Jelenia Góra
Encyclopedia
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Jelenia Góra AUD is a city in Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia ; is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Upper Silesia is to the southeast.Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of the medieval Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy from 1526...

, south-western Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. The name of the city means "deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

 mountain" in Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

, Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...

 and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

. It is close to the Krkonoše mountain range running along the Polish-Czech
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 border – ski
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....

 resorts such as Karpacz
Karpacz
Karpacz is a spa town and ski resort in Jelenia Góra County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland, and one of the most important centres for mountain hiking and skiing, including ski jumping. Its population is about 5,000...

 and Szklarska Poręba
Szklarska Poreba
Szklarska Poręba is a town in Jelenia Góra County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. The town has a population of around 7,000...

 can be found 10–15 km far from the town.

Jelenia Góra is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship
Lower Silesian Voivodeship
Lower Silesian Voivodeship, or Lower Silesia Province , is one of the 16 voivodeships into which Poland is currently divided. It lies in southwestern Poland...

 (since 1999), having previously been the seat of Jelenia Góra Voivodeship
Jelenia Góra Voivodeship
Jelenia Gora Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by the Lower Silesian Voivodeship...

 (1975–1998). The city constitutes a separate urban gmina
Gmina
The gmina is the principal unit of administrative division of Poland at its lowest uniform level. It is often translated as "commune" or "municipality." As of 2010 there were 2,479 gminas throughout the country...

 and city county (powiat
Powiat
A powiat is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture in other countries. The term powiat is most often translated into English as "county", although other terms are also sometimes used...

), as well as being the seat of Jelenia Góra County
Jelenia Góra County
Jelenia Góra County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998....

 (which surrounds but does not include the city). As at 2009 the population of Jelenia Góra is 84,564.

History

The city officially dates back its origins to the legendary founding of the settlement by Bolesław III Wrymouth in 1108, and in 2008 celebrated 900 anniversary of its existence

Jelenia Góra is also mentioned as being used by Polish ruler Bolesław Krzywousty as a base for his campaigns against the Czechs in 1110.

Accounts by other authors (Weczerka, Badstübner, Franke, Popp, von Winterfeld) date the location of the city to 1281, by the Polish duke Bolesław Rogatka, and connect it to the Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung , also called German eastward expansion, was the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from modern day western and central Germany into less-populated regions and countries of eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The affected area roughly stretched from Slovenia...

. In 1281 the settlement was first mentioned as Hyrzberc, and in 1288 in Latin as Hyrsbergensium. When the Silesian Piasts
Silesian Piasts
The Silesian Piasts were the oldest line of the Piast dynasty beginning with Władysław II the Exile, son of Bolesław III Wrymouth, Duke of Poland...

 lost inheritance and Agnes of Habsburg, the last dutchess of (Świdnica
Swidnica
Świdnica is a city in south-western Poland in the region of Silesia. It has a population of 60,317 according to 2006 figures. It lies in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, being the seventh largest town in that voivodeship. From 1975–98 it was in the former Wałbrzych Voivodeship...

-Jawor
Jawor
Jawor is a town in south-western Poland with 24,347 inhabitants . It is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship . It is the seat of Jawor County, and lies approximately west of the regional capital Wrocław.In the town can be found a Protestant Church of Peace...

) died in 1392, the city passed to Bohemia, ruled by the House of Luxembourg
House of Luxembourg
The House of Luxembourg was a late medieval German dynasty, which between 1308 and 1437 ruled the Holy Roman Empire, twice interrupted by the rivaling House of Wittelsbach.-History:...

.

The city was inherited by Habsburg Austria
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...

 in 1526, two years after the town adopted the Protestant faith
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

. A Protestant school was built in 1566. In 1560 a fire destroyed large parts of the city and stopped the economic development, which until then was characterized by linen weaving. The city recovered when Joachim Girnth, a shoemaker on a return journey from Holland, introduced veil weaving. The first "light veils" were offered in 1625, and five years later the city received an imperial privilege by Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...

 for these veils.

