Złotoryja (; , ;

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 ...

: ''Aureus Mons'', ''Aurum'') is a historic town in

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 southwestern

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 ...

, the administrative seat of Złotoryja County, and of the smaller Gmina Złotoryja. Złotoryja is the first town in Poland to be granted town privileges, in 1211, and was the first Silesian town with German institutions and German settlers. Since 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 ...

, it was a centre of gold and copper mining. Złotoryja was also featured among the most beautiful towns in Poland due to its location and architectural heritage.

Geography

The town is located in the historic Lower Silesia region on the right bank of the Kaczawa river, about southwest of Legnica. In the south, the Kaczawskie Mountains stretch up to the Karkonosze range of the Western Sudetes. According to the Central Statistical Office data, , the city had 14,337 inhabitants and is one of the important centres of basalt mining.

Town's name

During its long existence Złotoryja was referred to by various names. Since the Middle Ages it was referred to as either ''Aurum'' (

for "gold"), ''Aureus Mons'' ("Golden Mountain"), ''Goldberg'' (German for "Golden Mountain") or by its Polish name. Złotoryja in Polish literally means "gold-digging", referring to historic gold-panning sites on the Kaczawa river.

Coat of arms and flag

The coat of arms features a black eagle of the Silesian Piast dynasty standing over three green hills, with the golden background. Its heraldic blazon is "Or, an eagle displayed sable on a base three-invected vert". It has been used since the 15th century. The flag features both of the heraldic colours of the coat of arms. It consists of two stripes: golden (yellow) above green.

History

Middle Ages

In the

early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

the region was inhabited by the tribe of Trzebowianie, one of the Polish tribes, and in the 10th century the area was included in the emerging Polish state. In the late 12th century and early 13th century a small settlement of gold miners was founded on the slopes of Mount St. Nicholas (''Góra św. Mikołaja''), located at the shores of the Kaczawa river. The village grew rapidly and in 1211 it was documented as ''Aurum'' and vested with town rights according to Magdeburg law by the Piast duke Henry I the Bearded, the first city throughout then-fragmented Poland and plausibly the first Silesian town with German institutions and German settlers. Henry I financed the construction of the St. Mary's Church,''Lokalny program rewitalizacji miasta Złotoryja na lata 2015-2020 (aktualizacja)'', Złotoryja, 2016, p. 17 (in Polish) which was later expanded and is now one of the town's landmarks. In the 13th century a Hospitaller and

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

monastery were founded in the town, which thus became one of the important cultural and religious centres of the region. During the

first Mongol invasion of Poland The Mongol invasion of Poland from late 1240 to 1241 culminated in the Battle of Legnica, where the Mongols defeated an alliance which included forces from Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth, fragmented Poland and their allies, led by Henry ...

, in 1241 many of the miners took part in the

Battle of Legnica The Battle of Legnica (), also known as the Battle of Liegnitz () or Battle of Wahlstatt (), was fought between the Mongol Empire and combined European forces at the village of Legnickie Pole (''Wahlstatt''), approximately southeast of the ci ...

, where most of them died, but the mining quickly recovered. Baszta Kowalska w Zotoryi

During the ongoing

fragmentation of Poland The period of rule by the Piast dynasty between the 10th and 14th centuries is the first major stage of the history of Poland, history of the Polish state. The dynasty was founded by a series of dukes listed by the chronicler Gall Anonymous in t ...

into smaller duchies, in 1248 the town was attached to the newly established Duchy of Legnica and in 1290 was granted with a privilege to trade

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

, one of the most expensive and valuable minerals in the

. In 1329, under the rule of Duke

Bolesław III the Generous Bolesław or Boleslav may refer to: People * Bolesław (given name) (also ''Boleslav'' or ''Boleslaus''), including a list of people with this name Geography * Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland * Bolesław, Olkusz Coun ...

