Ziębice (german: Münsterberg) is a town in Ząbkowice Śląskie County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, 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) 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 Ślą ...

. 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 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 split ...

until 1290, Świdnica until 1322, and afterwards it was the capital of a small eponymous duchy, remaining under the rule of the Piast dynasty 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 Cat ...

and

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

, 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 along with the bulk of

. Following Germany's defeat in

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, 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.

Culture

Ziębice hosts Poland's only Museum of Home Appliances.

Sports

The local football club is Sparta Ziębice. It competes in the lower leagues.

Notable people

* Karl Denke (1860–1924), serial killer *

Edyta Górniak Edyta Anna Górniak (; born 14 November 1972) is a Polish pop singer with a career spanning 3 decades. Górniak started as a musical theatre actress in 1990. She performed in the most popular musical in Polish history, the Tony Award-nominated ...

(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 Aw ...

(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 uni ...

(1845–1904), pathologist

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Ziębice.

Gallery

2014 Ziębice, kościół św. Jerzego 01.JPG,

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

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