During the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....

 the city suffered badly. Hirschberg was beleaguered by troops of both parties, paid high contributions, and during a siege in 1634 the city burned down again. Two more sieges followed in 1640 and 1641. The town needed several years to recover. One reason for the new boost was the creation of a merchant society 1658, which secured Hirschbergs position as the most important center of linen and veil trade in the Silesian mountains during the 17th and 18th century.

The Protestants of the city were oppressed during the Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...

, but the second Treaty of Altranstädt
Altranstädt
Altranstädt is a village in Saxony, Germany, now part of the Markranstädt district of Leipzig. The village is historically famous for two treaties that were concluded there, the Treaty of Altranstädt and the Treaty of Altranstädt ....

, which allowed to establish a Protestant community center and a church outside the medieval city walls, brought relief. Great sacrifices by the merchant society, especially its most prominent member Christian Menzel, made the construction of a large church, modeled after Church of Catherine in Stockholm, possible. The cemetery of the church was the preferred burial place for most merchant families (largely destroyed after 1945).

Hirschberg was annexed with Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia ; is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Upper Silesia is to the southeast.Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of the medieval Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy from 1526...

 by the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...

 during the Silesian Wars
Silesian Wars
The Silesian Wars were a series of wars between Prussia and Austria for control of Silesia. They formed parts of the larger War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years' War. They eventually ended with Silesia being incorporated into Prussia, and Austrian recognition of this...

. The city was again partly destroyed, had to pay contributions and was seized several times. The detachment from Austria and the new border in the mountains to the south badly damaged the economy as the merchants lost a large part of their customers. Although Prussia took on substantial efforts to revive the economy they never recovered completely and finally lost their position during the industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...

.

In 1871 the town became part of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

 upon the Prussian-led unification of Germany
Unification of Germany
The formal unification of Germany into a politically and administratively integrated nation state officially occurred on 18 January 1871 at the Versailles Palace's Hall of Mirrors in France. Princes of the German states gathered there to proclaim Wilhelm of Prussia as Emperor Wilhelm of the German...

, as one of the largest towns in the Province of Silesia
Province of Silesia
The Province of Silesia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1815 to 1919.-Geography:The territory comprised the bulk of the former Bohemian crown land of Silesia and the County of Kladsko, which King Frederick the Great had conquered from the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy in the 18th...

. The Deutsche Riesengebirgsverein (German Giant Mountains Club), an organization to protect the environment of the Giant Mountains (Krkonoše) and to promote tourism, was founded in 1880 by Theodor Donat and 47 other dignitaries of the region. It was the seventh oldest German mountaineering club with up to 18,000 members and 95 local groups, some of them even in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

, the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....

 or New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. In 1912–14 the Riesengebirgsmuseum, a museum about the mountains and the history of Hirschberg and the region, was opened by the club. It was closed in 1945 together with the Riesengebirgsverein, whose members were expelled. The museum was rearranged in 1950 and opened again in 1953. The club still exists in Germany, although its mission is obsolete.

After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, the town became part of the Province of Lower Silesia
Province of Lower Silesia
The Province of Lower Silesia was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. Between 1938 and 1941 it was reunited with Upper Silesia as the Silesia Province. The capital of Lower Silesia was Breslau...

 in 1919, and in 1922 became a separate city. During the Nazi era
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 under the regime of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

, a subcamp of KZ Gross- Rosen
Gross-Rosen concentration camp
KL Gross-Rosen was a German concentration camp, located in Gross-Rosen, Lower Silesia . It was located directly on the rail line between Jauer and Striegau .-The camp:...

 was located in Hirschberg.
Following the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 in 1945, the town was placed under Polish administration according to the decisions of the Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States...

, and became officially known by its Polish name of Jelenia Góra, which was first recorded in 1882. The remaining German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 inhabitants were expelled westward
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
The later stages of World War II, and the period after the end of that war, saw the forced migration of millions of German nationals and ethnic Germans from various European states and territories, mostly into the areas which would become post-war Germany and post-war Austria...

 and replaced with Polish settlers
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...

. The city was not destroyed in the war. After the war the new Polish authorities dismantled the Old Town until 1965 and destroyed the cemetery of the Protestant church. Afterwards the buildings around the market place were reconstructed in more simple forms. The town was expanded through the incoporation of surrounding localities, including the spa town of Cieplice in 1976, now the district of Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój.

