Sławniowice () is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the administrative district of

Gmina Głuchołazy __NOTOC__ Gmina Głuchołazy is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Nysa County, Opole Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, on the Czech border. Its seat is the town of Głuchołazy, which lies approximately south of Nysa and so ...

, within

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

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 ...

, in south-western Poland. It is approximately west of

Głuchołazy Głuchołazy ( ; , also known by other names) is a historic town in southwestern Poland with approximately 13,534 inhabitants as of 2019. It is located within the Nysa County of Opole Voivodeship (province), near the border with the Czech Republic ...

, south of Nysa, and south-west of the regional capital

Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...

, on the border with the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. Until 1742 it and the Czech village of

Velké Kunětice Velké Kunětice () is a municipality and village in Jeseník District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 500 inhabitants. Geography Velké Kunětice is located about northeast of Jeseník and north of Olomouc, on the bord ...

were a single settlement; from 1996 to 2007 it was a border crossing point. Its population was 548 in 2011.

Economy

Marble has been quarried in the village for centuries. Quarrying and shaping marble remains its main industry.

History

Kunzendorf (called Groß Kunzendorf to distinguish it from other places of the same name) is first recorded in 1201 as ''villa Cunati'' and in 1382 as ''Cunczindorff''. A ''Slawnewiz'' is mentioned in 1291, but its location is uncertain. From the late 13th century the village was within the

Duchy of Neisse The Duchy of Nysa (, ) or Duchy of Neisse () was one of the duchies of Silesia with its capital at Nysa, Poland, Nysa in Lower Silesia. Alongside the Duchy of Siewierz, it was the only Prince-Bishop, ecclesiastical duchy in the Silesian region, ...

, an ecclesiastical duchy within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

; with the remainder 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 ...

, this subsequently became subordinate to 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 ...

. In 1603–15, a peasant revolt took place in the village, one of a series of anti-feudal uprisings against harsh impositions by local landlords under the bishop. In 1742, after the

Silesian Wars The Silesian Wars () were three wars fought in the mid-18th century between Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia (under King Frederick the Great) and Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg Austria (under Empress Maria Theresa) for control of the Central European ...

, what is now Sławniowice became part of 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 ...

and was divided from what is now

, which remained in

Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, was an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Habsburg monarchy (from 1804 the Austrian Empire, and from 1867 the Cisleithanian portion of Austria-Hungary). It is la ...

, now in the Czech Republic. It subsequently 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 1945, after the defeat of Germany in

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 became part of Poland. By an act of the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

, it was renamed to Sławniowice in November 1946. A staffed border crossing point was established there in February 1996, operating until both Poland and the Czech Republic became part of the

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

in 2007. In 1845, the village had 6 marble quarries and a population of 531. The population was 908 in 1885, 992 in 1933, and 1,032 in 1939.

Notable people

* , sculptor, trained at the marble works in the village

References

External links

* {{Gmina Głuchołazy Villages in Nysa County Czech Republic–Poland border crossings