[Poland]-Two photos per post

[DocentX]

Byczyna



Byczyna (Latin: Bicina, Bicinium, German: Pitschen) is a town with 3,708 inhabitants (2004).

Town of Byczyna was first mention in 1054 when it temporarily served as the capital of the Polish Bishopric of Wrocław.

The name of the town comes from the Old Polish word byczyna (the word byk means "a bull" in Polish), which means a place where bulls are bred and grazed. Various other spellings of the word Byczyna were used over centuries, such as Byscina, Biczin, Byczyn, Pyschyn and the German Pitschen.

After the loss of Silesia by Poland in the 14th century Byczyna for centuries was the frontier town (near the border to Poland) and located north of Kluczbork and Olesno in Upper Silesia.

Byczyna went down in the history of Poland as the place of a triumph of the Polish army. At the city walls of Byczyna on 24 January 1588 Jan Zamojski (1542-1605), the commander-in-chief of the Polish troops (Hetman) defeated the army of Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg, a claimant to the Polish throne. Although the origins of this event were far beyond Byczyna, the battle took place here.

Byczyna has retained the charm of an ancient town that has changed little over the centuries. A quite small, elliptical area is surrounded with the defensive walls, which have been almost entirely preserved to this day, the sand tower and parts of the 15th/16th century moat.

There are small backstreets, and narrow streets with low houses and several much higher towers which can bee seen from a long distance. These are the tower of the Town Hall, built at the turn of the 15th and 16th century and renovated in baroque and classical style, the tower of the baroque Holy Trinity Catholic church built in 1767, the 14th century Gothic St. Nicholas' Evangelical church and two towers at the gate.

[DocentX]

Byczyna

[JValjean]

very interesting images of the Oppole region, especially the Moszna castle is quite impressive!

One of these days I shall dare a journey to Poland!

[DocentX]

Kluczbork



Kluczbork (German: Kreuzburg O.S.) is a town in southwestern Poland with 26,670 inhabitants (2003), situated in the Opole Voivodeship.

Archaeological findings (stone arrowheads, axes) provide evidence that this region was settled as far back as the Stone Age (1700 b.c.).

The origin of Kluczbork is connected with Chivalrous Order of the Crusaders of Red Star, which come from Palestine to Bohemia in 1217, where they beyond fight with Moslems devoted themselves to the education and care of the sick (Hospitalers). In the thirteenth century, they reached the Silesia and in 1253 they achieved from duke of Wroclaw Henry III, permission to location town under the Magdeburg Law in - so far - marketplace settlement.

Since 1274 Kluczbork became the main business and administrative centre of the Kluczbork Land.

With the Congress of Visegrád (1335), King Casimir III of Poland renounced his rights to Silesia and Kluczbork passed to King John I of Bohemia. The town was repeatedly pawned during this time period and received the privileges of a salt market in 1426.

In 1430 (during the Hussite War) Kluczbork was occupied by Hussites. The town became a target attacks by Anti-Hussite forces. As a result of negotiations Kluczbork was governed by Dukes of Olesnica.

Till this period the town was inhabited by a predominantly Polish-speaking population. After the death of King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia at the Battle of Mohács in 1526, Silesia was inherited by the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria.

On January 25, 1588, the day after the Battle of Byczyna, Polish troops under Jan Zamoyski plundered Kluczbork.

In 1627 (during the Thirty Years War) Kluczbork was besieged by Union Army, which military actions caused devastation, plunder and burning the town. After ending the war, Kluczbork had a great chance for development. In years 1660-1671 the order Arians (from Poland) found shelter in Kluczbork. They organized here synods twice (1663, 1668).

In 1675, after the death of the last Duke of Brześć, the Habsburgs took possession of Kluczbork. In 1740 Kluczbork together with Upper and Lower Silesia went to Prussia. For almost 200 years Kluczbork Land remained under Prussian reign.

In 1816 Kluczbork was made as a county town. In the first half of the 19th century the building of railway line and roads were originated, hence Kluczbork became important railway knot in the northern part of Opole district. Simultaneously, the system of education was developed . In 1858 training college for bilingual teachers (Polish and German) and in 1863 municipal high school were opened.

