Wleń () is a small historic town in

Lwówek Śląski County Lwówek is a town in Nowy Tomyśl County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,961 inhabitants (2010). History Town rights were granted by King Władysław II Jagiełło. The town was known as Lwów, before the name was changed to the cu ...

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 on the

Bóbr The Bóbr (; ; ) is a river which flows through the north of the Czech Republic and the southwest of Poland. It is a left tributary of the Oder. Its Polish name translates directly to ' beaver'. Course The Bóbr has a length of (3 in Czech ...

river in the historic

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a historical and geographical region mostly located in Poland with small portions in the Czech Republic and Germany. It is the western part of the region of Silesia. Its largest city is Wrocław. The first ...

n region, approximately south-east of

Lwówek Śląski Lwówek Śląski (; formerly ''Lwów''; ) is a town in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in Poland. Situated on the Bóbr River, Lwówek Śląski is about NNW of Jelenia Góra and has a population of about 9,000 inhabitants. It is the administrativ ...

, and 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 ...

. The town is the seat of the administrative district (

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' ) is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,479 gminy throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. 940 gminy include cities and tow ...

) called

Gmina Wleń Gmina Wleń is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Lwówek Śląski County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the town of Wleń, which lies approximately south-east of Lwówek Śląski, and west of t ...

. , it has a population of 1,759.

History

Wleń was established in 1214 by the Silesian duke

Henry I the Bearded Henry the Bearded (, ; c. 1165/70 – 19 March 1238) was a Polish duke from the Piast dynasty. He was Dukes of Silesia, Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1201, Seniorate Province, Duke of Kraków and List of Polish monarchs, High Duke of all Kin ...

and his wife

Hedwig of Andechs Hedwig of Silesia (also Hedwig of Andechs (, , ; 1174 – 15 October 1243), a member of the Bavarian comital House of Andechs, was Duchess of Silesia from 1201 and of Greater Poland from 1231 as well as High Duchess consort of Poland from ...

, as part of fragmented medieval

. It was located near the Wleń Castle, one of the oldest castles in Poland, which served as a seat of a

castellany 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 ...

that was probably founded in 1108 by Polish ruler

Bolesław III Wrymouth Bolesław III Wrymouth (; 20 August 1086 – 28 October 1138), also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between 1107 and 1138. He was the onl ...

. The castle was expanded in the late 12th and early 13th centuries by Dukes

Bolesław I the Tall Bolesław I the Tall (; 1127 – 7 or 8 December 1201) was Duke of Wrocław from 1163 until his death in 1201. Early years Boleslaw was the eldest son of Władysław II the Exile by his wife Agnes of Babenberg, daughter of Margrave Leopold II ...

and Henry I the Bearded, and Henry I with his wife often stayed in the castle. The name comes from the Polish word ''wał'', which means "

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department ** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...

", referring to its plausible role as a Polish defensive stronghold against possible incursions from

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. In 1215, the Saint Nicholas church was founded. Wleń 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 ...

before 1261. As a result of further fragmentation of Poland into smaller district principalities, Wleń formed part of the duchies of

Legnica Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. Le ...

and

Jawor Jawor () is a town in south-western Poland with 22,890 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the seat of Jawor County, and lies approximately west of the regional capital Wrocław. One of the oldest towns ...

. The town was flooded on 16 September 2024, during the 2024 Central European floods.

Sights

* The ruins of the one of two oldest

castles in Poland This is a list of castles in Poland in alphabetical order, based on similar lists compiled by various sight-seeing societies.Silesian Dukes, later property of the

Haugwitz The House of Haugwitz (''Graf von Haugwitz'', ) is an old and influential Saxon noble family originating from the Meissen region. History The Haugwitzs are an ancient aristocratic family from the Lusatia region. It spread to the area of Germ ...

noble family, the castle is located in the neighbouring village of Łupki. The castle served to protect the nearby borders with

and

Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (, ; , ; ; or ''Milsko''; ) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the north, it makes up the region of Lusatia, named after the Polabian Slavs, Slavic ''Lusici'' tribe. Both parts of Lusatia a ...

and was devastated 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 ...

. A

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 ...

palace was rebuilt underneath it. The picture above shows the view of Wleń town from the top of the tower, which currently stands less than half its original height. In 2005, a western portion of one of the castle's outer walls crumbled, forcing the castle to be temporarily closed to tourists. The crumbled section of the outer wall was rebuilt over time using funds from the Polish government and the European Union and completed in 2009. *

Wleń Palace *

Neoclassicist Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

Town Hall at the Market Square and the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

Saint Nicholas church.

Gallery

Wleń, pałac ul. Winiogórska 1 DSC 0044.JPG, Wleń Palace Church in Wlen.jpg, Saint Nicholas church Wleń Pomnik Gołębiarki.jpg, Fountain on the Market Square Wleń cmentarz ul. Górska DSC 0216.JPG, Cemetery in Wleń

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lwówek Śląski County 13th-century establishments in Poland Populated places established in the 1210s Populated riverside places in Poland