Zielona Góra is the largest city in

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 Po ...

, located 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 ...

, with 140,403 inhabitants (2021). Zielona Góra has a favourable geographical position, being close to the Polish-German border and on several international road and rail routes connecting

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

with

Southern Europe Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Alba ...

and

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 officia ...

with

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. The region is closely associated with vineyards and holds an annual

Wine Fest Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

. Zielona Góra is one of the two capital cities of Lubusz Voivodeship, hosting the province's elected assembly, while the seat of the centrally appointed

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

is in the city of Gorzów Wielkopolski.

History

The city's history began when Polish Duke

Henry the Bearded Henry the Bearded ( pl, Henryk (Jędrzych) Brodaty, german: Heinrich der Bärtige; c. 1165/70 – 19 March 1238) was a Polish duke from the Piast dynasty. He was Dukes of Silesia, Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1201, Seniorate Province, Duke ...

brought first settlers to the area in 1222. In 1323 Zielona Góra was granted

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

. The town was incorporated into the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

in 1506. As part of Bohemia, in 1526 it became part of the

Habsburg Empire The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

and experienced a wave of

witch trials A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The Witch trials in the early modern period, classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and European Colon ...

in the 17th century. As a result of the

First Silesian War The First Silesian War (german: Erster Schlesischer Krieg, links=no) was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1740 to 1742 and resulted in Prussia's seizing most of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Poland) from Austria. T ...

, the city was annexed by

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 also part of Germany from 1871 until the end of

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. In accordance with the Potsdam Agreement, the province was handed over to Poland and resettled with

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...

, most of whom came from central Poland, but some also had been expelled from the

Eastern Borderlands Eastern Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Wschodnie) or simply Borderlands ( pl, Kresy, ) was a term coined for the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic during the interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural and extensively multi-ethnic, it ...

The first settlement in the area of Zielona Góra was built in the valley near the Złota Łącza stream during the reign of the Polish ruler Mieszko I.Municipal homepage
The oldest settlement was agricultural. It later developed into a trading point along routes from

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

Żagań Żagań ( French and german: Sagan, hsb, Zahań, la, Saganum) is a town in western Poland, on the Bóbr river, with 25,731 inhabitants (2019). The town is the capital of Żagań County in the historic region of Silesia. Previously in the Zielo ...

and further to Łużyce. The written records of the Slavic settlement date to 1222 and an increase of its population by

. Other documents date the settlement to 1302.Weczerka, p. 164 The region received an influx of German burghers in the second half of the 13th century during the medieval Ostsiedlung. In 1323, the settlement became a city with ''Crossener Recht'', a variation of

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...

. The earliest mention of the town's coat of arms is from 1421, although it is believed to have been arranged since the beginning of the 14th century.Hupp, p. 154 A document in the town archive of Thorn (Toruń) dating from before 1400 used a

sigil A sigil () is a type of symbol used in magic. The term has usually referred to a pictorial signature of a deity or spirit. In modern usage, especially in the context of chaos magic, sigil refers to a symbolic representation of the practitioner ...

with the name ''GRVNINBERG'', an early form of the German name ''Grünberg''. In 1294, Duke Henryk III of the Duchy of Głogów, founded a church in honour of

Saint Hedwig Saint Hedwig may refer to: * Saint Hedwig of Silesia, 13th-century saint * Saint Jadwiga of Poland, 14th-century saint also known as Hedwig * Saint Hedwig, Texas St. Hedwig is a rural town in Bexar County, Texas, United States founded by Germa ...

, the High Duchess consort of Poland and patron saint of Silesia. Now designated a co-cathedral, it is the oldest building in the city. A wooden castle near the city, built ca. 1272, was the residence of Duke John of Ścinawa from 1358 to 1365. Janusz had ceded his lands to Duke Henry V of Iron.Weczerka, p. 165 In 1477 the town defeated a 5,000-strong army from neighbouring

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

which attempted to seize it during the succession war to the Duchy of Głogów. In 1488, Duke John II of Żagań, destroyed the castle to prevent his enemies from using it. The deposition of Duke John II of Żagań in 1488 marked the end of the long rule of the Piast dynasty in the Duchy of Głogów and the city of Zielona Góra. Later on, the duchy was ruled by the future Kings of Poland

