Wołczyn () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Kluczbork County,

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 ...

, 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 ...

, with 5,907 inhabitants . According to 2011 data, it covers , and is the seat of Gmina Wołczyn. It is located within the historic region of Lower Silesia.

History

The name of the town is derived from the Polish word ''wół'', which means " ox". In the early 14th-century '' Liber fundationis episcopatus Vratislaviensis'' the town appeared under the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

ized name ''Welczyn''. The town was probably founded on the site of a former Slavic settlement. It was granted town rights in 1261. It was part of various duchies of fragmented

. Until 1294 it was part of the Duchy of Wrocław, afterwards the

Duchy of Głogów The Duchy of Głogów (, ) or Duchy of Glogau () was one of the Duchies of Silesia, formed in course of the medieval fragmentation of Poland into smaller provincial duchies. Its capital was Głogów in Lower Silesia. It existed in 1177–1185 an ...

until 1312, Duchy of Namysłów until 1320, Duchy of Oleśnica until 1343, Duchy of Brzeg until 1436 and afterwards the Duchy of Oleśnica again. It remained under the rule of the

Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...

until 1495, and afterwards, for about 300 years, the town was owned by the magnate Posadowski family, under the suzerainty of the Jagiellonian-ruled Bohemian (Czech) Kingdom until 1526, when the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

inherited the Bohemian Crown. The town was located on a trade route connecting

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

and

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 population made a living from agriculture, crafts and trade. Five annual

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

s were held in Wołczyn, and

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. In other words, a crop is a plant or plant product that is grown for a specific purpose such as food, Fiber, fibre, or fuel. When plants of the same spe ...

s and handicrafts were sold to customers not only from

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

, but also from neighboring

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...

. In the 15th century the Czech Hussites and in the 17th century Polish Brethren settled in Wołczyn. In the 16th century, a municipal school known for its high level of education was established there, and in the 18th and early 19th centuries there was a well-known proseminar for Polish Lutherans, later moved to Kluczbork. In 1742 the town 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 ...

. On 1 October 1868, the town was connected to a railway line. By 1907 Wołczyn had a

water supply network A water supply network or water supply system is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components that provide water supply. A water supply system typically includes the following: # A drainage basin (see water purification – sour ...

. In the final stages of

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 ...

, on 19 January 1945, a German-organized death march of Allied prisoners of war from the Stalag Luft 7 POW camp passed through the town. From 19 to 21 January 1945, fights were fought for the town between

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and the Soviets. As a result, 40% of the town's buildings were in ruins. At the end of the war, the German population of the town was expelled in accordance with the

Potsdam Agreement The Potsdam Agreement () was the agreement among three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union after the war ended in Europe that was signed on 1 August 1945 and published the following day. A ...

, and the town became again part of Poland. The remaining Poles were joined by Poles displaced from former eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. Since 1994, the town has hosted an annual "Spotkania Młodych" (Meeting of Youth). It is organized by the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the ...

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Wołczyn.

References

External links

* http://www.wolczyn.pl/
Jewish Community in Wołczyn
on Virtual Shtetl {{Authority control Cities and towns in Opole Voivodeship Kluczbork County Cities in Silesia