Prudnik
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Website | http://www.prudnik.pl |
Prudnik
The town was founded in the 1250s, and was historically part of the Polish-ruled Duchy of Opole, and afterwards was located within the Habsburg monarchy, Poland, Habsburg Monarchy again, Prussia, Germany, and eventually Poland again. It was once an important industrial hub known for its shoe-making traditions and more recently towel making by the ZPB "Frotex" Company, one of the largest towel manufacturers in Europe.[5] The town also possesses numerous architectural monuments and historic buildings such as the Main Town Hall and "Wok's Tower" (Wieża Woka) from the 13th-century.
Geography
Prudnik is located in the historic Silesia (Upper Silesia) region at the confluence of the Prudnik river and its Złoty Potok tributary. The city is situated on the border of Opawskie Mountains and the Prudnik Depression (Polish: Obniżenie Prudnickie; a part of the Silesian Lowlands).[6] Prudnik and Vrbno pod Pradědem are headquarters of the Euroregion Praděd.[7]
Etymology
The name "Prudnik" was created after Polish word prąd (flow, stream, Czech: proud, Silesian: prōnd) and, like nearby Prężyna, means a river with a fast stream. In the Middle Ages, the city's name was written with a letter u, which was Czech counterpart of ą (1262 Pruthenos, 1331 Prudnik). Since the 17th century, the name Prudnik was used along with Neustadt.[8]
The town's German name was also written in its Latin form Neostadium. Sometimes its Polish and Czech translations were used (Nowe Miasto, Nové Město). The town's older name also had its Latin form (Prudnicium). The town was also called Polnisch Neustadt ("Polish New Town"),[9][10] but in 1708 it got replaced with Königliche Stadt Neustadt ("Royal Town New Town").[8] Its Polish counterpart Nowe Miasto Królewskie was used in a Polish document published in 1750 by Frederick the Great.
In the 19th century, the city's name was changed to Neustadt in Oberschlesien ("New Town in Upper Silesia"), while the Slavic name Prudnik was still used by its Polish inhabitants, which was mentioned in Upper Silesia's topographical description from 1865: "Der ursprünglische Stadtname "Prudnik" ist noch jetz bei den polnischen Landbewohnern üblich".[8] In the alphabetic list of cities of Silesia published by Johann Knie in Wrocław in 1830, Polish name Prudnik was used along with German Neustadt ("Prudnik, polnische Benennung der Kreistadt Neustadt").[11]
In Polish publications since the 20th century, the city's name was written as Prądnik.[9] This name was also used formally in 1945. The city's name was changed to Prudnik on 7 May 1946.[12]
In Polish, the city name has masculine grammatical gender.
History
Prehistory
The first human traces in the present town area, confirmed by archaeological excavations, are dated to the Paleolithic times. Local early Slavs maintained trade contacts with Rome, which is confirmed by Roman coins found here dating back to 700 BC–1250 AD.[13]
Middle Ages
The area of present Prudnik was located at the border of Golensizi and Opolans.[14] Between the years of 1255 and 1259 the Czech knight Wok of Rosenberg founded in the defensive bend of the Prudnik river a castle, and his son Jindřich obtained the city rights in 1279. In 1337 it became a part of the Duchy of Opole,[15] and remained under the rule of local Polish dukes of the Piast dynasty until the dissolution of the duchy in 1532, when it was incorporated into the Austrian-ruled Bohemian (Czech) Crown. It was located on a trade route between Wrocław and Vienna.[16]
The oldest known form of Prudnik's coat of arms comes from a 1399 wax seal.[17] A knight Maćko of Prudnik participated in the Battle of Grunwald fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. Maćko fought together with the troops of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland.[18][19]
On 23 March 1464, Prudnik and villages around it were excommunicated by Pope Pius II for refusing to pay the debt of Duke Konrad IV the Elder. Although local historian Antoni Dudek claimed that the excommunication was lifted in 16th century, the Pope never revealed a document that lifted the curse.[20]
Early modern era
In 1562, the Austrian-ruled Duchy of Opole and Racibórz passed a resolution that obligated Jews to sell their houses, pay their debts, and leave the duchy in a year. On the basis of this resolution, in 1564, Jews were ordered to leave Prudnik, but Krzysztof Prószkowski, who leased the land there, let them stay until 1570.[21] The town was captured and plundered by the Swedes in 1632, during the Thirty Years' War. In 1645 along with Opole and Racibórz it returned to Poland under the House of Vasa, and in 1666 it fell to Austria again as part of Austrian Silesia.
