Bierutów

Bierutów
Coat of arms
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lower Silesian
County	Oleśnica
Gmina	Bierutów
Area
• Total	8.36 km2 (3.23 sq mi)
Population  (2006)
• Total	5,066
• Density	610/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Postal code	56-420
Website	http://www.bierutow.pl

Bierutów [bʲɛˈrutuf] is a town in Oleśnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Bierutów. The town lies approximately 13 kilometres (8 mi) south-east of Oleśnica, and 35 kilometres (22 mi) east of the regional capital Wrocław.

Prior to 1945 the town was in Germany and known as Bernstadt an der Weide. After World War II the region was placed under Polish administration by the Potsdam Agreement under territorial changes demanded by the Soviet Union. Most Germans fled or were expelled and replaced with Poles expelled from the Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union. The town of Bernstadt was renamed as Bierutów after Polish Communist leader Bolesław Bierut.

As at 2006, the town has a population of 5,066. Its castle is believed to date to the 13th century, and was the headquarters of the local forestry body after World War II.

Notable residents

• Andreas Acoluthus (1654–1704), German scholar of orientalism
• Louise Elisabeth of Württemberg-Oels (1673-1736)
• Maximilian von Prittwitz (1848–1917), Prussian general
• Josef Block (1863–1943), German painter
• Horace Kallen (1882–1974), German-American philosopher
• Ludwig Meidner (1884–1966), German expressionist painter

Mayors since 1990

Name	years in office
Bogdan Smolarczyk	1990 – 1992
Andrzej Wojtkowiak	1992 – 1997
Edward Puk	1997 – 1998
Włodzimierz Kubiak	1998 – 2002
Roman Kazimierski	2002 – 2004
Grzegorz Michalak	2005 – 2006
Władysław Bogusław Kobiałka	since 2006

External links

• Jewish Community in Bierutów on Virtual Shtetl