, the whole Duchy of Legnica became a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

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 ...

under King John the Blind, yet it retained its local self-government. During the 15th century

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

the town was captured by the

Hussite file:Hussitenkriege.tif, upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century file:The Bohemian Realm during the Hussite Wars.png, upright=1.2, The Lands of the ...

forces in 1427, 1428 and 1431. It was severely pillaged, but it quickly recovered and the local city council decided to build city walls in order to spare the city such troubles in the future. Much of the mediaeval fortifications is preserved until today.

Early modern period

Although by the early 15th century most of the gold deposits were depleted, the town started to gain significant income from the nearby ''

Via Regia The Via Regia (Royal Highway) is a European Cultural Route following the route of the Historic roads, historic road of the Middle Ages. There were many such ''viae regiae'' associated with the king in the medieval Holy Roman Empire. History ...

'' trade route linking

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 ...

with

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. A

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

and several weavers shops were opened soon afterwards. In 1504 a school was opened by Hieronymus Aurimontanus. In 1522 the first

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

priests arrived and soon afterwards the school was turned into a

, humanistic gymnasium, the first in

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, ...

. One of its rectors, Valentin Trozendorf, wanted to turn it into a

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

and these plans were approved by Duke Frederick II of Legnica; however the prince died soon afterwards and the town was struck by a severe fire in 1554, which made the plans obsolete. Nevertheless, the school attracted students from Silesia,

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 ...

and

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 ...

.''Lokalny program rewitalizacji miasta Złotoryja na lata 2015-2020 (aktualizacja)'', Złotoryja, 2016, p. 11 (in Polish) In 1526 the town together with the rest of the Bohemian

crown land Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

of Silesia came under the suzerainty of the Austrian

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

. It remained part of the Piast-ruled Duchy of Legnica until 1675. Złotoryja/Goldberg continued to prosper until 1608, when the prosperity was stopped by a major

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

that killed approx. 50 of the inhabitants and damaged large part of the city. Five years later, in 1613 the town yet again was struck by great fire that destroyed 571 houses. To help rebuild the town, in 1621 the duke of Legnica granted the right to mint coins, a privilege the town enjoyed for two years. 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 ...

Goldberg changed hands several times and suffered especially in 1633, when

Albrecht von Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland (; 24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein (), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–16 ...

, a former pupil of the gymnasium, beleaguered the city. After the war Goldberg needed almost 100 years to recover. Duke Louis IV of Legnica granted new privileges aiming to help the town prosper through the development of cloth production.''Lokalny program rewitalizacji miasta Złotoryja na lata 2015-2020 (aktualizacja)'', Złotoryja, 2016, p. 12 (in Polish) After the dissolution of the Piast Duchy of Legnica in 1675, the town was integrated with the Bohemian (Czech) Kingdom. After it came under the authority of the Czech kings, in 1676 Leopold I confirmed all privileges, and in 1688 allowed the organization of an 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 ...

. In 1742 it 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 ...

in the First Silesian War.

Late modern period

During the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

and Polish national liberation fights, in May 1807, Polish uhlans passed through the town.''Lokalny program rewitalizacji miasta Złotoryja na lata 2015-2020 (aktualizacja)'', Złotoryja, 2016, p. 13 (in Polish) In 1810 the Prussian administration closed down the Bernardine monastery. On August 26, 1813, the armies of French marshal Macdonald was defeated near the town by the forces of Prussian general von Blücher (see Combat of Goldberg). In 1848 riots and

looting Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

took place, and in 1849 an epidemic broke out.''Lokalny program rewitalizacji miasta Złotoryja na lata 2015-2020 (aktualizacja)'', Złotoryja, 2016, p. 14 (in Polish) Goldberg became part of the newly formed

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 1871 and at the end of the 19th century the town started to recover after almost 200 years of crisis. In 1884 the town was connected to Liegnitz ( Legnica) by a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, and by 1906 two additional lines were opened: to Świerzawa and Chojnów. In 1900 the first

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

line was started. At the same time various companies tried to recover the gold mining in and around the city, but the plans were soon abandoned. Instead the

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

ore mines were opened, but they faced serious financial difficulties by the end of the 1920s. During the 1933 Reichstag elections about 25% of the inhabitants backed the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

World War II and recent history

During

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 ...