John I Albert John I Albert ( pl, Jan I Olbracht; 27 December 1459 – 17 June 1501) was King of Poland from 1492 until his death in 1501 and Duke of Głogów (Glogau) from 1491 to 1498. He was the fourth Polish sovereign from the Jagiellonian dynasty, the s ...

and Sigismund I the Old. It was integrated with the

in 1506, although Polish king Sigismund I the Old still claimed his rights to the city in 1508. The city flourished during the reign of Sigismund I the Old. In 1505 Sigismund issued a privilege allowing the sale of cloth products from Zielona Góra throughout

. In 1641, King

Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa; lt, Vladislovas Vaza; sv, Vladislav IV av Polen; rus, Владислав IV Ваза, r=Vladislav IV Vaza; la, Ladislaus IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV of Poland (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of ...

of Poland confirmed these rights. Another important branch of the city's economy at this time was

winemaking Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and ...

The city converted to

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

through the efforts of Paul Lemberg, Abbot of Sagan.Weczerka, p. 166 The city declined during the 17th century, especially during the

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 ...

(1618–48) and following decades. Grünberg endured plundering, debts, emigration of burghers, and fires. In 1651 during the

Counter Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

, the Habsburg monarchy of Austria reintroduced Roman Catholicism and suppressed

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

. The city was subjected to heavy Germanisation and German craftsmen banned Poles from attending any practice allowing them to work as members of guilds. A rebellion caused by conscription ended with many Poles being imprisoned. From 1640,

took place, the number of which increased significantly in 1663–1665. As a result, in 1669 the local court was deprived of the right to impose the death penalty on women accused of witchcraft. The city was annexed by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

by the 1742 Treaty of Breslau which ended the

. The Prussians introduced

religious toleration Religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, mistaken, or harmful". ...

, leading to the construction of the Protestant parish church ''Zum Garten Christ'' from 1746 to 1747. Catholic Poles were later discriminated against, however. In 1758, during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

POWs A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

brought the plague to the city. The city's

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry. Industry process Cotton manufacturi ...

was booming by the end of the 1700s. By 1800, large parts of the city walls had been dismantled to allow the city to expand. The textile industry suffered during the 1820s while adjusting to the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

and an import ban by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. The city's economy began to recover after many clothiers emigrated to Congress Poland. English industrialists were among the 19th-century economic reformers of Zielona Góra. Zielona Góra, Filharmonia (1)

During industrialisation, many Germans from the countryside moved to large industrial cities and a large number of Poles came to German cities to work as well. The Polish population was pushed by Germanisation to rural villages, although some remained in the town contributed to the economic revival of the city. A Polish church remained functional until 1809 and a Polish craftsmen association (''Towarzystwo Polskich Rzemieślników'') was established by Kazimierz Lisowski in 1898;''Znani zielonogórzanie'', Verbum, Zielona Góra, 1996, p. 124 it existed till 1935 when Lisowski was murdered by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

. In 1923 a branch of the Union of Poles in Germany was established. In 1932 the German authorities did not allow the establishment of a Polish school. Since 1816 after the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, Grünberg was administered within the district ''Landkreis Grünberg'' in 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 ...

. In 1871 it became part of the German Empire during the

unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was the process of building the modern German nation state with federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without multinational Austria), which commenced on 18 August 1866 with adoption of t ...

. English industrialists purchased some of the city's textile factories during the 1870s and 1880s. By 1885, most of Grünberg's population of 14,396 were Protestants. The city was first connected to the Glogau (

Głogów Głogów (; german: Glogau, links=no, rarely , cs, Hlohov, szl, Głogōw) is a city in western Poland. It is the county seat of Głogów County, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999), and was previously in Legnica Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

)-Grünberg (Zielona Góra)- Guben railway line in 1871, followed by connections to Christianstadt ( Nowogród Bobrzański) in 1904, Wollstein (

Wolsztyn Wolsztyn (german: Wollstein) is a town in western Poland, on the western edge of Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seat of Wolsztyn County, and of the smaller administrative district of Gmina Wolsztyn. Geography The town is situated within ...

) in 1905, and a local line to Sprottau (

Szprotawa Szprotawa (german: Sprottau) is a town in western Poland, in Żagań County, Lubusz Voivodeship. It has 11,820 inhabitants (2019). History The region was part of Poland after the emergence of the Piast monarchy in the 10th century. The first me ...

) in 1911.

