Szprotawa
Szprotawa | |
---|---|
![]() Szprotawa town hall | |
Coordinates: 51°34′N 15°30′E / 51.567°N 15.500°E | |
Country | ![]() |
Voivodeship | Lubusz |
County | Żagań |
Gmina | Szprotawa |
Town rights | around 1260 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Józef Rubacha |
Area | |
• Total | 10.94 km2 (4.22 sq mi) |
Population (2006) | |
• Total | 12,613 |
• Density | 1,200/km2 (3,000/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal code | 67-300 |
Car plates | FZG |
Website | http://www.szprotawa.pl |
Szprotawa [ʂprɔˈtava] (German: Sprottau) is a town in Poland, in Lubusz Voivodeship, in Żagań County. It has 12,648 inhabitants (2004).
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/SM_Szprotawa_Ko%C5%9Bci%C3%B3%C5%82_Wniebowzi%C4%99cia_NMP_%282%29_ID_595533.jpg/200px-SM_Szprotawa_Ko%C5%9Bci%C3%B3%C5%82_Wniebowzi%C4%99cia_NMP_%282%29_ID_595533.jpg)
The region was part of Poland after the establishment of the state in the 10th century. The first information about the terrains of today's Szprotawa comes at 1000 from the chronicle of bishop Thietmar of Merseburg, who accompanied the emperor Otto III on pilgrimage to the grave of holy Adalbert in Gniezno. Iława, currently a district of Szprotawa, is one of the two hypothetical locations where emperor Otto III and Polish ruler Bolesław the Brave could have met.[1] The area was part of medieval Poland, and later on, it was part of the Polish Duchy of Głogów, created as a result of the fragmentation of Poland. It was ruled by the Piasts and Jagiellons, including future Kings of Poland John I Albert and Sigismund I the Old, until its dissolution in 1506. Szprotawa received town rights around 1260.
1254 Sprottau received the German city rights, under the Głogów Piast duke Konrad II, known since 1251 as the Duke of Sprottau. In 1304, Sprottau gained full city rights and privileges, including the internal organization of the City Council "Concilium Magistratus". In 1331, together with the Duchy of Glogau, Sprottau became a fief of the crown of Bohemia, held by the Habsburgs from 1526.
After the First Silesian War in 1742 Sprottau fell to Prussia, like almost all Silesia. After the reorganization of Prussia in 1815, Sprottau became part of the province of Silesia, and from 1816, was the seat of the district of Sprottau, part of the government district of Liegnitz. With the Unification of Germany in 1871, Sprottau was incorporated into the German Empire.
In the first half of the 20th century, the city had an economic boom in the iron, textile and wax goods industry. The Wilhelmshütte iron and enamel companies of Aktiengesellschaft furnace employed more than 400 people. In 1939, the city had 12,578 inhabitants.
During the Second World War, 90 percent of Sprottau was destroyed. The city was occupied by the Red Army in the spring of 1945. In the aftermath of the war, it was subsequently placed under Polish administration and renamed as Szprotawa. The former German population was expelled to west of the Oder-Neisse Line, and the city was resettled with Poles, many of whom had in turn been expelled from areas of Poland east of the Curzon line which had been annexed by the Soviet Union.
Sights to see
- Old town
- Żagań Gate (Brama Żagańska), from the Middle Ages
- Town hall (Ratusz), from the Renaissance
- Saint Andreas Roman Catholic Church, from the 13th century
- Church of the Assumption, Roman Catholic Church from the 13th century
- Evangelical Church, from the 18th century (old castle)
- Old military airport with nuclear weapons storage
- Castle Chrobry (archeological)
- Silesia Walls
Nature
- Oak "Chrobry", the oldest in Poland (750 years old)
- Naturreserve "Buczyna Szprotawska"
- Naturreserve "Park Słowiański"
- Lower Silesia Forest
- Old city park from the 19th century
Notable residents
- Jakob Ebert (1549–1614), theologian
- Heinrich Göppert (1800–1884), scientist
- Heinrich Laube (1806–1884), author
- Karl Bartsch (1832–1888), Germanist
- Manfred Steinbach (born 1933), sportsman
- Klaus Hänsch (born 1938), politician, President of the European Parliament
- Rudolf Langer (born 1939), sportsman
- Detlev Kittstein (1944–1996), sportsman
- Monika Ciecierska (born 1973), female basketball player
- Konrad Michalak (born 1997), footballer
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Szprotawa is twinned with:
See also
- Museum of the Szprotawa Land
- The Lower Silesia Deep Woods Appreciation Society
- Heimatkreisgemeinschaft Sagan Sprottau e.V. Organization of refugees
Gallery
-
The museum (Żagań Gate)
-
Center City Park
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West Tower
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Ruin of Evangelical Church (old castle)
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Saint Faustina sarcophagus
-
Bóbr River by Slavic Park
External links
- Official town webpage
- Official museum webpage
- Jewish Community in Szprotawa on Virtual Shtetl
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
51°34′N 15°32′E / 51.567°N 15.533°E
References
- Notes
- ^ Hieronim Szczegóła, Szprotawski epizod Zjazdu Gnieźnieńskiego w 1000 roku w Szprotawa 1000–2000. W kręgu europejskich idei zjednoczeniowych, Szprotawa 2000
- ^ "List of Twin Towns in the Ruhr District" (PDF). © 2009 Twins2010.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-28. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
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