Świebodzice

Świebodzice
Saints Peter and Paul Church
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lower Silesian
County	Świdnica
Gmina	Świebodzice (urban gmina)
Government
• Mayor	Bogdan Kożuchowicz
Area
• Total	30.45 km2 (11.76 sq mi)
Population  (2014)
• Total	23,175
• Density	760/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	58-160
Car plates	DSW
Website	http://www.swiebodzice.pl

Świebodzice [ɕfjɛbɔˈd͡ʑit͡sɛ] (German: Freiburg in Schlesien) is a town in south-western Poland with 23,175 inhabitants (as of 2014). It is situated in Świdnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship (from 1975–1998 it was in the former Wałbrzych Voivodeship).

The town is situated close to Książ Castle, which during World War II, together with the underground cave complex, was expanded to create private quarters for Adolf Hitler.

The region passed to Poland from Germany in 1945, as a result of border changes promulgated at the Potsdam Conference. For more information about the general history of the region, see Silesia. After World War II the region was placed under Polish administration and ethnically cleansed, the native German populace was expelled and replaced with Poles.

Old fortifications from around 1279, the year the town was founded, still remain.

Notable residents

• Gustav Becker, German clockmaker
• Paweł Fajdek (1989 - ) 2013 World Champion in the Hammer Throw
• Hartmut Kilger (born 1943), President of the German Lawyer's Association (2003–2009)
• Martin Kirschner (1842–1912), Mayor of Berlin
• Emil Krebs (1867–1930), German scientist, noted polyglot who spoke a total of 68 languages at the time of his death.
• Wilhelm Niepelt (1862–1936), German scientist
• Alfred Zucker, German architect

External links

• Jewish Community in Świebodzice on Virtual Shtetl