Wałbrzych
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| Wałbrzych | |||
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  Wałbrzych
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| Coordinates: 50°47′0″N 16°17′0″E / 50.78333°N 16.28333°E | |||
| Country |  Poland |
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| Voivodeship | Lower Silesian | ||
| County | Wałbrzych County | ||
| Gmina | Wałbrzych (urban gmina) | ||
| Established | 9th century | ||
| City rights | 1400 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Piotr Kruczkowski | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 84.70 km2 (32.7 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 350 m (1,148 ft) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| - Total | 125,773 | ||
| - Density | 1,484.9/km2 (3,845.9/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 58-300 to 58-309, 58-316 | ||
| Area code(s) | +48 074 | ||
| Car plates | DB | ||
| Website | http://www.um.walbrzych.pl/ | ||
Wałbrzych [ˈvau̯bʐɨx] (
listen) (Czech: Valbřich or Valdenburk, German: Waldenburg) is a city in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in south-western Poland, with 125,773 inhabitants (2006). From 1975–1998 it was the capital of Wałbrzych Voivodeship; it is now the seat of Wałbrzych County. Wałbrzych is by far the largest city in Poland that does not itself form a separate county (powiat), having given up that status in 2003. (The next largest such town is Inowrocław, population 77,313.) Wałbrzych lies approximately 70 kilometres (43.5 miles) south-west of the regional capital Wrocław, and about 10 km from the Czech border.
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[edit] Etymology
The German name Waldenburg (meaning "forest castle") refers to the castle Nowy Dwór, whose ruins stand south of the city; the name came to be used for the entire settlement.[1] The Polish name Wałbrzych comes from the German name Walbrich, a late medieval linguistic variation of the older names "Wallenberg" or "Walmberg".[2]
[edit] History
[edit] Middle Ages
According to the website of the Wałbrzych City Office, the city's predecessor was an early medieval Slavic settlement named Lasogród ("forest castle"), whose inhabitants engaged in hunting, honey gathering, and later agriculture. The website further says Lasogród lated developed into a defensive fort, the remains of which were destroyed in the 19th century during expansion of the city.[3]
Historians Hugo Weczerka and John Koch say that no archaeological or written records support a Slavic settlement or the existence of a castle before the late 13th century.[4][5] They say that during the Middle Ages the area of Wałbrzych was part of the Preseka,[6][7] a dense, unpopulated forest.[8][9][10] According to a writing from 1667 by jurist and historian Ephraim Ignatius Naso, Wałbrzych already existed as a small village in 1191,[11] but the source is not reliable[12] and the possibility is also rejected by Weczerka.[13]
According to Weczerka, Wałbrzych was founded between 1290 and 1293 on a cleared spot in the mountains near the castle of Nowy Dwór (German: Neuhaus), and first mentioned as Waldenberc in 1305.[1][2] Nowy Dwór, probably built around the same time, was first mentioned as "newe haus" in 1365,[14] and built by Bolko I of the Silesian Piast dynasty of Świdnica-Jawor (German: Schweidnitz-Jauer). A part of Nowy Dwór castle, a manor built in the 17th century, was destroyed in the 19th century.[15]
The city was chartered in 1426, but it did not receive the rights to hold markets or many other privileges due to the competition of nearby towns and the insignificance of the local landlords. Subsequently, the city became the property of the Silesian knightly families, initially the Schaffgotsches in 1372, later the Czettritzes, and from 1738, the Hochberg family, owners of Fürstenstein Castle.
[edit] Modern Era
Coal mining in the area was first mentioned in 1536. The settlement was transformed into an industrial centre at the turn of the 19th century, when coal mining and weaving flourished. In 1843 the city obtained its first rail connection, which linked it with Breslau (Wrocław). In the early 20th century a glassworks and a large china tableware manufacturing plant, which are still in operation today, were built. In 1939 the city had about 65,000 inhabitants.
After World War II, the area became Polish, and as in all of post-war Poland most of the German population was expelled. However, Walbrzych was one of the few areas where several Germans[16] were held back as they were deemed indispensable for the economy.[17] A contineous post-war German society is maintained in Walbrzych since 1957.[17]
The city was relatively unscathed by the Second World War, and as a result of combining the nearby administrative districts with the town and the construction of new housing estates, Wałbrzych expanded geographically. At the beginning of the 1990s, because of new social and economic conditions, a decision was made to close down the town's coal mines. In 1995, a Museum of Industry and Technology was set up on the facilities of the oldest coal mine in the area, KWK THOREZ. The 2005 the film Komornik was filmed in and around Wałbrzych.
[edit] Sights
- Książ Castle, the largest Silesian castle, the third largest castle in Poland behind Kraków's Wawel and the castle in Malbork.