In 1919, Grünberg became part of the

Province of Lower Silesia The Province of Lower Silesia (german: Provinz Niederschlesien; Silesian German: ''Provinz Niederschläsing''; pl, Prowincja Dolny Śląsk; szl, Prowincyjŏ Dolny Ślōnsk) was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. Between ...

within

Weimar Germany The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is als ...

. On 1 April 1922 it became a district-free city, but this status was revoked on 1 October 1933 while part of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. During the ''

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation fro ...

'' in 1938, the Germans destroyed the synagogue. During

the Germans established a women's subcamp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, 11 forced labour camps and 4 labour units of the

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

, intended for French, Italian and Soviet prisoners of war. The

Soviet 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 nation ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

occupied Grünberg with little fighting on February 14, 1945, during World War II. In that period, about 500 people committed suicide. The following month, according to the post-war Potsdam Agreement, the town was placed under Polish administration under territorial compensation for the territories of former Eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. The remaining German inhabitants who had not fled their homes from the Eastern Front were expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement. The town was partly resettled with

transferred from

Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union Seventeen days after the German invasion of Poland in 1939, which marked the beginning of the Second World War, the Soviet Union entered the eastern regions of Poland (known as the ''Kresy'') and annexed territories totalling with a population o ...

. The city was briefly renamed ''Zielonogóra'' in 1945, before the historic Polish name ''Zielona Góra'' was restored. The 18th-century Protestant church was reconsecrated as a Catholic church (''Kościół Matki Boskiej Częstochowskiej''). The city's first post-war mayor was Tomasz Sobkowiak, a former prisoner of the Auschwitz concentration camp during the German occupation of Poland. He is remembered as an efficient administrator, with a friendly attitude towards Germans. From 1950 to 1998 Zielona Góra was the capital of the Zielona Góra Voivodeship. The University of Zielona Góra was opened in 2001. The city is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Zielona Góra-Gorzów.

Geography

Zielona Góra is surrounded by tree-covered hills. The adjacent woodland makes up approximately half of the city's total area. The name of the city translates to 'Green Mountain' in both Polish and German. Zielona Góra features several tourist attractions and important historical sites including the preserved

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Old Town, 13th-century Market Square,

tenements A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...

, palaces, parks and the famous Palm House on Wine Hill. Its strong connection to vineyards and grape-picking earned Zielona Góra the nickname "The City of Wine".

Wineries

The city has been known for its wines for centuries. It is now one of two places in Poland with

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

grape cultivation mainly for white wines (the other being the wine growing region near the town of

Warka Warka ( yi, ווארקע) is a town in east-central Poland, located on the left bank of the Pilica river ( south of Warsaw), with 11,035 inhabitants (2004). It has been situated in Grójec County, in the Masovian Voivodeship, since 1999; p ...

Masovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...

). The first wineries around the city were built in 1314. At the Paradyż Abbey near Zielona Góra, monks have been making wine since 1250. The number of vineyards at peak production is estimated at 4,000 in the region, with 2,500 in Zielona Góra itself. During the communist era wine production was reduced, but since 1990 it has recovered. Since 1852, an annual wine festival has taken place in the town. Wine is no longer produced in Zielona Góra itself, with the last factory closed in the early 1990s. Vodka '' Luksusowa'' (namely: Luxury vodka), made from potatoes rather than grain, is produced in distillery in Zielona Góra.

Climate

The climate is

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Cfb'') with some

humid continental A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

characteristics (''Dfb'') in normals previous to 1981–2010. Despite being some distance from the sea, western standards as well as

air mass In meteorology, an air mass is a volume of air defined by its temperature and humidity. Air masses cover many hundreds or thousands of square miles, and adapt to the characteristics of the surface below them. They are classified according to l ...

es are still predominant in the western than eastern, not very different from German cities near the border.

Education

The city has a university and a College of International Trade and Finance. Currently there are 18,000 students studying in the city.

Secondary education

Secondary education is based on the

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

type of educational facility.
I High School

III High School

IV High School

V High School

Seventh General Lyceum

Schools of Electronics

Schools of Economics

Universities and colleges

* University of Zielona Górabr>
* From 1997 until 2014: College of International Trade and Finance

Transport

Zielona Góra Airport Zielona Góra Airport () is a regional airport in the Zielona Góra urban area (the Lubusian Tri-city) in western Poland. The airport is from Sulechów, northeast of the Zielona Góra city centre, in the village of Kramsko, near the town of Ba ...

is located at

Babimost Babimost (german: Bomst) is a small town in western Poland in Zielona Góra County, Lubusz Voivodeship. It is the administrative seat of Gmina Babimost. As of December 2021, it has a population of 3,847. Geography The town is situated on the Le ...

