Łęknica (german: Lugknitz; hsb, Wjeska) is a

border town A border town is a town or city close to the boundary between two countries, states, or regions. Usually the term implies that the nearness to the border is one of the things the place is most famous for. With close proximities to a different cou ...

in 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 ...

, one of the two gminas of

Żary County __NOTOC__ Żary County ( pl, powiat żarski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland, on the German border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local ...

Lubusz Voivodeship Lubusz Voivodeship, or Lubuskie Province ( pl, województwo lubuskie ), is a voivodeship ( province) in western Poland. It was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Gorzów Wielkopolski and Zielona Góra Voivodeships, pursuant to the ...

Muskau Park Muskau Park (german: Muskauer Park, officially: ''Fürst-Pückler-Park Bad Muskau''; pl, Park Mużakowski) is a landscape park in the Upper Lusatia region of Germany and Poland. It is the largest and one of the most famous English gardens in ...

(''Park Mużakowski''), a Polish-German

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

, stretches north of the town centre.

Geography

The town is situated in the Polish part of the historic

Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (german: Oberlausitz ; hsb, Hornja Łužica ; dsb, Górna Łužyca; szl, Gōrnŏ Łużyca; pl, Łużyce Górne or ''Milsko''; cz, Horní Lužice) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to t ...

region, in the broad valley of the

Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (german: Lausitzer Neiße; pl, Nysa Łużycka; cs, Lužická Nisa; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. A bridge across the river connects it with the opposite German town of

Bad Muskau Bad Muskau (; formerly ''Muskau'', hsb, Mužakow, pl, Mużaków, cs, Mužakov) is a spa town in the historic Upper Lusatia region in Germany, at the border with Poland. It is part of the Görlitz district in the State of Saxony. It is locate ...

, another border crossing in the south leads to Krauschwitz. Łęknica's population numbers 2,478 (2019).

History

The area along the Neisse river was already settled in the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. While neighbouring Muskau was already mentioned in 1249 and was awarded city rights in 1452, the village of ''Lugnitz'' was first documented in 1505, then part of the Muskau

state country State country (german: Freie Standesherrschaft; cs, stavovské panství; pl, państwo stanowe) was a unit of administrative and territorial division in the Bohemian crown lands of Silesia and Upper Lusatia, existing from 15th to 18th centuries. ...

. According to the 1635 Peace of Prague, Lugknitz together with Upper Lusatia passed from the

Bohemian Crown The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were a number of incorporated states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods connected by feudal relations under the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of B ...

to the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charle ...

and from 1697 to 1763 it was also under the rule of Polish kings in personal union. One of two main routes connecting

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

and

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

ran through the area at that time. Upon the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...

in 1815, it was ceded to

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 e ...

and incorporated into the

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...

. About 1880 it was still a small Sorbian agricultural village, one of only two Sorbian-speaking settlements east of the Neisse river, the other being Bronowice (''Braunsdorf/Brunojcy''). That changed with the turn of century, when industry was established on the Neisse. Brown coal started to be mined. Based on rich clay deposits, ceramic companies emerged and also glass factories. From 1940 to 1945 the village was included within the city limits of

Muskau Bad Muskau (; formerly ''Muskau'', hsb, Mužakow, pl, Mużaków, cs, Mužakov) is a spa town in the historic Upper Lusatia region in Germany, at the border with Poland. It is part of the Görlitz district in the State of Saxony. It is lo ...

as its eastern right-bank district. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 70% of the city was destroyed, as well as much of the industry (brown coal mine "Babina" from 40%, glassworks 30% and slate factories 50%). The town was separated from Bad Muskau by the new state border along the

Oder–Neisse line The Oder–Neisse line (german: Oder-Neiße-Grenze, pl, granica na Odrze i Nysie Łużyckiej) is the basis of most of the international border between Germany and Poland from 1990. It runs mainly along the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers a ...

, the remaining German population was expelled and the place was gradually settled with Polish military veterans, refugees, people returning from forced labour in Germany, people repatriated from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and in 1958, 18 families repatriated from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

settled in the city. The settlement changed name several times, ''Łuknica'' in 1945–1947, then ''Ługnica'' and ''Łęknice''. It received the name ''Łęknica'' in 1956 and obtained town privileges in 1969. In 1972 the border crossing between Poland and

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

was opened and visa-free

local border traffic Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

was allowed.

Twin towns – sister cities

Łęknica is twinned with: *

, Germany * Hejnice, Czech Republic

Gallery

File:Park Muzakowski1.jpg, Mużakowski Park File:Park Muzakowski2.jpg, Mużakowski Park File:Park von Muskau in Łęknica und Bad Muskau.jpg, Mużakowski Park File:Bad Muskau - Park - Łęknica 01 ies.jpg, Polish boundary stone

References

External links

Official town webpageSatellite photo from Google Maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leknica Cities and towns in Lubusz Voivodeship Żary County Germany–Poland border crossings