, in south-central Poland. It lies approximately south-east of

Wieluń Wieluń () is a town in south-central Poland with 21,624 inhabitants (2021). The town is the seat of the Gmina Wieluń and Wieluń County, and is located within the Łódź Voivodeship. Wieluń is a capital of the historical Wieluń Land. W ...

and south-west of the regional capital

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

Origin of the name

The name Ruda probably comes from rich

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

deposits, which were mined in the

Middle Ages 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 global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

using the dukel method in swampy meadows around the settlement. Iron

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...

s still functioned in the 16th century.

History

It was discovered that the first human settlement in this area existed already in the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period (2,500–1700 years BC). The defensive

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

stronghold, which has not been identified so far, was probably established at the turn of the 10th / 11th centuries. Ruda, at least from the first half of the 12th century, was the capital of the region. One of the oldest Polish castellanies is mentioned in the chronicle of

Gallus Anonymus ''Gallus Anonymus'', also known by his Polonized variant ''Gall '', is the name traditionally given to the anonymous author of (Deeds of the Princes of the Poles), composed in Latin between 1112 and 1118. ''Gallus'' is generally regarded as the ...

on the date of 1106, and immediately in connection with the residence of the ducal court and the consecration of the church in Ruda. Its existence is confirmed by the

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...

Pope Innocent II Pope Innocent II (; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as Pope was controversial, and the first eight years o ...

from 1136, when it refers to the castellans of Ruda. The parish church of St. Wojciech, according to tradition, was funded by

Piotr Dunin Piotr Dunin (c. 1415 – 1484) was a Polish leader. He was Starost of Malbork from 1478–1484, castellan of Sieradz from 1478, and voivode of Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship from 1481. Early life Born into an old Dunin family, as the son of Wło ...

in 1142. During the 13th century, Ruda was still one of the most important centers in Wielkopolska. Its

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 ...

development was due to its location on the route connecting

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

and

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 ...

in the south with

Kuyavia Kuyavia (; ), also referred to as Cuyavia, is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three traditional parts: north-western (with th ...

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

and

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

in the north. Already before 1264, 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 ...

, as evidenced by the mention of the mayor Fryderyk from 1264 and 1266. The ''

Wielkopolska Chronicle The ''Wielkopolska Chronicle'' (or ''Chronicle of Greater Poland'', ) is an anonymous medieval chronicle describing supposed history of Poland from legendary times up to the year 1273. It was written in Latin at the end of the 13th or the beginn ...

'' and

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...

also mention the urban character of Rudy. In the end, the attempt to develop the town was not successful. During the reign of King

Przemysł II Przemysł II ( also given in English and Latin language, Latin as ''Premyslas'' or ''Premislaus'' or in Polish as '; 14 October 1257 – 8 February 1296) was the Duke of Poznań from 1257–1279, of Greater Poland from 1279 to 1296, of Kraków fr ...

, an administrative unit was defined as the Rudzka Land. By the end of the 13th century, Ruda had lost its role as an economic and political center of the region in favor of the nearby town of

, which was founded in a better, drier area. The castellany was moved to Wieluń possibly by King

Casimir III the Great 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 ...

in the 14th century. In 1419–20, the

archdeaconry An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of mo ...

and the College of Canons were transferred to Wieluń. In this way, Ruda became an ordinary village. In 1827, it had a population of 268. During the

German occupation of Poland German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, in 1940, the German gendarmerie carried out expulsions of Poles. They were placed in a transit camp in

, then young Poles were deported to

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

in Germany and

German-occupied France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

, while others were deported to the

General Government The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...

in the more eastern part of German-occupied Poland. Houses and farms of expelled Poles were handed over to German colonists as part of the ''

Lebensraum (, ) is a German concept of expansionism and Völkisch movement, ''Völkisch'' nationalism, the philosophy and policies of which were common to German politics from the 1890s to the 1940s. First popularized around 1901, '' lso in:' beca ...

'' policy.Wardzyńska, p. 255 In 1975–1998, the village belonged administratively to the

Sieradz Voivodship Sieradz Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by Łódź Voivodeship. A Voivodeship is an area administered by a voivode (Governor), and the Sieradz Voivodesh ...

References

{{Gmina Wieluń Villages in Wieluń County