Żyrowa (german: Zyrowa, 1936-1945: ''Buchenhöh'') is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the administrative district of

Gmina Zdzieszowice __NOTOC__ Gmina Zdzieszowice is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Krapkowice County, Opole Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the town of Zdzieszowice, which lies approximately south-east of Krapkowice and south- ...

, within

Krapkowice County __NOTOC__ Krapkowice County ( pl, powiat krapkowicki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Opole Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local governmen ...

Opole Voivodeship Opole Voivodeship, or Opole Province ( pl, województwo opolskie ), is the smallest and least populated voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province's name derives from that of the region's capital and largest city, Opole. It is part of Upper S ...

, in southern Poland. It lies approximately north of

Zdzieszowice Zdzieszowice (; german: Deschowitz, 1936–1945: ''Odertal O.S.''; szl, Źdźyszowicy) is a town in Krapkowice County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is ...

, east of

Krapkowice Krapkowice (; german: Krappitz; szl, Krapkowicy) is a town in southern Poland with 16,301 inhabitants (2019), situated in the Opole Voivodeship, straddling both banks of the Oder River at the point where it joins with the Osobłoga. It is the r ...

, and south-east of the regional capital

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city lo ...

. The village has a population of 760.

History

The village dates back to the

Middle Ages 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 ...

, when it was part of fragmented

Piast 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 ...

-ruled Poland. The local Saint Nicholas church was built around 1300. Later on, it was also part of Bohemia (Czechia),

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

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. It was the site of fighting during the Polish

Third Silesian Uprising The Silesian Uprisings (german: Aufstände in Oberschlesien, Polenaufstände, links=no; pl, Powstania śląskie, links=no) were a series of three uprisings from August 1919 to July 1921 in Upper Silesia, which was part of the Weimar Republic ...

against Germany in 1921. In 1936, during a massive Nazi campaign of renaming of placenames, the village was renamed to ''Buchenhöh'' to erase traces of Polish origin. 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 ...

, the Germans operated the E341 forced labour subcamp of the Stalag VIII-B/344

prisoner-of-war 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 priso ...

in the village. After the defeat of Germany in the war, in 1945, the village became again part of Poland and its historic name was restored.

Transport

The Polish A4 motorway runs nearby, northeast of the village.

References

Villages in Krapkowice County {{Krapkowice-geo-stub