{{Short description|Town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland}} {{other places|Oleśnica (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Oleśnica | image_skyline = {{multiple image | border = infobox | total_width = 270 | image_style = border:1 | perrow = 1/2/3 | image1 = Oleśnica Rynek z Ratuszem Miejskim.jpg | image2 = Oleśnica Zamek 02.JPG{{!}}Oleśnica Castle | image3 = SM Oleśnica Brama Wrocławska ID 596397.jpg{{!}}Wrocławska Gate | image4 = Oleśnica bazylika Jana Apostoła 03.JPG{{!}}Saint John the Evangelist Basilica | image5 = SM Oleśnica kościół św Trójcy ID 596391.jpg{{!}}Holy Trinity Church | image6 = Oleśnica - Oleśnicka Biblioteka Publiczna im. Mikołaja Reja.jpg{{!}}Public library | caption1 = Market Square and town hall | caption2 = Oleśnica Castle | caption3 = Wrocław Gate | caption4 = Saint John Basilica | caption5 = Holy Trinity Church | caption6 = Public library }} | image_flag = POL Oleśnica flag.svg | image_shield = POL Oleśnica COA.svg | motto = {{force singular}} ''Miasto wież i róż''<br/>"A Town of Towers and Roses" | pushpin_map = Poland | pushpin_label_position = bottom | coordinates = {{coord|51|12|N|17|23|E|region:PL|display=title,inline}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{POL}} | subdivision_type1 = Voivodeship | subdivision_type2 = County | subdivision_type3 = Gmina | subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Lower Silesian Voivodeship}} | subdivision_name2 = Oleśnica | subdivision_name3 = Oleśnica (urban gmina) | established_title = First mentioned | established_date = 1189 | established_title2 = Town rights | established_date2 = 1255 | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Adam Horbacz | area_total_km2 = 20.96 | elevation_m = 150 | population_as_of = 2019-06-30<ref>{{cite web |title=Population. Size and structure and vital statistics in Poland by territorial division in 2019. As of 30th June|url=https://stat.gov.pl/en/topics/population/population/population-size-and-structure-and-vital-statistics-in-poland-by-territorial-division-in-2019-as-of-30th-june,3,26.html|website=stat.gov.pl|publisher=Statistics Poland|date=2019-10-15|access-date=2020-02-14}}</ref> | population_total = 37169 | population_density_km2 = auto | postal_code_type = Postal code | postal_code = 56-400 | area_code = +48 71 | website = http://www.olesnica.pl | timezone = CET | utc_offset = +1 | timezone_DST = CEST | utc_offset_DST = +2 | blank_name = Car plates | blank_info = DOL | blank_name_sec2 = Highways | blank_info_sec2 = 32px|link=Expressway S8 (Poland) | blank1_name_sec2 = Voivodeship roads | blank1_info_sec2 = 32px|link=Voivodeship road 368 32px|link=Voivodeship road 451 }} '''Oleśnica''' ({{IPA|pl|ɔlɛˈɕɲit͡sa|lang}}; {{langx|de|Oels}}) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, within the Wrocław metropolitan area.{{TERYT}} It is the administrative seat of Oleśnica County and also of the rural district of Gmina Oleśnica, although it is not part of the territory of the latter, the town being an urban gmina in its own right.
Established in medieval Poland, Oleśnica was the capital of a small eponymous principality from 1313 to 1884. It was a notable center of Polish printing in the early modern period. The town is famed for its large 16th-century ducal castle. The castle's inner courtyard arcades, a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture, are iconic in the region. The town also contains architecture in other styles, including Gothic, Baroque, Neoclassical and Renaissance Revival, and is home of the only surviving chained library in Central Europe. It is located on the Route of the Heroes of the Battle of Warsaw 1920, the main highway connecting Wrocław with Łódź, Warsaw and Białystok.
==Name== The town's name comes from Polish ''olsza'' ("Alder"); ''Olcha'' is an Old Slavic word for this common plant and tree.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.poradniajezykowa.us.edu.pl/baza_archiwum.php?POZYCJA=120&AKCJA=&TEMAT=Etymologia&NZP=&WYRAZ= |title=www.poradniajezykowa.us.edu.pl |access-date=2010-07-28 |archive-date=2022-01-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101091946/http://www.poradniajezykowa.us.edu.pl/baza_archiwum.php?POZYCJA=120&AKCJA=&TEMAT=Etymologia&NZP=&WYRAZ= |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.olesnica.pl/index.php?id=280 www.olesnica.pl]</ref> On 22 February 1255 the Silesian duke Henry III the White, son of the Polish High Duke Henry II the Pious, vested ''civitas nostra Olsnicz'' ("our town Oleśnica") with town privileges.<ref>[https://archive.today/20070807212737/http://alo.uibk.ac.at/webinterface/library/ALO-BOOK_V01?objid=19012] page 333</ref>
==Geography== The town is situated in the Silesian Lowlands east of the Trzebnickie Hills, part of the historical region of Lower Silesia. It is situated on the Oleśnica River, a tributary of Widawa. Located about {{convert|30|km|mi}} northeast of the Silesian capital Wrocław, it has been a stop on an important trade route to the Greater Poland region, Kalisz, Łódź and Warsaw; it had close ties with Kraków via Namysłów in the east.{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}} It was the site of an important printing press and ''gymnasium''.