- Chełmiec Mountain
- Palmiarnia
- Market square (1997-1999 renovated)
- Czettritz Castle (1604–1628)
- Alberti Castle (1801), housing the Municipal Museum
- St. Mary's (1305, ren. 1720)
- Protestant Church (1785–1788)
[edit] City districts
Including date of incorporation into the city
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[edit] Education
- Angelus Silesius State University in Wałbrzych Official Site
- Wrocław Technical University in Wałbrzych Official Site
- Ignacy Paderewski High School Official Site
- Hugo Kołłątaj High School Official Site
- Mikołaj Kopernik High School Official Site
[edit] Politics
[edit] Wałbrzych constituency
Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Wałbrzych constituency
- Zbigniew Chlebowski, PO
- Henryk Gołębiewski, SLD
- Roman Ludwiczuk, PO (Senat)
- Katarzyna Mrzygłocka, PO
- Giovanni Roman, PiS
- Mieczysław Szyszka, PiS (Senat)
[edit] Sports
- Victoria Górnik Walbrzych is a professional mens' basketball club performing in the top Polish basketball league.[18] Its achievements include: Polish Champion title (as Górnik Wałbrzych) 1982, 1988; Polish vice-champion 1981, 1983, 1986; and Polish junior vice-champion in 2000.[19]
- PWSZ Górnik Wałbrzych is a professional men football club performing in Polish 4th league.[20]
- Victoria PWSZ Wałbrzych is a professional mens' volleyball club performing in Polish 3rd league.
- Wałbrzych native Sebastian Janikowski is a placekicker in the NFL.
[edit] Media
- New Walbrzych Headlines Official Site
- Tygodnik Wałbrzyski Official Site
- www.walbrzych.info Official Site
- TV Zamkowa Official Site
- TV Walbrzych Official Site
[edit] Notable people
- Klaus Töpfer, German politician (CDU), born 1938 in Waldenburg
- Marcel Reif, German soccer journalist, born 1949 in Wałbrzych
- Gerhard Menzel (1894-1966), German writer
- Abraham Robinson
- Sebastian Janikowski, American football placekicker for the Oakland Raiders of the NFL
- Wolfgang Menzel, German poet, critic and literary historian
[edit] Twin towns
Wałbrzych is twinned with:
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[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Weczerka, p.555.
- ^ a b Barbara Czopek, Adaptacje niemieckich nazw miejscowych w języku polskim, 1995, pp.55, ISBN 8385579338
- ^ "Historia Wałbrzycha". Wałbrzych City Office. http://www.um.walbrzych.pl/strony/nasze_miasto_poznaj_historia.htm. Retrieved on 2 April 2009.
- ^ Vorgeschichtliche Funde innerhalb des Stadtgebietes sind spärlich und zweifelhaft in der Deutung, so daß eine frühe Dauersiedlung nicht angenommen werden kann. Für die Existenz einer "Waldenburg" im Bereich der Altstadt gibt es keinerlei Anhaltspunkte. Weczerka, p.555
- ^ Die letzten Dörfer des flachen Landes am Fuße der auf der äußersten Kette der Vorsudetenberge thronenden Burg Fürstenstein waren Zirlau und Polsnitz, beide schon in frühester Zeit erwähnt. Koch, p.11
- ^ An der Westgrenze des Piastenherzogtums Schweidnitz gelegen, bewachte Fürstenstein den Handelsweg der, von Breslau und Schweidnitz über das Städtchen Freiburg führend, sich hinter Fürstenstein durch den dichten Grenzwald, Preseka genannt, zwang. Koch, p.11
- ^ Auch der Grenzwald spricht dagegen. Weczerka, p.555
- ^ Weczerka, p.416
- ^ Badstübner, p.2.
- ^ Petry, p.11.
- ^ Kronika wałbrzyska Wałbrzyskie Towarzystwo Kultury, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe 1985 page 231
- ^ Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, Band 23, page 261, Markgraf, Duncker & Humblot, 1886
- ^ Die Behauptung, die "Waldenburg" sei 1191 erbaut worden (Naso), ist nicht haltbar. Weczerka, p.555
- ^ Weczerka, p.340.
- ^ Weczerka, p.341.
- ^ Werner Besch, Dialektologie: Ein Handbuch zur Deutschen und allgemeinen Dialektforschung, Walter de Gruyter, 1982, p.178, ISBN 3110059770
- ^ a b Stefan Wolff, German Minorities in Europe: Ethnic Identity and Cultural Belonging, Berghahn Books, 2000, p.79, ISBN 157181504
- ^ PLK Polish basketball league
- ^ Victoria Górnik Walbrzych Official Site
- ^ PWSZ Górnik Wałbrzych Official Site
[edit] References
- Badstübner, Ernst; Dietmar Popp, Andrzej Tomaszewski, Dethard von Winterfeld (2005). Dehio - Handbuch der Kunstdenkmäler in Polen: Schlesien. München, Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag 2005. ISBN 342203109X.
- Koch, John (2006). Schloss Fürstenstein. Würzburg: Bergstadt. ISBN 0973157941.
- Petry, Ludwig; Josef Joachim Menzel, Winfried Irgang (2000). Geschichte Schlesiens. Band 1: Von der Urzeit bis zum Jahre 1526. Stuttgart: Jan Thorbecke Verlag Stuttgart. ISBN 3-7995-6341-5.
- Thum, Gregor (2003). Die fremde Stadt. Breslau 1945. Berlin: Siedler. ISBN 3-88680-795-9.
- Weczerka, Hugo (2003). Handbuch der historischen Stätten: Schlesien, Second Edition. Stuttgart: Kröner Stuttgart. ISBN 3-520-31602-1.
[edit] External links
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