Nowogród Bobrzański

Nowogród Bobrzański
Church of the Assumption of Mary
Coat of arms
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lubusz
County	Zielona Góra
Gmina	Nowogród Bobrzański
City rights	13th century - 1945 1988 -
Government
• Mayor	Grzegorz Ludwik Jankowski
Area
• Total	14.63 km2 (5.65 sq mi)
Population  (2006)
• Total	5,036
• Density	340/km2 (890/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	66-010 to 66-011
Car plates	FZI
Partner cities	Lübbenau Bellingwedde
Climate	Cfb
Website	http://www.nowogrodbobrz.pl

Nowogród Bobrzański pronounced ['nɔˈvɔɡrut bɔˈbʐaɲskʲi] (German: Naumburg am Bober) is a town on the Bóbr river in Zielona Góra County, Lubusz Voivodeship, Poland, with 5,068 inhabitants (2004). It is the administrative seat of the Gmina Nowogród Bobrzański. The gmina community was created through the integration of Nowogród Bobrzański with the nearby Krzystkowice, bringing the total number of inhabitants to 9,481. It covers the area of 259,4 km².

History

Market square

The historic town was established in 1202 on the eastern banks of the Bóbr as the seat of a Castellan of Lower Silesia. The Piast duke Henry I the Bearded established a college of Augustinian canons here in 1217. From 1274 Nowogród Bobrzański was part of the Silesian Duchy of Żagań. It received city rights in 1314. It was consumed by fire and destroyed by plagues in 1350, 1479 and 1723. In 1827 mineral springs were discovered and many tourists began to arrive.

Naumburg am Bober was the seat of the firm Ostdeutsche Tiefbau GmbH ("East German Civil Engineering, Inc."), which was one of the contractors responsible for razing the Warsaw Ghetto. Nowogród lost its city rights in 1945 following World War II due to depopulation, and again acquired them in 1988 by the merger with the adjacent Lower Lusatian town of Krzystkowice (Christianstadt), the site of the Nazi German subcamp of Gross Rosen with an estimated number of 40,000 Polish and other victims. After World War II the town became part of Poland following the post-war Potsdam Agreement.

The community includes the town of Nowogród Bobrzański and 26 villages: Białowice, Bogaczów, Cieszów, Dobroszów Mały, Dobroszów Wielki, Drągowina, Kaczenice, Kamionka, Klępina, Kotowice, Krzewina, Krzywa, Lagoda, Niwska, Pajęczno, Pielice, Pierzwin, Podgórzyce, Popowiec, Przybymierz, Skibice, Sobolice, Sterków, Turów, Urzuty, Wysoka.

Geography

The highest hill has 166.4 meters altitude. There are two rivers: the Bóbr and the Brzeźniczanka. Woods take up 60% of the land. The forest covers an area of 30.568 hectares (75.54 acres) and is divided into 22 parks. Overall, the forest constitutes 16,5% of Zielona Góra district. The pine is the most common tree. The age of an average tree is about 48 years. The annual growth of trees is 2,65 cubic metres per one hectare. The abundance of trees is high, as it is about 125 cubic metres for one hectare. There are two nurseries: Tuchola, and Guzów.

The Forest Inspectorate of Nowogród Bobrzański manages the following protection areas:

• The nature reserve “Dąbrowa Brzeźnicza”
• Peat bogs with rare species of animals such as beavers, cranes, snipes, harriers and rare species of plants, including ivy and laurel.
• Nature monument made up by 8 old-growth trees, and the erratic boulder called “Diabelski Kamień”.

Points of interest

In the town there are a number of tourist attractions such as:

• St Bartholomew Church from 12th century
• Assumption Church from 13th century
• Ruins of the factory where munitions were produced by Nazi Germany in years 1940-1945

In the community outside the town there are also tourist destinations such as:

• St Catherine Church from 13th century in Niwiska
• St Laurence Church
• A palace from 16th and 17th century in Bogaczów
• Embankments of Boleslas the Brave in Skibice
• A resort for people who like relaxing next to water or on the beach
• Two forest lodges in Kępina
• Five bed-and-breakfast lodgings for tourists
• A tourist trail between Wysoka and Podgórzyce
• The 17 km of bicycle paths.

References

• Zdjęcia miasta (photographs)