Till the end of XIX century Kluczbork Land was characterized as a rural region. The beginning of the 20th century brought significant industry development. In 1905 "Famak" Machinery and Equipment Factory (metal factory) was opened. The brewery, printing house, sugar factory, brickyard, modern slaughterhouse and furniture factory were arisen.

After the First World War the border of Weimar Republic with Poland was defined few kilometres from Kluczbork, in this way Kluczbork Land was border terrain. After Upper Silesia division in 1921, Kluczbork district has belonged to Germany, since 1933 - to the Third Reich - till 20th January 1945, when Soviet and Ukrainian armies marched into the town.

Since 1945 (18th March), after the end the Second World War, Kluczbork has belonged to Poland.

[DocentX]

Kluczbork

[Urbanista1]

I have never heard of these cities and never knew there were so many medieval cities in Poland that are still intact. My travel itinerary keeps getting hopelessly bigger. I may need a few months to see all this.

[DocentX]

Paczków



Paczków (German: Patschkau) is a town with 8,226 inhabitants (2004).

It is one of the few towns in Europe in which medieval fortifications have been almost completely preserved.

Located in the southeastern outskirts of the historical province of Lower Silesia, along the medieval road from Lesser Poland to Klodzko Valley and Prague, Paczków is called “Polish Carcassone", thanks to its well-preserved medieval fortifications. However, while the famous French Carcassonne is a XIX century reconstruction, all historic buildings of Paczków are authentic.

Paczków (its name comes from the old Slavic first name Pakoslaw) was officially founded on March 8, 1254, when the Bishop of Wroclaw, Tomasz I gave permission for the location of a new town. It was placed near the ancient village of Paczków, and henceforth, the name of the village was changed to Old Paczków. Paczków quickly grew, becoming not only a market town, but also a stronghold, guarding southwestern borders of the mighty ecclesiastical Duchy of Nysa. It was granted the so-called Flemish rights, based on Magdeburg rights. The new town received several privileges, such as the right to brew beer, and its early inhabitants were mostly craftsmen, such as bakers, butchers, and shoemakers.

In the late Middle Ages and subsequent periods, Paczków shared the stormy fate of other towns of Silesia, with frequent disasters, such as hunger (1325), floods (1333, 1501, 1539, 1560, 1598, 1602), fires (1565, 1634), as well as epidemics - Black Death (1349), and cholera (1603-1607, 1633).

Paczków also suffered during the Hussite Wars, when it was captured by the Hussites on March 17, 1428. The period of religious wars did not end until the late XV century, and only then did Paczków begin to flourish again. With the financial support of the bishops of Nysa, new fortifications were constructed, with a wall and towers.

In 1526 Paczków, together with the whole of Silesia, passed to the Austrian Habsburg dynasty (see also Silesian Piasts). The XVI century was the best period in the history of the town. It was a major center of trade, with several manufacturers of textiles. The end of prosperity came during the Thirty Years' War, when warring armies destroyed Paczków and adjacent areas. In 1742, after the Silesian Wars, Paczkow was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia, and it subsequently became part of the German Empire. The town, known then as Patschkau, remained within the borders of Germany until 1945, when, following the Potsdam Agreement, it was placed under Polish administration. Its German population was largely evacuated or expelled and replaced with Poles, most of whom came from current Western Ukraine (see: Kresy), mostly from areas of Lviv, Ternopil, and Volhynia.

World War Two spared Paczków, and most of its monuments have been preserved. Called “The Polish Carcassone” (or "The Silesian Carcassone"), as early as in the XV century, it was surrounded by double ring of defensive walls. Initially, the fortifications were made of dirt and wood, but later they were replaced by mightier stone walls.

The first fortifications of Paczków were built in the mid-XIV century upon the order of the Bishop of Wroclaw, Przeclaw z Pogorzeli. In the mid XV century, Paczków had three gates - Wroclaw Gate (eastern), Klodzko Gate (western), and Zabkowice Slaskie Gate (southern). In the second half of the XVI century, the northern Nysa Gate was added. Vertical, 9-meter walls made from stone still surround the historical center of the town today. Altogether, the fortifications are around 1200 meters long, and apart from four gates, there originally were 24 wall towers, out of which 19 have been preserved. Along the defensive walls, there was a moat, which has been turned into a recreational park.