The town quarters are Centrum, Serbinów, Lucień, Lucień Osiedle, Wądoły, Rataje (Stare, Nowe) and Zielone Ogrody.
== History == [[File:Olesnica4.jpg|thumb|left|Oleśnica Castle, courtyard]]
The Piast castle with a nearby abbey and trading settlement was first mentioned in an 1189 deed. It was part of fragmented Poland under the Piast dynasty. In 1255, it was granted town rights by Duke Henry III the White. From the 13th century onwards, the area was largely settled by Germans in the course of the ''Ostsiedlung''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Eberl|first=Immo|title=Flucht, Vertreibung, Eingliederung|editor1=Immo Eberl |publisher=Thorbecke|year=1993|pages=26|isbn=3-7995-2500-9|language=de}}</ref> From the 13th century, it had a coin mint. In the 13th century Oleśnica was part of the Duchy of Silesia, in 1294 it became part of the Duchy of Głogów<ref name=kon>{{cite web|url=https://www.konflikty.pl/historia/starozytnosc/olesnica-w-czasach-ksiazat-piastowskich/|title=Oleśnica w czasach książąt piastowskich|website=Konflikty.pl|access-date=10 September 2020|language=pl}}</ref> and in 1313 it became capital of the Duchy of Oleśnica, just partitioned from Głogów. By that time a hospital already existed in Oleśnica, mentioned in a document from 1307.<ref name=kon/> From 1320/21 the former castellany served as the residence of the Piast duke Konrad I of Oleśnica; his son Duke Konrad II the Gray also inherited Koźle. The dukes of Oleśnica in the 14th century still claimed to be heirs of the entire Kingdom of Poland, even though they ruled only in their principality, which caused animosity from other Polish dukes in Silesia and monarchs of all Poland.<ref name=kon/> Oleśnica was located on an important trade route which connected Wrocław with Kalisz and Toruń.<ref name=kon/>
In 1329, Duke Konrad I was forced to accept the overlordship of the Bohemian (Czech) Crown, although he retained vast autonomy.<ref name=kon/> Local Polish dukes granted numerous privileges to Oleśnica,<ref name=kon/> and the Duchy of Oleśnica was still ruled from the town until the 1492 death of Duke Konrad X the White, last of the local Piasts. During the Hussite Wars, Oleśnica was invaded by the Hussites in 1432, and later Polish–Hussite negotiations took place there.<ref name=kon/> During the Bohemian–Hungarian War local dukes switched sides several times. In 1469 they recognized the overlordship of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, in the 1470s Duke Konrad X sided with Bohemian King Vladislaus Jagiellon, in 1480 he recognized Hungarian suzerainty again, and then revolted in 1489.<ref name=kon/> Afterwards it was again a Bohemian fief.
