{{Short description|Railway town in south-west Poland}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Węgliniec | image_flag = POL Węgliniec flag.svg | image_shield = POL Węgliniec COA.svg | image_skyline = Budynek byłej remizy OSP Węgliniec.jpg | image_caption = Culture Center in Węgliniec | pushpin_map = Poland | pushpin_label_position = bottom | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{POL}} | subdivision_type1 = Voivodeship | subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Lower Silesian Voivodeship|name=Lower Silesian}} | subdivision_type2 = County | subdivision_name2 = Zgorzelec | subdivision_type3 = Gmina | subdivision_name3 = Węgliniec | established_title = First mentioned | established_date = 1502 | established_title2 = Town rights | established_date2 = 1967 | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Mariusz Wieczorek | area_total_km2 = 8.71 | population_as_of = 2024 | population_total = 2642<ref name=":0" /> | population_density_km2 = 302.6 | timezone = CET | utc_offset = +1 | timezone_DST = CEST | utc_offset_DST = +2 | coordinates = {{coord|51|17|18|N|15|13|32|E|region:PL|display=title,inline}} | postal_code_type = Postal code | postal_code = 59-940 | area_code = +48 75 | blank_name = Car plates | blank_info = DZG | blank1_name = Climate | blank1_info = Cfb | website = http://www.wegliniec.pl }} '''Węgliniec''' {{IPAc-pl|w|e|N|'|g|l|i|ń|e|c}} ({{langx|de|Kohlfurt}}; {{langx|hsb|Wěgliniec}}) is a railway town<ref>{{Cite web |title=Węgliniec |url=https://aroundus.com/p/9172604-wegliniec |access-date=8 March 2026 |website=Around Us |language=pl}}</ref> in Zgorzelec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, close to the border with Germany.{{TERYT}} As of 2024, the town has a population of 2,642.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=31 December 2024 |title=Węgliniec w liczbach |trans-title=Węgliniec in numbers |url=https://www.polskawliczbach.pl/Wegliniec |access-date=27 September 2025 |website=Polska w Liczbach |language=pl}}</ref>

The town developed after the opening of Węgliniec railway station (part of the Berlin–Wrocław railway) in 1846. The station now serves as a major railway junction and siding for trains. Around 40% of all freight traffic on the German border is handled here.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Serwis Urzędu Gminy i Miasta Węgliniec |trans-title=Service of the commune and town of Węgliniec |url=http://www.wegliniec.pl/pl/article/1573 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214022317/http://www.wegliniec.pl/pl/article/1573 |archive-date=14 February 2013 |access-date=26 September 2025 |website=węgliniec.pl |language=pl}}</ref>

==History== thumb|left|Virgin Mary Queen of Poland church in Węgliniec, opened in 1878 The oldest known historical mention of the settlement dates back to 1502<ref name="WE">{{cite book |title=Zmiana Studium Uwarunkowań i Kierunków Zagospodarowania Przestrzennego Gminy Węgliniec (projekt) |publisher=Gmina Węgliniec |year=2015 |location=Węgliniec |page=35 |language=pl}}</ref> in the context of medieval German ''Ostsiedlung'', receiving the name ''Kohlfurt''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Handbuch der historischen Stätten: Schlesien|author=Hugo Weczerka.|volume= 15|page=239}}</ref> In 1742 it was annexed by Prussia.{{citation needed|reason=German wikipedia says that it became Prussian in 1815|date=March 2020}} It was plundered by different armies during the Third Silesian War (1756–1763).<ref name=KM>Krzysztof Mazurski, ''Z przeszłości Węglińca.'' „Wędrowiec. Wrocławskie zeszyty krajoznawcze”, Wrocław, 1996, p. 56-61 (in Polish)</ref> In 1846 a railway line connecting Wrocław and Berlin, running through the small town, was opened.<ref name=WE/> Initially, the station for this line was to be built close to Görlitz. However, due to local opposition, the station was built in Węgliniec. The line from Görlitz was originally part the Saxon railways, which came under Prussia ownership 1866.<ref name="Scharf"/> In 1847 a line to Dresden was built, and in 1865 to Lubań.<ref name=WE/> The station is still one of the most important railway stations and junctions in Lower Silesia,<ref name="Scharf">{{cite book|title=Eisenbahnen zwischen Oder und Weichsel|author=Hans-Wolfgang Scharf|publisher=Eisenbahn-Kurier-Verlag|year= 1981|pages=260-261}}</ref> with it also being the second largest freight train terminal in the region after Wrocław Brochów.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Serwis Urzędu Gminy i Miasta Węgliniec |trans-title=Service of the commune and town of Węgliniec |url=http://www.wegliniec.pl/pl/article/1573 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214022317/http://www.wegliniec.pl/pl/article/1573 |archive-date=14 February 2013 |access-date=26 September 2025 |website=węgliniec.pl |language=pl}}</ref> During World War II, the German administration built two prisoner-of-war labour subcamps and a forced labour camp.<ref name=WE/> Near the end of World War II, in February 1945, the almost completely abandoned village of 30 people was captured by the Soviets.<ref name=KM/> After World War II the region was placed preliminary under Polish administration according to the post-war Potsdam Agreement. It was repopulated with Poles, some of whom were from the Eastern Borderlands, which was annexed by the Soviet Union.

Węgliniec was granted town rights in 1967.<ref name=WE/><ref>{{cite book|last=Krzysztofik|first=Robert|title=Lokacje miejskie na obszarze Polski. Dokumentacja geograficzno-historyczna|year=2007|location=Katowice|publisher=Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego|language=pl|pages=80–81|isbn=978-83-226-1616-1}}</ref>

==Transport==

=== Rail === {{Main|Węgliniec railway station}} Węgliniec railway station is a major railway junction and station, located on strategic passenger and freight routes between Poland and Germany, with international passenger services to Görlitz, Berlin and Dresden and national services to Warsaw, Wrocław, Zgorzelec, Lubań, and Żary. Regional services are operated by Lower Silesian Railways<ref>{{Cite news |title=Rozkład, Bilety |trans-title=Routes and tickets |url=https://kolejedolnoslaskie.pl/rozklad-bilety/ |access-date=26 September 2025 |work=Lower Silesian Railways |language=pl}}</ref> and Polregio.

=== Road === Voivodeship road 296 passes through the town and leads to the A4 motorway (part of the E40). It is {{Convert|10|km|mi|abbr=on}} away from Węgliniec.

==Twin towns – sister cities== See twin towns of Gmina Węgliniec.

==References== {{reflist}}

{{Gmina Węgliniec}}

Category:Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Category:Zgorzelec County