, north-east of the city. It is currently the eleventh busiest airport in Poland, in terms of traffic size. Formerly a military base, it has become an important transport hub for western Poland. LOT Polish Airlines currently offers daily flights to

Zielona Góra Główna railway station is the most important railway station of Zielona Góra. It has train connections to Gorzów Wielkopolski, Zbąszynek,

Rzepin Rzepin (german: Reppen) is a town in western Poland. Situated in the Lubusz Voivodeship (since 1999), in Słubice County it is a seat of the urban-rural Rzepin Gmina. From 1975 until 1998 the town, from an administrative point of view, belonged ...

, Frankfurt (Oder) and Krakow, main cities of the surrounding regions:

, Szczecin and

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 ...

as well as direct international connections to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. The city lies at the junction of National Road 3, National Road 27 and National Road 32 and is a major interchange on S3 Expressway along

European route E65 European route E65 is a north-south Class-A European route that begins in Malmö, Sweden and ends in Chania, Greece. The road is about in length. Route * **: Malmö ( ) – Ystad *Gap (Baltic Sea) ** Ystad - Świnoujście * **: Świnou ...

Events

*June/July: Busker Bus Festival *August: Folk Song and Dance Festiva
Folk Festival
*September: Winobranie (Wine Fest)

Sports

The city is home to Zastal Zielona Góra, five times champion of the

Polish Basketball League Polska Liga Koszykówki (PLK) (English: Polish Basketball League) is a professional men's club basketball league in Poland. It constitutes the first and highest-tier level of the Polish league pyramid. The winning team of the final round are crow ...

and member of the European Basketball Champions League. The team plays its home games at the

CRS Hall Zielona Góra CRS Hall Zielona Góra, officially ''Centrum Rekreacyjno-Sportowe w Zielonej Górze'' in Polish, is a multi-use indoor sporting arena that is located in Zielona Góra, Poland. The arena can be used for basketball, handball, futsal, volleyball, ...

. It is also home to Falubaz Zielona Góra, one of the most successful Polish

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

clubs. The local football team is Lechia Zielona Góra.

Notable people

* Bartholomaeus Pitiscus (1561–1613), mathematician, theologian, astronomer * Abraham Scultetus (1566–1625), theologian * Tadeusz Kuntze (1727–1793), painter * Rudolf Haym (1821–1901), philosopher *

Wilhelm Foerster Wilhelm Julius Foerster (16 December 1832 – 18 January 1921) was a German astronomer. His name can also be written Förster, but is usually written "Foerster" even in most German sources where 'ö' is otherwise used in the text. Biography A ...

(1832–1921), astronomer *

Otto Julius Bierbaum Otto Julius Bierbaum (28 June 1865 – 1 February 1910) was a German writer. Bierbaum was born in Grünberg, Silesia. After studying in Leipzig, he became a journalist and editor for the journals ''Die freie Bühne'', ''Pan'' and '' Die Insel'' ...

(1865–1910), writer * Susanne Dessoir (1869–1953), soprano * Franz Mattenklott (1884–1954), general * Józef Zych (born 1938), lawyer and politician * Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia (born 1943) great-grandson of Kaiser Wilhelm II. *

Maryla Rodowicz Maria Antonina Rodowicz, known professionally as Maryla Rodowicz, (Polish pronunciation: born 8 December 1945 in Zielona Góra), is a Polish singer, guitarist and actress. Throughout over 50 years of her career, she released twenty Polish and f ...

(born 1945), singer *

Jürgen Colombo Jürgen Colombo (born 2 September 1949) is a retired track cyclist from West Germany, who won the gold medal in the Men's 4000m Team Pursuit at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, alongside Günther Schumacher, Günter Haritz, and Udo Hempel ...

(born 1949), bicyclist * Janusz C. Szajna (born 1954), entrepreneur and University of Zielona Góra professor * Andrew Andrzej Twardon (born 1956), psychologist * Maria Gładkowska (born 1957), actress *

Olga Tokarczuk Olga Nawoja Tokarczuk (; born 29 January 1962) is a Polish writer, activist, and public intellectual. She is one of the most critically acclaimed and successful authors of her generation in Poland; in 2019, she was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize ...

