Bielawa () is a town in southwestern

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 ...

. Since 1999, it has been situated in

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

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 ...

. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of the

Wałbrzych Voivodeship Walbrzych Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland from the years 1975 to 1998, eventually superseded by the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Major cities and towns (population in 1995) * Wałbrzych (139, ...

. As of January 1, 2023, it has a population of 28 344. Bielawa lies in the central part of Lower Silesia, along the Bielawica stream in the

Owl Mountains The Owl Mountains (; ; ; ) are a mountain range of the Central Sudetes, Central Sudetes in southwestern Poland. It includes a protected area called Owl Mountains Landscape Park. Geography The Owl Mountains cover an area of about and stretch ove ...

region. The town covers an area in excess of . Bielawa lies at an altitude range of 280 and 964 m above sea level, in the Owl Mountains. The town is a year-round tourist destination; its outdoor attractions include four major

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

trails of varying difficulty in an park, as well as

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

trails and

ski lift A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a Lift ticket, paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/Eisenbach, Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, ...

Etymology

The name is of Polish origin and is derived from the word ''biela'', ''bila'', current Polish ''biała'' ("white").

History

The oldest known mention of Bielawa dates back to 1288, 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 (–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of King Casimir III the Great. Branches of ...

-ruled

. In 1720 the first brick house was built in the village and in 1741 it was captured and afterwards annexed by

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, ...

. In 1805 Christian Dierig founded a weaving company (''Christian Dierig AG''). 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 ...

, the village was occupied by

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1844 it was the site of the Weavers' Uprising, brutally crushed by the Prussians. From 1871 to 1945 it was part of Germany. In 1891 the

Dzierżoniów Dzierżoniów (; until 1946 ; ) is a town located at the foot of the Owl Mountains in southwestern Poland, within the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the seat of Dzierżoniów County, and of Gmina Dzierżoniów (although it is not part of the ...

–Bielawa railway line opened. In 1924 Bielawa obtained

town rights 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 tradition ...

. 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 ...

the Germans established the ''FAL Langenbielau II'' subcamp of the

Gross-Rosen concentration camp Gross-Rosen was a network of Nazi concentration camps built and operated by Nazi Germany during World War II. The main camp was located in the German village of Gross-Rosen, now the modern-day Rogoźnica in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, di ...

in the town. In 1945 it was captured by the

Soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

and eventually reintegrated with Poland.

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

, refugees of the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...

, settled in Bielawa in the 1950s.

Demographics

ImageSize = width:630 height:300 PlotArea = left:50 right:20 top:25 bottom:30 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late Colors = id:linegrey2 value:gray(0.9) id:linegrey value:gray(0.7) id:cobar value:rgb(0.0,0.7,0.8) id:cobar2 value:rgb(0.6,0.9,0.6) DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:0 till:35000 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5000 start:0 gridcolor:linegrey ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1000 start:0 gridcolor:linegrey2 PlotData = color:cobar width:19 align:left bar:1870 from:0 till:12000 bar:1939 from:0 till:20116 bar:1946 from:0 till:17269 bar:1950 from:0 till:22367 bar:1955 from:0 till:25520 bar:1960 from:0 till:28090 bar:1965 from:0 till:30869 bar:1970 from:0 till:31051 bar:1975 from:0 till:32328 bar:1980 from:0 till:32309 bar:1985 from:0 till:33983 bar:1990 from:0 till:34344 bar:1992 color:cobar2 from:0 till:34851 bar:1997 from:0 till:34008 bar:2002 from:0 till:31787 bar:2007 from:0 till:31106 bar:2012 from:0 till:31480 bar:2017 from:0 till:30207 bar:2021 from:0 till:29232 PlotData= textcolor:black fontsize:S bar:1870 at: 12000 text: 12000 shift:(-14,5) bar:1939 at: 20116 text: 20116 shift:(-14,5) bar:1946 at: 17269 text: 17269 shift:(-14,5) bar:1950 at: 22367 text: 22367 shift:(-14,5) bar:1955 at: 25520 text: 25520 shift:(-14,5) bar:1960 at: 28090 text: 28090 shift:(-14,5) bar:1965 at: 30869 text: 30869 shift:(-14,5) bar:1970 at: 31051 text: 31051 shift:(-14,5) bar:1975 at: 32328 text: 32328 shift:(-14,5) bar:1980 at: 32309 text: 32309 shift:(-14,5) bar:1985 at: 33983 text: 33983 shift:(-14,5) bar:1990 at: 34344 text: 34344 shift:(-14,5) bar:1992 at: 34851 text: 34851 shift:(-14,5) bar:1997 at: 34008 text: 34008 shift:(-14,5) bar:2002 at: 31787 text: 31787 shift:(-14,5) bar:2007 at: 31106 text: 31106 shift:(-14,5) bar:2012 at: 31480 text: 31480 shift:(-14,5) bar:2017 at: 30207 text: 30207 shift:(-14,5) bar:2021 at: 29232 text: 29232 shift:(-14,5)

Main sights

There are numerous historical buildings in Bielawa. At its center is the 19th-century

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

Church of the Assumption with a 101 m tall tower, the third tallest in Poland. Other buildings include a late-

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

palace originally built as a fortified

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

; the Church of the Corpus Christi, erected in 1743; and numerous 18th-century

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

houses that were restored in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is also a home to a number of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

penitential crosses.

