Piechowice is a town in

Karkonosze County __NOTOC__ Karkonosze 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 pass ...

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 ...

. It lies approximately south-west of

Jelenia Góra Jelenia Góra (; ; ) is a historic city in southwestern Poland, within the historical region of Lower Silesia. Jelenia Góra is situated in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, close to the Karkonosze mountain range running along the Polish-Czech bo ...

, 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 a population of 6,194.

History

The area became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century. Initially it was administratively part of the

Wleń Wleń () is a small historic town in Lwówek Śląski County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies on the Bóbr river in the historic Lower Silesian region, approximately south-east of Lwówek Śląski, and west of the re ...

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

y. It was first mentioned in a document of the Wrocław cathedral chapter from 1305, 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 Poland. During the

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 ...

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 ...

Protestant refugees founded the present-day district of

Michałowice Michałowice may refer to the following places in Poland: *Michałowice, Kłodzko County in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (south-west Poland) *Michałowice, Strzelin County in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (south-west Poland) *Michałowice, Gmina Długoł ...

. In 1891, a rail connection with

was opened, and in 1902 a rail connection to

Szklarska Poręba Szklarska Poręba () is a town in Karkonosze County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. The town has a population of around 6,500. It is a popular ski resort. An important regional and national centre for mountain hiking, cycli ...

and

Harrachov Harrachov (; ) is a town in Jablonec nad Nisou District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic, close to the border with Poland. It has about 1,400 inhabitants. It is known as one of the most popular Czech ski resorts. Administrative divisio ...

was opened. 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 operated three

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

camps in the town. The first camp was established in the winter of 1941–1942 and held Polish, French and Ukrainian prisoners, both men and women, the second was established in 1943 and held Italian prisoners-of-war, and the third was founded in 1944 and held Polish women and children. Conditions of all three camps were poor, the prisoners were subjected to mistreatment and abuse and several died, also by executions. Some Polish women and children were eventually relocated to forced labour camps in

. In 1961, town limits were expanded by including Górzyniec and Michałowice as new neighbourhoods.

Transport

There are two railway stations in Piechowice, the main Piechowice station and the Górzyniec station in the Górzyniec district.

Sights

Cultural heritage sights of Piechowice include the

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 ...

Pakoszów Palace, the Gothic-Baroque Corpus Christi church and the

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

Saint Anthony of Padua church. Natural sights within the town limits include the Szklarka Waterfall and the

Wielki Szyszak Wielki Szyszak (, , literally High Wheel) is a mountain on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. It is situated in the central (Silesian) part of the main mountain range of the Karkonosze, right above the village of Jagniątków. I ...

mountain, the fourth highest peak of the

Giant Mountains The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše, or Karkonosze (Czech: , , ), are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massif). The Czech–Polish bor ...

and the entire

Sudetes The Sudetes ( ), also known as the Sudeten Mountains or Sudetic Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince of the Bohemian Massif province in Central Europe, shared by the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany. They consist mainly of mountain rang ...

. The ''Kochanówka'' mountain hut of the

Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society ''Polskie Towarzystwo Turystyczno-Krajoznawcze'', PTTK (Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society) is a Polish non-governmental tourist organization with 312 branches across the country. The PTTK is one of the oldest tourist societies in Europe. ...

is located near the waterfall.

Twin towns – sister cities

Piechowice is twinned with: *

Úpice Úpice () is a town in Trutnov District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,400 inhabitants. Administrative division Úpice consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *� ...

, Czech Republic

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Karkonosze County Populated riverside places in Poland Cities in Silesia Sites of Nazi war crimes in Poland