{{multiple image |align=left |perrow=2 |total_width=260 |image1 = Jerzy Bock Nauka domowa Oleśnica 1670.jpg |image2 = Gdacjusz Dyskurs o dobrych uczynkach.jpg |footer = Polish books by Jerzy Bock and Adam Gdacius published in Oleśnica in 1670 and 1687}} According to an agreement from 1491, the duchy was supposed to pass to future Polish King John I Albert, but eventually in 1495 it was sold to Duke Henry I of Münsterberg, son of the Bohemian (Czech) king George of Poděbrady.<ref name=kon/> His grandson Duke John of Münsterberg-Oels established a gymnasium at Oleśnica in 1530. When the Czech Podiebrad family became extinct in 1647, town and duchy were inherited by the Swabian dukes of Württemberg, and in 1792 by the Welf dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
On September 11, 1535, a violent F4 tornado completely destroyed part of the town. The written account of this tornado was done by Dr. Alfred Wegener, which is in the CLIMDAT archive located at Leipzig University and the F4 rating on the Fujita scale was assigned by the European Severe Storms Laboratory.<ref name="ESWD">{{cite web|publisher=European Severe Storms Laboratory|year=2022|access-date=May 5, 2022|title=European Severe Weather Database|url=http://essl.org/ESWD/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kühne |first1=Thilo |title=[Tornado] 11.09.1535 - Oels / Oleśnica (DOL|PL) |url=https://forum.skywarn.de/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=4987 |website=Skywarn Deutschland |publisher=Thilo Kühne |access-date=4 September 2022}}</ref>
In the 17th century, the Polish-German language border ran close to Oleśnica, including the town to the territory dominated by the Polish language.<ref>Dorota Borowicz, ''Mapy narodowościowe Górnego Śląska od połowy XIX wieku do II Wojny Światowej'', Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego, Wrocław, 2004, p. 33</ref> Polish religious writers Adam Gdacius (nicknamed ''Rey of Silesia'') and Jerzy Bock published their works in Oleśnica.<ref>Wincenty Ogrodziński, Nauka domowa i wyjątki z Agendy, „Biblioteka pisarzy śląskich”, Katowice, 1936</ref>
thumb|Oleśnica in the 18th century thumb|right|Town hall In the 18th century, one of two main routes connecting Warsaw and Dresden ran through the town and Kings Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III of Poland often traveled that route.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dresden-warszawa.eu/pl/prolog/informacja-historyczna/|title=Informacja historyczna|website=Dresden-Warszawa|access-date=10 September 2020|language=pl|archive-date=10 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221110183554/https://www.dresden-warszawa.eu/pl/prolog/informacja-historyczna/|url-status=dead}}</ref> As a result of the First Silesian War the Duchy of Oels (Oleśnica) came under suzerainty of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1742. Following administrative reform in 1807 during the Napoleonic Wars, Oels became the seat of Landkreis Oels in the Province of Silesia, remaining capital of the Duchy of Oels (Oleśnica). In 1884 the duchy was incorporated into Prussia, itself part of Germany since the 1871 Prussian-led unification of Germany.
===20th century=== After World War I, Oels was included within the Province of Lower Silesia. Nazi Germany operated a prison in the town,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=100000210|title=Gefängnis Oels|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=10 September 2020|language=de}}</ref> and a forced labour camp for Italian, English, Yugoslavian, Belgian and Polish prisoners of war during World War II.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Sula|first=Dorota|year=2010|title=Jeńcy włoscy na Dolnym Śląsku w czasie II wojny światowej|journal=Łambinowicki rocznik muzealny|location=Opole|language=pl|volume=33|page=68}}</ref> Dozens of Polish resistance members, including women, were held in the local prison, and at least 14 were sentenced to death in the town in 1942.<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Encyklopedia konspiracji Wielkopolskiej 1939–1945|year=1998|location=Poznań|language=pl|publisher=Instytut Zachodni|pages=137, 182, 228, 235, 294, 392, 408, 430, 462, 484, 488, 495, 514–515, 517–518, 522, 582, 655, 677, 682–683, 686, 694, 696–697, 700, 704–705, 709, 712–713, 716, 720–722, 725–726, 732–735, 737–743, 746, 748, 755, 757|isbn=83-85003-97-5}}</ref> The German administration evacuated almost the entire population, leaving only a few Germans and the forced laborers. The town was heavily damaged by the Red Army in 1945 in the final stages of World War II, having approximately 60-80% of its buildings destroyed. The city became part of Poland again after the Potsdam Conference under its historic Polish name ''Oleśnica''. The remaining German-speaking population was subsequently expelled in accordance to the Potsdam Agreement and the town was resettled with Poles many of whom were expelled from former eastern Poland annexed in 1945 by the Soviet Union. Some 3,000 Italians remained in the town until the end of 1945, and organized artistic shows to which they invited young Polish activists.<ref>Sula, p. 69</ref>
The majority of monuments in the Old Town have been rebuilt since the 1960s.
==Cuisine== The officially protected traditional food of Oleśnica, as designated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, is the Oleśnica wheat and rye gingerbread.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.pl/web/rolnictwo/pszenno-zytnie-pierniki-z-olesnicy|title=Pszenno-żytnie pierniki z Oleśnicy|website=Ministerstwo Rolnictwa i Rozwoju Wsi - Portal Gov.pl|access-date=25 November 2023|language=pl}}</ref>
==Sports== Football club Pogoń Oleśnica is based in the town. It played at the Polish second division in the 1990s.