International relations

Twin towns - sister cities

Bielawa is twinned with: *

Chatham-Kent Chatham-Kent (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 103,988) is a Census divisions of Ontario#Single-tier municipalities, single-tier municipality in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is mostly rural, and its population centres are Chatham, Wallac ...

, Canada *

Ciechanów Ciechanów is a city in north-central Poland, seat of the Ciechanów County in the Masovian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, it has a population of 43,495. A city with almost a thousand years of history, recorded in 1065, Ciechanów is one of ...

, Poland *

Hronov Hronov () is a town in Náchod District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,100 inhabitants. It is known as the birthplace of writer Alois Jirásek. Administrative division Hronov consists of six municipal parts (i ...

, Czech Republic *

Kostelec nad Orlicí Kostelec nad Orlicí (; ) is a town in Rychnov nad Kněžnou District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,100 inhabitants. Administrative division Kostelec nad Orlicí consists of four municipal parts (in brackets ...

, Czech Republic *

Lingen Lingen (), officially Lingen (Ems), is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. In 2024, its population was 59,896 with 2,262 people who had registered the city as their secondary residence. Lingen, specifically "Lingen (Ems)" is located on the river Ems ...

, Germany

Surroundings

* Gola Dzierżoniowska Castle * Medieval town of

Niemcza Niemcza () is a town in Dzierżoniów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Niemcza. It lies on the Ślęza River, approximately east of Dzierżoniów, a ...

* Cistercian monastery at Henryków

Notable people

JRKRUK 20130304 ELENI TZOKA BUSKO IMG 8451A

* Jeremiah Dencke (1725−1795), composer * Ferdinand Gottlieb Flechtner (1811–1867), German industrialist * Adolph Franz (1842–1916), German politician * Friedrich Dierig (1845–1931), German industrialist * Arthur Philipp Flechtner (1858–1936), Prussian General * Karl Franz (1881–1967), German politician *

Georg Muschner Georg Muschner (12 June 1885 – 17 May 1971) was a German cinematographer. He worked on over sixty productions during his career in the Weimar Republic, Austria, and Nazi Germany. Muschner originally worked as a portrait photographer, before en ...

(1885–1971), German cinematographer * Walter Möse (1920–1944),

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

Oberfeldwebel * Waltraut Engelberg (born 1929), author and wife of Ernst Engelberg * Johann Alexander Wisniewsky (1929–2012), German industrialist * Horst Weigang (born 1940), German athlete * Eleni Tzoka (born 1956), Polish singer * Aleksandra Kwasniewska (born 1978), Polish singer * Robert Skibniewski (born 1983), Polish basketball player * Jarosław Kuźniar (born 1979), Polish journalist and TV presenter * Janusz Góra (born 1963), Polish footballer *

Art Binkowski Artur "Art" Binkowski (; born February 19, 1975) is a Polish-born Canadian heavyweight boxer who competed for his adoptive country Canada at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Background Binkowski came to Canada from Poland at the ...

(born 1975), Polish-Canadian boxer *

Jarosław Jach Jarosław Przemysław Jach (born 17 February 1994) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a centre back. Club career Early career Although his mother Lucyna originally wanted him to be a swimmer, young Jarosław always was more of a fo ...

(born 1994), Polish footballer

Gallery

File:Zbiornik Sudety w Bielawie.jpg, Parkowa Hill and Bielawa Lake in Bielawa File:8126viki Kościół pw. Wniebowzięcia NMP w Bielawie. Foto Barbara Maliszewska.jpg, Church of the Assumption of Mary File:Pensjonat Leśny Dworek d. willa Dieriga Waldhaus w Bielawie.jpg, Pension Leśny Dworek File:Hotel Spa in Bielawa, summer 2014 (1).JPG, Palace File:Market Square in Bielawa (2).jpg, Town hall File:Park Miejski w Bielawie.jpg, City Park in Bielawa File:Bielawa Aquarius.jpg, swimming pool "Aquarius" in Bielawa File:Bielawa - pomnik papieża.JPG, Monument of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in Bielawa File:Bielawa zbiornik Sudety.jpg, Lake in Bielawa

References

External links

Official website

Jewish Community of Bielawa
on

Virtual Shtetl The Virtual Shtetl () is a bilingual Polish-English portal of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, devoted to the Jewish history of Poland. History The Virtual Shtetl website was officially launched on June 16, 2009 by founder A ...

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Dzierżoniów County Cities in Silesia