Bogatynia (;

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Reichenau in Sachsen''; ; ) is a town in

Zgorzelec County __NOTOC__ Zgorzelec County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. It ...

Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesian Voivodeship (, ) in southwestern Poland, is one of the 16 Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. It covers an area of and has a total population of 2,899,986. It is one of the wealthiest ...

, in south-western

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. As of December 2021, the town had a population of 16,460.

Geography

The municipal area forms Poland's "Turoszów

panhandle A salient, panhandle, or bootheel is an elongated protrusion of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state. While similar to a peninsula in shape, a salient is most often not surrounded by water on three sides. Ins ...

" () between the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

town of

Frýdlant Frýdlant (, also known as Frýdlant v Čechách; ) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,400 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Cz ...

in the east and the

town of

Zittau Zittau (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, Upper Lusatian dialect: ''Sitte''; ) is the southeasternmost city in the Germany, German state of Saxony, and belongs to the Görlitz (district), district of Görlitz, Germany's easternmost Districts of Germ ...

in the west. To the southwest, the

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

of the Czech, German, and Polish borders is located on the Neisse River. The town lies approximately south of

Zgorzelec Zgorzelec (, , , , Lower Sorbian: ''Zgórjelc'') is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland, with 30,374 inhabitants (2019). It is the seat of Zgorzelec County and of Gmina Zgorzelec (although it is not part of the territory ...

, and west of the regional capital

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

. The town has an area of .

History

The settlement of ''Richnow'' (modern German: ''Reichenau'', i.e. 'rich vale') in the historical region of

Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (, ; , ; ; or ''Milsko''; ) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the north, it makes up the region of Lusatia, named after the Polabian Slavs, Slavic ''Lusici'' tribe. Both parts of Lusatia a ...

was first mentioned in a 1262 deed, then a possession of Cistercian St. Marienthal Abbey near

Ostritz Ostritz (, , ; Polish: ''Ostrowiec'' ) is a town in the district Görlitz, in Saxony, in eastern Germany. It is situated on the border with Poland, on the left bank of the Lusatian Neisse, 16 km south of Görlitz. It is located next to the ...

. It prospered from its location on an important

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over land or water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a singl ...

connecting

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, residence of the

Meissen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...

margraves, with

Świdnica Świdnica (; ; ) is a city on the Bystrzyca (Oder), Bystrzyca River in south-western Poland in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. As of 2021, it has a population of 55,413 inhabitants. It is the seat of Świdnica County, and also of the smaller dis ...

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

. Initially a possession of the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

, it passed to the

Duchy of Jawor Duchy of Jawor (, ) was one of the duchies of Silesia and medieval Poland established in 1274 as a subdivision of the Duchy of Legnica. It was ruled by the Silesian Piasts, with its capital at Jawor in Lower Silesia. It was the southwesternmost ...

of fragmented Poland in 1319, again to Bohemia in 1346, to the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

in 1469, again to Bohemia in 1490, and to the Saxon Electorate by the 1635 Peace of Prague. From 1697 to 1763 it was also ruled by Kings of Poland in personal union. The settlement suffered during 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 Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

(1425–1430) and

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

(1618–1648). During the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

it was plundered by Swedish troops. Many inhabitants died in the

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession (; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a civil war in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth over the succession to Augustus II the Strong, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of ...

, fighting on the side of

Augustus III of Poland Augustus III (; – "the Saxon"; ; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as List of rulers of Saxony, Elector of Saxony i ...

. During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, the occupying

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

and

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

armies imposed contributions on the inhabitants, confiscated food and even pillaged the village. In 1813, during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

and Polish national liberation fights, joint Polish-French forces commanded by Prince

Józef Poniatowski Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski (; 7 May 1763 – 19 October 1813) was a Polish general, minister of war and army chief, who became a Marshal of the French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. A nephew of the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lit ...

were stationed in the village and later also

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

troops marched through the village. As

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

had sided with the French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars, it had to cede the northeastern part of Upper Lusatia to

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

according to the Final Act of the 1815

Vienna Congress 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, Napol ...

. After the new border had been drawn, the village was the only possession east of the Neisse River that remained within Saxony. From 1871 to 1945 it was part of Germany. In the interbellum the settlement suffered economically from

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

and the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Spared from damage during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, with the implementation of the Oder-Neisse line according to the post-war

Potsdam Agreement The Potsdam Agreement () was the agreement among three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union after the war ended in Europe that was signed on 1 August 1945 and published the following day. A ...

, it passed to Poland and was granted a city charter. It is therefore the only municipality in Poland which until 1945 had not been part of Prussia (but of the

Free State of Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

). From 1945 to 1947 the town was renamed ''Rychwald'' followed by the current name, and during that time all German residents were expelled. The town used to be connected via

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

lines opened in 1884 to Zittau and to the Bohemian border, where it was linked with the

Frýdlant–Heřmanice Railway In 1864, a committee for construction of a standard gauge railway line connecting Zittau - Reichenau (Bogatynia) - Frýdlant - Liegnitz (Legnica) was established. Negotiations with governments and investors failed. In 1884, a narrow gauge railw ...

in 1900. Cross border service discontinued in 1945, and the railway line was closed in 1961. On August 8, 2010, the Miedzianka stream flooded the entire central part of the town, causing heavy damage and destroying several historic buildings. The cause of the flooding was extremely heavy rain and the resulting swelling of the river Miedzianka. Two people died.

Economy

Today Bogatynia is one of the richest towns per capita in Poland, due to its two principal enterprises: the

Turów Coal Mine The Turów coal mine () or KWB Turów, is a large open pit mine in the southwest of Poland, located outside Bogatynia, Lower Silesia. It feeds the nearby Turów Power Station. In March 2024 a Warsaw court found the EIA for mining from 2026 to be ...

, a large

open-pit Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts rock (geology), rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially ...

on the grounds of the former Rybarzowice village, and the associated

thermal power station A thermal power station, also known as a thermal power plant, is a type of power station in which the heat energy generated from various fuel sources (e.g., coal, natural gas, nuclear fuel, etc.) is converted to electrical energy. The heat ...

, '' Elektrownia Turów'', operated by the

Polska Grupa Energetyczna PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. (PGE SA or PGE Group, the name can be translated as ''Polish Energy Group'') is a state-owned public power company and the largest power producing company in Poland. PGE is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange an ...

, the third-largest of the country. The word ''bogaty'' in Polish describes a rich or wealthy person - a

calque In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language ...

from the town's original German name, ''Reichenau'' (''reich'': "rich").

International relations

See twin towns of Gmina Bogatynia.

Notable residents

Johann Hübner Johann Hübner (17 March 1668 – 21 May 1731) was a German geographer and scholar, who taught by the question and answer method. Life Johann Hübner attended school in Zittau before studying theology, poetry, rhetoric, geography and history at t ...

(1668–1731), German geographer and scholar *

Johann Gottfried Schicht Johann Gottfried Schicht (29 September 1753 – 16 February 1823) was a German composer and conductor. Schicht was born in Reichenau, in the Electorate of Saxony. He studied Law in Leipzig before becoming the conductor of the Leipzig Gewan ...

, composer (1753–1823) * Ernst Friedrich Apelt, philosopher (1812–1859) * Werner Dittrich (born 1937), German weightlifter *

Gerhard Richter Gerhard Richter (; born 9 February 1932) is a German visual artist. Richter has produced Abstract art, abstract as well as photorealistic paintings, photographs and Glass art, glass pieces. He is widely regarded as one of the most important con ...

(born 1932), German artist

References

External links

*
Old postcards of Reichenau/Bogatynia at www.werkowski.eu
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Zgorzelec County