==Notable people== thumb|Park of the Dukes of Oleśnica (''Park Książąt Oleśnickich'') * Joachim of Münsterberg-Oels (1503–1562), Duke of Münsterberg and from 1536 to 1542 also Duke of Oels * Hedwig of Münsterberg-Oels (1508–1531), Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach * John, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels (1509–1565), Duke of the Münsterberg from 1542 to 1565, Duke of Oels from 1548 to 1565 and Duke of Bernstadt from 1548 to 1565 * George II, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels (1512–1553), Duke of Münsterberg from 1536 to 1542 and Duke of Oels * Henry III, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels (1542–1587), Duke of Münsterberg from 1565 to 1574 and Duke of Bernstadt * Karl II, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels (1545–1617), Duke of Oels from 1565 to 1617 and Duke of Bernstadt from 1604 to 1617 * Karl Christoph, Duke of Münsterberg (1545–1569), Duke of Münsterberg from 1565 to 1569 * Henry Wenceslaus, Duke of Oels-Bernstadt (1592–1639) * Abraham von Franckenberg (1593–1652), mystic, born in nearby Bystre * Karl Friedrich I, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels (1593–1647), Duke of Oels from 1617 to 1647 and Duke of Bernstadt from 1639 to 1647 * Elisabeth Marie, Duchess of Oels (1625–1686), German noblewoman * Christian Ulrich I, Duke of Württemberg-Oels (1652–1704), German nobleman, Duke of Württemberg-Bernstadt from 1669 to 1697 and Duke of Oels-Württemberg from 1697 until his death * Julius Siegmund, Duke of Württemberg-Juliusburg (1653–1684), was Duke of Württemberg-Juliusburg * Eugen of Württemberg (1788–1857), general * Carl Heinrich Zöllner (1792–1836), German composer * Julius Hübner (1806–1882), painter * Gustav Becker (1819–1885), clockmaker * Willy Hellpach (1877–1955), physicist and politician * Antoni Cieszyński (1882–1941), surgeon * Werner Krolikowski (born 1928), East German politician * Sigmar Polke (1941–2010), artist * Piotr Czech (born 1986), kicker for Pittsburgh Steelers * Wojciech Bartnik (born 1967), boxer, Olympic bronze medallist * Kasia Glowicka (born 1977), composer * Jerzy Rogalski (born 1948), film and theatre actor * Rafał Dębski (born 1969), Polish writer * Babatunde Aiyegbusi (born 1989), Polish-Nigerian professional wrestler and former American football player
==Twin towns – sister cities== {{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland}}
Oleśnica is twinned with:<ref>{{cite web|title=Miasta partnerskie|url=https://www.olesnica.pl/miasto/o-miescie/|website=olesnica.pl|publisher=Oleśnica|language=pl|access-date=2020-02-03|archive-date=2019-09-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920190313/https://www.olesnica.pl/miasto/o-miescie/|url-status=dead}}</ref> *{{flagicon|CZE}} Chrudim, Czech Republic *{{flagicon|FRA}} Jaunay-Marigny, France *{{flagicon|GER}} Warendorf, Germany
==Gallery== <gallery> SM Oleśnica Kościół Jana Apostoła ID 596390.jpg|Saint John the Evangelist Basilica Oleśnica Kościół pw. Świętej Trójcy.jpg|A timber-framed house and the Holy Trinity Church Cerkiew Zaśnięcia NMP w Oleśnicy 2013 01.jpg|Holy Virgin Mary Church Oleśnica Urząd Pocztowy.jpg|Main post office Oleśnica - Kasyno Oficerskie.jpg|Former Officers' Mess Oleśnica Siedziba Sądu Rejonowego.jpg|District court Oleśnica - Szkoła Podstawowa nr 7 im. Jana Pawła II.jpg|Elementary school no. 7 Oleśnica II Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Ks. Jana Twardowskiego.jpg|Liceum Ogólnokształcące no. 2 (high school) Oleśnica Pomnik Kombatantów Rzeczypospolitej.jpg|The Polish Veteran's Memorial Oleśnica - Pomnik II Armii Wojska Polskiego.jpg| Polish Second Army Memorial Oleśnica Rynek 47-48 2013 01.jpg|Old townhouses at the Market Square S.Joevan.jpg|Manhole cover with the Oleśnica coat of arms </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Oleśnica}} {{NIE Poster|year=1905|Öls}} * [http://www.olesnica.pl/index.php?id=70 Municipal website] * [http://www.panoramaolesnicka.pl/ Panorama Oleśnicka] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702065610/http://www.panoramaolesnicka.pl/ |date=2019-07-02 }} {{in lang|pl}} * [http://mojaolesnica.pl/ News from Oleśnica] {{in lang|pl}} * [http://www.olesnica.nienaltowski.net/ History of Oleśnica] {{in lang|pl}} * [http://www.kolekcja.pietraszek.pl/ Old postcards from Oleśnica] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118150515/http://kolekcja.pietraszek.pl/ |date=2021-01-18 }} {{in lang|pl}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150421232159/http://www.sztetl.org.pl/en/city/olesnica/ Jewish Community in Oleśnica] on Virtual Shtetl
{{Oleśnica County}} {{Gmina Oleśnica, Lower Silesian Voivodeship}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Category:Oleśnica County Category:Populated riverside places in Poland Category:Cities in Silesia