(born 1962), writer (laureate of Nobel Prize in Literature) *

Tomasz Lis Tomasz Rafał Lis (born 6 March 1966 in Zielona Góra) is a Polish journalist and former TV anchor of “TVN Fakty” ("TVN Facts") and “Wydarzenia” ("Events"). Life and career Lis was born on 6 March 1966 in Zielona Góra to parents Stef ...

(born 1966), journalist * Mariusz Linke (born 1969),

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

fighter and world-class grappler * Grzegorz Halama (born 1970), comedian * Agnieszka Haupe-Kalka (born 1970), writer * Piotr Protasiewicz (born 1975), speedway rider *

L.U.C L.U.C is the alias of Łukasz Rostkowski , a Polish manager, rapper and producer who works in Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the histori ...

(born 1981), rapper * Grzegorz Zengota (born 1988), speedway rider

Twin towns – sister cities

Zielona Góra is twinned with: * L'Aquila, Italy (1996) * Bistriţa, Romania (2001) *

Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exte ...

, Germany (1990) * Helmond, Netherlands (1993) * Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine (2000) *

Kraljevo Kraljevo ( sr-cyr, Краљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Raška District in central Serbia. It is situated on the confluence of West Morava and Ibar River, Ibar, in the geographical region of � ...

, Serbia (1974) *

Nitra Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about 78,353, it is the fifth l ...

, Slovakia (1992) * Troyes, France (1970) *

Verden an der Aller Verden an der Aller (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Veern''), also called Verden (Aller) or simply Verden, is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the river Aller. It is the district town of the district of Verden in Lower Saxony and an independent munic ...

, Germany (1993) *

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of t ...

, Georgia (2022) *

Wuxi Wuxi (, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu province, eastern China, by car to the northwest of downtown Shanghai, between Changzhou and Suzhou. In 2017 it had a population of 3,542,319, with 6,553,000 living in the entire prefecture-level city ar ...

, China (2009) *

Zittau Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, Upper Lusatian Dialect: ''Sitte''; from Slavic "'' rye''" (Upper Sorbian and Czech: ''žito'', Lower Sorbian: ''žyto'', Polish: ''żyto'')) is the southeasternmost city in the Ge ...

, Germany (2010)

Friendly cities

* Soltau, Germany (1997)

Gallery

File:Ratuwiw21.jpg, Town Hall File:Deptak Zielona Góra.jpg, Żeromskiego Street in the Old Town File:Zielona Góra, Tkalnia przy Fabrycznej.jpg, Lofts in Zielona Góra File:Wieża GłodowaZG.jpg, The Hunger Tower from the 15th century File:Plac Pocztowy,budynek nr 17.jpg, Tenement at ''Plac Pocztowy'' (Postal Square) File:Obserr16.jpg, Astronomical observatory File:Palmkg21.jpg, Palm house with restaurant on Wine Hill File:Biblioteka norwid.jpg, Cyprian Norwid Provincial and Municipal Public Library File:Lutheran church in Zielona Góra.jpg,

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

church File:Kaplgjz12.jpg, 14th-century chapel on Wine Hill File:Pomnik Ignacego Łukasiewicza w Zielonej Górze.jpg,

Ignacy Łukasiewicz Jan Józef Ignacy Łukasiewicz (; 8 March 1822 – 7 January 1882) was a Polish pharmacist, engineer, businessman, inventor, and philanthropist. He was one of the most prominent philanthropists in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, crown land o ...

Monument File:Ogrod Botaniczny ZG1.JPG, Botanical Garden File:Skansen Ochla 5.jpg, Ethnographic Open-Air Museum File:Sąd Okręgowy ZG.jpg, Courthouse File:Archiwum Państwowe Zielona Góra.jpg, State Archives

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Grünberg church records
of births, marriages and deaths since 1582
Municipal websiteZielona Góra UniversityJewish Community in Zielona Góra
on Virtual Shtetl
The Death March through Zielona Góra to Volary
at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

website
Grünberg Notgeld
(emergency banknotes) depicting various episodes from the region's history. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zielona Gora Cities and towns in Lubusz Voivodeship Cities in Silesia City counties of Poland