Besides its fortifications, Paczków is famous for renaissance, baroque, and neoclassic tenement houses, which surround the town square. The oldest of these buildings date back to around 1500, with the most visible being the so-called “House of the Executioner”. Also, in the center of Paczków, there is the town hall, with 48-meter high tower.

Another interesting monument of “Polish Carcassone” is the Church of John the Evangelist, which is considered to be one of the most impressive fortified churches in Poland. Its construction began in 1350, and lasted for 30 years. The unique Gothic church, which is made of stone and bricks displays a renaissance attic, and its mighty structure has been incorporated into the town's fortifications. The church stands out because of its immense size, and inside there are sculptures attributed to Wit Stwosz. Next to the complex there is the so-called Tatar well. According to a legend, a Tatar warrior (see Mongol invasion of Poland) was thrown into the well, after he had captured the daughter of a wealthy inhabitant of Paczków.

[DocentX]

Paczków

[DocentX]

Paczków

[DocentX]

Krasiejów - Dinopark



PALEONTOLOGICAL PAVILION in Krasiejów is a research and exhibition centre. The building rests on a slope of the open-pit mine and, under its glass floor one can admire the largest European fossils collection of Mesozoic reptiles and amphibians. The site can be seen in its original condition, as it set 220 million years ago. It is easy to view the fossils from the walkway located in the south of the pavilion. The pavilion is the first investment implemented by the Dinopark Association, established by local governments of Ozimek and Kolonowskie communes, in cooperation with Opole Province authorities, in order to use paleontological discoveries for the benefit of science, education and tourism.

[DocentX]

The Opole Open-Air Museum of Rural Architecture



The modern center of the museum

[DocentX]

The Opole Open-Air Museum of Rural Architecture

[DocentX]

Otmuchów



Otmuchów (German: Ottmachau) is a town in Nysa County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 5,317 inhabitants.

[DocentX]

Otmuchów castle



The history of Otmuchow's castle begins in the first half of the XII century when the pope Hadrian gives Otmuchow ground and the castle in rule to Wroclaw bishops. That is thank to their business and their initiative the castle undergo transformations and extension.

The existence of the castle are certified by the documents, one them from 1245 another from 1261 when the bulding was written to be a castrum and in was also said a bout casteuan`s presence. Only north east wing of the castle remained baut it is still the carsiderable attraction in Otmuchow.

The great time for the castle was the activity of the bishop Andrzej Jeremi (1585 - 1596) who was a well known art patron in Silezian. His ambitions made the castle real renaissance residence. The bishops Jerin rebuild one part of the castle. He adorned the elevations with sgraffits ans reconstructed insides.

He transforned completely old maedieval building and changed it into reneissance one. The results of hos work can be seen even today . We can look at to the rest of sgraffits, beautifful animals and plants dravings next to the rest of sgraffits, animals and plants drawings next to the window as vell as decoration an the walls showing coat of arms of Jerin with the pictures of saint Andrew (the faunder) and Jhon the Baptize (the patron of bishops in Wroclaw). With time the castle was the main attracions for bishops frop Wroclaw and for some princes. And probably thanks to their generosity it was still rehewed.

During the thirty years of war beautiful castle famous for its wealth was attacked and robbed by the Swedish commanded by Wittenberg. He decided to destroy the castle in 1646. The castle was rebuit and reconstructed again during the times when its ruller was bishops Karol Ferdynand Waza from the king family.

The last owner Bernard von Humbold decident to sell the castle to the town in 1928 becouse of the building of Otmuchowskie Lake. Since then castle was a hotel. After 1945 its insides were desingnet for touristic aims by carry out many renovation and conservation works.

[Darhet]

A4 motorway and a young forest in Opole Voivodeship.


A4

[Gieneklon]

I love this side , beautiful pictures.
Thanks for updates so often

[Darhet]

Your welcome


Landscape & Niemodlin Castle

[Darhet]

Niemodlin Castle
Renaissance castle, built about 1600.

[DocentX]

Kamień Śląski palace

[DocentX]

Jędrzejów palace