Ziębice (german: Münsterberg) is a town in
Ząbkowice Śląskie County,
Lower Silesian Voivodeship
Lower Silesian Voivodeship, or Lower Silesia Province, in southwestern Poland, is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. The voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Wrocław, Legnica, Wałbr ...
, in south-western
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
.
The town lies on the
Oława River, approximately east of
Ząbkowice Śląskie
Ząbkowice Śląskie ( ; german: link=no, Frankenstein in Schlesien; szl, Ślůnske Zůmbkowicy) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of Ząbkowice Śląskie County and of a local municipality called ...
and south of the regional capital
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
. It is the seat of the administrative district (
gmina
The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' , from German ''Gemeinde'' meaning ''commune'') is the principal unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,477 gminas throughout the country, encompassing over ...
) called
Gmina Ziębice
__NOTOC__
Gmina Ziębice is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Ząbkowice Śląskie County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the town of Ziębice, which lies approximately east of Ząbkowice Śląsk ...
.
As of 2019, the town has a population of 8,708.
History
The area became part of the emerging Polish state under its first historic ruler
Mieszko I
Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and ...
in the 10th century. The town was first mentioned in 1234 under the Old Polish spelling ''Sambice''. As a result of the fragmentation of Poland, it formed part of the duchies of
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is spl ...
until 1290, Świdnica until 1322, and afterwards it was the capital of a small
eponymous duchy, remaining under the rule of the
Piast dynasty
The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great.
Branch ...
until 1521. In 1344, a court was established in the town by the Piast dukes.
[
In 1521 it passed to the ]Podiebrad family
The Bohemian Poděbrady family ( cz, Páni z Poděbrad) was a noble family in Bohemia, arising from the Lords of Kunštát. After Boček of Kunštát (d. 1373) had acquired the Lordship of Poděbrady by marriage, he called himself "Boček of Ku ...
, and in 1569 it passed to the kings of Bohemia. The town suffered in the 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 Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Ca ...
and Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...
, and in 1643, it was hit by an epidemic.[ In 1742, it became part of ]Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was '' de facto'' dissolved by an ...
and was the capital of Kreis Münsterberg. In 1842, the town had a population of 3,946, predominantly Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
by confession. In 1871, it became part of the German Empire
The German Empire (), Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditar ...
along with the bulk of Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is spl ...
. Following Germany's defeat in World War II, in 1945, it became again part of Poland and its German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
population was expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement
The Potsdam Agreement (german: Potsdamer Abkommen) was the agreement between three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union on 1 August 1945. A product of the Potsdam Conference, it concerned th ...
.
Culture
Ziębice hosts Poland's only Museum of Home Appliances.
Sports
The local football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ca ...
club is Sparta Ziębice. It competes in the lower leagues.
Notable people
* Karl Denke (1860–1924), serial killer
* Edyta Górniak (born 1972), singer
* Janusz Kamiński
Janusz Zygmunt Kamiński (; born June 27, 1959) is a Polish cinematographer and director of film and television. He has established a partnership with Steven Spielberg, working as a cinematographer on his films since 1993. He won the Academy Awa ...
(born 1959), cinematographer
* Karl Weigert
Karl Weigert, Carl Weigert (19 March 1845 in Münsterberg in Silesia – 5 August 1904 in Frankfurt am Main) was a German Jewish pathologist. His nephew was Fritz Weigert and his cousin was Paul Ehrlich.
He received his education at the un ...
(1845–1904), pathologist
Twin towns – sister cities
See twin towns of Gmina Ziębice.
Gallery
2014 Ziębice, kościół św. Jerzego 01.JPG, Gothic Saint George Basilica
Brama Paczkowska.JPG, Medieval Paczkowska Gate
Pomnik orła ziębicach(2).jpg, Piast Eagle monument
Ziębice, cukrownia, 06.JPG, Ziębice Sugar Refinery
References
External links
*
Jewish Community in Ziębice
on Virtual Shtetl
Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship
Ząbkowice Śląskie County
{{ZąbkowiceŚląskie-geo-stub