, the Germans created two branches of the Stalag VIII-A

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

and two forced labour camps in the town. Among the prisoners were mainly Poles, French and

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

. On 5 February 1945, a German-organized death march of Allied prisoners of war from the Stalag Luft 7 POW camp reached the town, and the POWs were afterwards transported in

cattle wagon A cattle wagon or a livestock wagon is a type of railway vehicle designed to carry livestock. Within the classification system of the International Union of Railways they fall under Class H - special covered wagons - which, in turn are part of the ...

s to the Stalag III-A camp in Luckenwalde. The town survived the war almost untouched. In February 1945 it was captured by the forces of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front () was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943, the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. In mid-May 1944 Malinovsky took over the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During t ...

under

Ivan Konev Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( rus, Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев, p=ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf, links=no; 28 December 1897 – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union who led Red Army forc ...

. Following the decisions of the Potsdam conference, in May, Polish rule was established, which was later confirmed at the Potsdam Conference. The town name was given its historic Polish ''Złotoryja''. By 1949 most of local German inhabitants either fled or were expelled per 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 ...

. A large number of them were admeasured to refugee camps and settled later, mostly in the federal state Northrhine-Westphalia in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. In the nearby villages of Wilków and Nowy Kościół two important

mines were founded and a large number of local engineers also participated in the development of the industrial region of Legnica. However, in the early 1970s the mines were closed down because ore deposits of much higher quality were found around

Lubin Lubin (; ) is a city in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in south-western Poland. It is the administrative seat of Lubin County, and also of the rural district called Gmina Lubin, although it is not part of the territory of the latter, as the town for ...

. Many factories were founded, including a shoe factory,

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...

ornaments factory and a

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

mine. Since 1989 the town of Złotoryja started to look for its past. The historical old town was restored and the traditions of gold mining were started. In 1992 a local ''Polish Guild of Gold Prospectors'' was started, which ever since organises the Polish Gold Panning Championships. In 2000 World Championships were held there. Currently the town is one of the main tourist centres of the area. The heavy industry is also playing an important part in the development of the area. The local quarries are ones of the most profitable in Poland and the Christmas tree ornaments factory is exporting millions of ornaments every year, mostly to Western Europe and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Main sights

* Market Square (''Rynek'') filled with picturesque townhouses and the Neoclassical town hall * St. Mary's Church, built in Romanesque and Gothic styles, founded by Duke Henry I the Bearded, is Złotoryja's most valuable historic building and one of the city's most recognizable landmarks * 14th-century city walls ** Blacksmiths Tower (''Baszta Kowalska'') * St. Hedwig's Church * Holy Cross Church (commonly referred to as St. Nicholas's Church) * Fountains * Gold Mining Museum, formerly the "Muzeum Złota w Złotoryi" ("Złotoryja's Gold Museum") now the "Muzeum Społeczne Ziemi Złotoryjskiej" ("Museum of the Złotoryja Land Society") *

Notable people

* Valentin Trozendorf (1490–1556), Protestant pedagogue and theologian * Johann Wilhelm Oelsner (1766–1848), educator, industrialist * Ernst Zinner (1886–1970), astronomer * Wilhelm Gliese (1915–1993), astronomer * Mariusz Szczygieł (born 1966), journalist and writer, winner of the 2019 Nike Award

Twin towns – sister cities

Złotoryja is twinned with: *

Buchach Buchach (, ; ; or ; ; ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city located on the Strypa River (a tributary of the Dniester) in Chortkiv Raion of Ternopil Oblast (Oblast, province) of Western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Buchach urban h ...

, Ukraine *

Mimoň Mimoň () is a town in Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,400 inhabitants. Administrative division Mimoň consists of eight municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *M ...

, Czech Republic * Pulsnitz, Germany * Westerburg, Germany

References

External links

Official Website of Złotoryja

Polish Guild of Gold Prospectors
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Złotoryja County Populated riverside places in Poland Magdeburg rights