Radków (german: Wünschelburg) is a town in Kłodzko County,

Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesian Voivodeship, or Lower Silesia Province, in southwestern Poland, is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. The voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Wrocław, Legnica, Wałbrz ...

, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' , from German ''Gemeinde'' meaning ''commune'') is the principal unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,477 gminas throughout the country, encompassing over 4 ...

) called Gmina Radków, close to the Czech border. As at 2019, the town has a population of 2,406.

Geography

It lies in the Kłodzko Valley at the foot of the

Table Mountains Table may refer to: * Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs * Table (landform), a flat area of land * Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and columns * Table (database), how the table data ...

, approximately north-west of Kłodzko, and south-west of the regional capital Wrocław. It is located within the historic Kłodzko Land.

History

The settlement probably already existed in the 11th century. In the High Middle Ages, together with the Kłodzko Land, it changed affiliation several times, passing between Poland and

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

.Jan Rzońca, ''Uzdrowiska ziemi kłodzkiej'', "Ziemia Kłodzka" No. 223, 2013, p. 26 (in Polish) A church at the site was first mentioned in 1290. That same year, after the death of Polish duke Henryk IV Probus Kłodzko Land passed to

. It was granted town rights around 1320-1333. From 1327 to 1341 it was placed under the rule of Polish dukes from the

Piast dynasty 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 ...

(within the duchies of Wrocław and Ziębice) and in 1348 it was incorporated to the Bohemian Crown Lands. By 1373 the town had a mayor and in the early 15th century defensive walls were built.Waldemar Brygier, ''Góry Stołowe. Przewodnik'', Oficyna Wydawnicza Rewasz, Pruszków, 2010, p. 193 (in Polish) Then in 1418 it received new

privileges Privilege may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Privilege'' (film), a 1967 film directed by Peter Watkins * ''Privilege'' (Ivor Cutler album), 1983 * ''Privilege'' (Television Personalities album), 1990 * ''Privilege (Abridged)'', an alb ...

from King

Wenceslaus IV Wenceslaus IV (also ''Wenceslas''; cs, Václav; german: Wenzel, nicknamed "the Idle"; 26 February 136116 August 1419), also known as Wenceslaus of Luxembourg, was King of Bohemia from 1378 until his death and King of Germany from 1376 until he w ...

, which equated its town rights with those of Kłodzko and granted the title of a

royal city Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

. In the following decades, the town was devastated by Hussite troops in 1425 as well as by the Hungarian forces of king Matthias Corvinus in 1469. In the 15th century, crafts flourished, local

cloths Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

were exported to other countries, while 85 of all 86 houses had the right to brew beer.Brygier, ''

Op. cit. ''Op. cit.'' is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase ' or ''opere citato'', meaning "the work cited" or ''in the cited work'', respectively. Overview The abbreviation is used in an endnote or footnote to refer the reader to a cited work, standing ...

'', p. 194 With the County of Kladsko, it turned Protestant by the mid-16th century and was affected by 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 ...

in the

Habsburg monarchy 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 ...

as well as the devastations of the Thirty Years' War, when it was captured by the Austrians in 1621, the Swedes in 1632, and it was struck by epidemics in 1625 and 1633. In the First Silesian War (1740-42), the town was conquered and annexed by King

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

. The picturesque setting attracted Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who spent a few days here in August 1790. From 1815 onwards, it was incorporated into the Prussian Silesia Province. From the late 19th century onwards, the Wünschelburg sandstone pits supplied notable buildings like the Berlin Reichstag via the new

Eulengebirgsbahn Eulengebirgsbahn Aktiengesellschaft, AG was a Silesian railway company. In 1899-1903 it gradually built a railway line connecting Dzierżoniów, Reichenbach (today Dzierżoniów) with Radków, Wünschelburg (Radków). Regular traffic on the line wa ...

railway line to

Ścinawka Średnia Ścinawka Średnia (german: Mittelsteine) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Radków, within Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies approximately east of Radków, north-west of Kło ...

(then ''Mittelsteine''). After the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, the area fell to the

Republic of 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 populous ...

according to the 1945

Potsdam Agreement The Potsdam Agreement (german: Potsdamer Abkommen) was the agreement between three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union on 1 August 1945. A product of the Potsdam Conference, it concerned th ...

, while the German population was expelled. Nowadays the population is overwhelmingly Polish.

Notable people

* Wolfgang Stumph (born 1946), German actor

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radkow Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Kłodzko County