In 1742 the town was in the large area of Silesia annexed by
In the subsequent years, the area developed into a significant centre of handcraft, in particular cloth production and shoe-making.[10] In the 19th century, the surrounding factories continued the local tradition of handicraft.[10] The indigenous Polish population was subject to Germanisation policies. Due to the lack of Polish schools, local Poles sent their children to schools in so-called Congress Poland in the Russian Partition of Poland.[23] Local Polish activist, publicist and teacher Filip Robota , was investigated by the local Prussian administration and police for writing about this practice in the Gazeta Toruńska, a major Polish newspaper in the Prussian Partition of Poland.[23]
Interbellum and World War II
Prudnik remained part of Germany after Poland regained independence in 1918, however, Polish organizations still operated in the town in the
During
In modern Poland
After the end of the Second World War in 1945, Neustadt was transferred from Germany to Poland according to the
In the later years however many of them left to West Germany to flee the communist Eastern Bloc (see Emigration from Poland to Germany after World War II). Today Prudnik, along with the surrounding region, is known as a centre of the German minority in Poland that recruits mainly from the descendants of the positively verified autochthons. In the city itself however only 1% of the inhabitants declared German nationality according to the last national census of 2002.
In September 1980, 1500 workers of ZPB "Frotex" and
Historical population
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German minority
Alongside German and
Sights
Prudnik is a town rich in historic architecture from various periods. Among its sights are:
- medieval Wok's Tower (Wieża Woka), a remnant of the castle
- preserved parts of the medieval town walls with the Lower Gate (Brama Dolna) and the Katowska and Mała towers which are part of the local historical museum (Muzeum Ziemi Prudnickiej)
- Classicist Prudnik Town Hall
- Baroque St. Michael's Church
- Baroque Saints Peter and Paul Church
- Park Miejski ("Town Park") with the Diana statue, a monument to local Polish activists fallen in the Silesian Uprisings and murdered in Nazi concentration camps, a monument commemorating the 1000th anniversary of the founding of the Polish State, etc.
- Prudnik Culture Centre (Prudnicki Ośrodek Kultury)
- public Town Bath (Łaźnia Miejska)
- St. Joseph Church
- Gray Ranks Square"), a monument to Polish soldiers fighting on various war fronts for Poland's freedom at the Plac Wolności ("Freedom Square"), and two mass graves of prisoners of the Nazi German Auschwitz concentration camp, murdered in the town in 1945
- Baroque Marian column and Saint John of Nepomuk statue
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Lower Gate
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Historical museum
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Park Miejski in winter
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Prudnik Culture Centre
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Memorial to Polish children and youth, heroes and victims of World War II
Education
Preschools
- Publiczne Przedszkole nr 1 (5 Mickiewicza Street)
- Zespół Szkolno-Przedszkolny nr 2 (12 Szkolna Street)
- Publiczne Przedszkole nr 3 (69 Piastowska Street)
- Publiczne Przedszkole nr 4 (9 Mickiewicza Street)
- Publiczne Przedszkole Specjalne nr 5 (1 Młyńska Street)
- Publiczne Przedszkole nr 6 (9a Podgórna Street)
- Publiczne Przedszkole nr 8 (1 Ogrodowa Street)
- Niepubliczne Przedszkole "Skrzat" (66 Grunwaldzka Street)
Primary schools
- Publiczna Szkoła Podstawowa nr 1 (9 Podgórna Street)
- Zespół Szkolno-Przedszkolny nr 2 (12 Szkolna Street)
- Publiczna Szkoła Podstawowa nr 3 (12 Szkolna Street)
- Publiczna Szkoła Podstawowa nr 4 (2 Dąbrowskiego Street)
- Publiczna Szkoła Podstawowa Specjalna nr 5 (1 Młyńska Street)
Secondary schools
- Publiczne Gimnazjum nr 1 (1 Armii Krajowej Street)
- Publiczne Gimnazjum nr 2 (2 Dąbrowskiego Street)
