Bierutów

Bierutów
Town hall tower, church of st. Catherine, castle
Coat of arms
Bierutów Bierutów
Coordinates: 51°7′30″N 17°32′30″E
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lower Silesian Voivodeship
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] (German: Bernstadt in Schlesien) 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.

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	Photo	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		2004 – 2006
Władysław Bogusław Kobiałka		since 2006

External links

• Jewish Community in Bierutów on Virtual Shtetl