- Publiczne Gimnazjum Specjalne nr 3 (1 Młyńska Street)
High schools
- I Liceum Ogólnokształcące (2 Gimnazjalna Street)
- II Liceum Ogólnokształcące (55 Kościuszki Street)
- Liceum Ogólnokształcące dla dorosłych (5 Podgórna Street)
- Zespół Szkół Medycznych (Medical School) (26 Piastowska Street)
- Zespół Szkół Rolniczych (76 Kościuszki Street)
- Zespół Szkół Zawodowych (5 Podgórna Street)
- Państwowa Szkoła Muzyczna I st. (36 Traugutta Street)
- Szkoła policealna dla dorosłych (26 Piastowska Street)
Religion
Catholic Church
Prudnik Deanery
- Saint Michael the Archangel parish (Plac Farny 2)
- Saint Michael the Archangel church (Plac Farny 2)
- Saints Peter and Paul church (6 Piastowska Street)
- Saint Joseph church (Prudnik-Las, 5 Józefa Poniatowskiego Street)
- Divine Mercy parish (35 Skowrońskiego Street)
- Divine Mercy church (35 Skowrońskiego Street)
Pentecostal Church
- Zbór Syloe (40A Kolejowa Street)
Jehovah's Witnesses
- zbór Prudnik (Kingdom Hall, 22A Piastowska Street)
Cemeteries
- Cmentarz Komunalny (19 Kościuszki Street)
- Jewish cemetery (40 Kolejowa Street)
Sport
Sports venues
- Football pitch (Kolejowa 7)
- Football pitch (Włoska 10)
- Sports Hall "Obuwnik"
- Orlik 2012 field
- Summer swimming pool
Sports teams
- KS Pogoń Prudnik (basketball)
- MKS Pogoń Prudnik (football)
- KS Obuwnik Prudnik (archery)
- LKS Zarzewie Prudnik (karate, chess)
- LKJ Olimp Prudnik (equestrianism)
- Stowarzyszenie Sportowe "Tigers" Prudnik (football, parkour, freerunning)
- SPPS Ro-Nat GSM Prudnik (volleyball)
Economy
The biggest corporations in Prudnik were Zakłady Przemysłu Bawełnianego "Frotex", which got closed in 2014 and Prudnickie Zakłady Obuwia "Primus", which got closed in 2007.
Currently, the major industrial plants in Prudnik are:
- Steinpol Central Services (furniture industry)
- Spółdzielnia "Pionier" (auto parts industry)
- Artech Polska (printing cartridges industry)
- Okręgowa Spółdzielnia Mleczarska (food industry)
- Henniges Automotive (auto parts industry)
Notable people
Born in Prudnik
- Nicholas Henel (1582–1656), historian, receiver, biographer and a chronicler
- Matthäus Apelles von Löwenstern (1594–1648), psalmist, musician and statesman
- Shmuel of Karov (c. 1735–1820), Polish Hasidic rebbe
- Karl Dziatzko(1842–1903), scholar
- Karl Heinisch (1847–1923), painter
- Eugen Fraenkel (1853–1925), pathologist and bacteriologist
- Max Pinkus (1857–1934), industrialist and a bibliophile
- Otto von Garnier (1858–1947), German General of the Cavalry during World War I
- Wilhelm Siegmund Frei (1885–1943), dermatologist
- Ludwig Hardt (1886–1947), actor
- Felice Bauer (1887–1960), fiancée of Franz Kafka
- Hellmuth Reymann (1892–1988), officer in the German Army during World War II
- Dietrich von Choltitz (1894–1966), German General, the last commander of Nazi-occupied Paris
- Kurt Wintgens (1894–1916), German World War I pilot
- Józef Wojaczek (1901–1993), Roman Catholic Priest, member of the Mariannhill Missionaries
- Hans Hoffmann (1902–1949), lyrical tenor and musicologist
- Karl Streibel (1903–1986), commander of the Trawniki concentration camp
- Bernd Scholz (1911–1969), composer
- Margarete Müller (born 1931), politician
- Dietrich Unkrodt (1934–2006), classical and jazz tuba player
- Jan Góra (1948–2015), youth activist
- Joanna Helbin (born 1960), archer
- Tadeusz Madziarczyk (born 1961), politician
- Bogusław Pawłowski (born 1962), biologist
- Maria Koc (born 1964), politician
- Aleksandra Konieczna (born 1965), actress
- Jarosław Wasik (born 1971), singer-songwriter
- Peter Peschel (born 1972), football player
- Krzysztof Szafrański (born 1972), racing cyclist
- Grzegorz Kaliciak (born 1973), Colonel of Polish Armed Forces
- Lukasz Gadowski (born 1977), entrepreneur and investor
- Ewa Plonka (born 1982), operatic soprano
- Michał "Z.B.U.K.U" Buczek (born 1992), rapper
- Tomasz Pusz (born 1997), musician
Other residents
- Friedrich Leopold von Gessler (1688–1762), field marshal
- Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (1742–1819), field marshal
- Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788–1857), poet
- Samuel Fränkel (1801–1881), industrialist
- Filip Robota (1841–1902), local Polish activist, publisher and teacher
- Paul Ehrlich (1854–1915), Nobel Prize-winning physician and scientist
- Paul Robert Kollibay (1863–1919), lawyer and ornithologist
- Kazimierz Raszewski (1864–1941), lieutenant general of the Polish Army
- Paul Heinrich Theodor Müller (1896–c. 1945), Concentration Camp Operational Leader at Auschwitz concentration camp
- Stefan Wyszyński (1901–1981), archbishop
- Franz Augsberger (1905–1945), SS commander
- Władysław Lemiszko (1911–1988), Ice Hockey player, Olympian, football manager
- Harry Thürk (1927–2005), writer
- Anna Myszyńska (1931–2015), writer
- Gerard Bernacki (1942–2018), bishop
- Jadwiga Szoszler-Wilejto (born 1949), archer
- Stanisław Szozda (1950–2013), Olympic cyclist
- Andrzej Zając (born 1956), Paralympian
- Krzysztof Pieczyński (born 1957), actor
- Janusz Zarenkiewicz (born 1959), boxer
- Jerzy Czerwiński (born 1960), politician
- Józef Stępkowski (born 1970), politician
- Lukas Klemenz (born 1995), association football player
Twin towns – sister cities
See twin towns of Gmina Prudnik.
References
- ^ "Population. Size and structure and vital statistics in Poland by territorial division in 2019. As of 30th June". stat.gov.pl. Statistics Poland. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- ^ Olesch, Reinhold (1958). Der Wortschatz der polnischen Mundart von Sankt Annaberg. Wiesbaden: Kommission bei Otto Harrassowitz.
- ISBN 978-3-8460-0361-9.
- ^ "Cittaslow – O Cittaslow". cittaslowpolska.pl. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- ^ "Prudnik – 10 atrakcji, które warto zwiedzić i zobaczyć. Zabytki. Przewodnik". podrozebezosci.pl. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- ^ Krzysztof Badora: Mikroregiony fizycznogeograficzne Opolszczyzny
- ^ "EUREGIO PL-CZ". www.euroregions.org. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- ^ a b c Triest, Felix (1865). Topographisches handbuch von Oberschliesen. Breslau. p. 1044.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b "Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom IX – wynik wyszukiwania – DIR". dir.icm.edu.pl. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- ^ a b c "Prudnik – Cittaslow International". www.cittaslow.org. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- ^ Knie, Johann (1830). Alpabetisch-statistisch-topographische Uebersicht aller Dörfer, Flecken, Städte und andern Orte der Königl. Preus. Provinz Schlesien... Breslau.
- ^ a b "Zarządzenie Ministrów: Administracji Publicznej i Ziem Odzyskanych z dnia 7 maja 1946 r. o przywróceniu i ustaleniu urzędowych nazw miejscowości". prawo.sejm.gov.pl. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- ^ "Sekretna strona Polski. Jakie tajemnice kryje nasz kraj? – Gazetakrakowska.pl". - Gazetakrakowska.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 18 December 2020.
- ^ Kremser, Fryderyk (1986). Góry Opawskie, czyli okolice Biskupiej Kopy. Opole: Wojewódzki Ośrodek Informacji Turystycznej.
- ^ Weltzel, Augustyn (2005). Historia miasta Prudnika na Górnym Śląsku. Opole: Wydawnictwo MS.
- ^ a b c "Prudnik". Encyklopedia PWN (in Polish). Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ "Herb i flaga – Urząd Miejski w Prudniku". prudnik.pl. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
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- ^ Kwaśniewski, Tadeusz (16 August 2002). "Nie zapłacili za księcia". Nowa Trybuna Opolska (in Polish). Retrieved 18 December 2020.
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- ^ The London Magazine, Or, Gentleman's Monthly Intelligencer. R. Baldwin. 1760.
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- ISBN 978-83-8098-299-4.
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- ^ "Wizyta Hitlera w Prudniku. Regiopedia, Opolskie, encyklopedia regionów". 14 July 2018. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
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- ^ a b c "Auschwitz-Birkenau – Neustadt".
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