Jelenia Góra-Legnica constituency

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Jelenia Gora-Legnica constituency in Polish parliamentary election, 2005
Polish parliamentary election, 2005
Parliamentary elections for both houses of the Parliament of Poland were held on September 25, 2005. Thirty million voters were eligible to vote for all 460 members of the lower house, the Assembly of the Republic of Poland , and all 100 members of the upper house, the Senate of the Republic of...

 included: Ślusarczyk Piotr, LPR, Witek Elżbieta, PiS, Lipiński Adam, PiS, Zubowski Jan, PiS, Madziarczyk Tadeusz, PiS, Schetyna Grzegorz, PO, Sawicka Beata, PO, Cybulski Piotr, PO, Szmajdziński Jerzy, SLD, Litwin Czesław, Samoobrona RP, Costa Hubert, Samoobrona RP, and Zbrzyzny Ryszard, SLD.

Transmitter

In 1957 in Jelenia Góra a broadcasting station for medium wave was inaugurated at ul. Sudecka 55. Until 1967 it used a 47-metre-tall wooden tower, which may be the only wooden radio tower built in Poland after 1945. In 1967 it was replaced by a 72-metre-tall steel mast. Since the shutdown of the medium wave transmitter in 1994, this mast has been used for FM broadcasting.

Sports

  • Vitaral Jelfa Jelenia Góra
    Vitaral Jelfa Jelenia Góra
    Vitaral Jelfa Jelenia Góra is a Polish women's handball team, based in Jelenia Gora, playing in Polish Ekstraklasa Women's Handball League .- See also :* Handball in Poland* Sports in Poland*...

     - women's handball
    Handball in Poland
    Handball is a popular team sport in Poland.* Polish Seria A Handball League* Polish Seria B Handball League* Polish Seria A Women's Handball League* Polish Seria B Women's Handball League* Polish Cup in men handball* Polish Cup in women handball...

     team playing in Polish Ekstraklasa Women's Handball League
    Polish Ekstraklasa Women's Handball League
    -History:* 1939 - Znicz Łódź* 1946 - Zryw Łódź* 1947 - Zryw Łódź* 1948 - SKS Warszawa* 1949 - Unia Łódź* 1950 - Spójnia Warszawa* 1951 - Unia Łódź* 1952 - Unia Łódź* 1953 - not held* 1954 - not held* 1955 - Stal Chorzów* 1956 - Stal Chorzów...

    : 3rd place in 2003/2004 season.
  • KPR Jelenia Góra - Women's handball
    Handball in Poland
    Handball is a popular team sport in Poland.* Polish Seria A Handball League* Polish Seria B Handball League* Polish Seria A Women's Handball League* Polish Seria B Women's Handball League* Polish Cup in men handball* Polish Cup in women handball...

     team playing in Polish Ekstraklasa Women's Handball League
    Polish Ekstraklasa Women's Handball League
    -History:* 1939 - Znicz Łódź* 1946 - Zryw Łódź* 1947 - Zryw Łódź* 1948 - SKS Warszawa* 1949 - Unia Łódź* 1950 - Spójnia Warszawa* 1951 - Unia Łódź* 1952 - Unia Łódź* 1953 - not held* 1954 - not held* 1955 - Stal Chorzów* 1956 - Stal Chorzów...

     and in Polish First League

Twin towns — Sister cities

Bautzen
Bautzen
Bautzen is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and administrative centre of the eponymous district. It is located on the Spree River. As of 2008, its population is 41,161...

, Germany Cervia
Cervia
Cervia is a town and comune in the province of Ravenna , central Italy.-History:Originally called Ficocle, it was probably of Greek origin and was located midway from current Cervia and Ravenna...

, Italy Erftstadt
Erftstadt
Erftstadt is a town located about 20 km south-west of Cologne in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name of the town derives from the river which flows through it, the Erft...

, Germany Randers
Randers
Randers is a city in Randers municipality on the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 60,656 . Randers city is the main town of the municipality and the site of its municipal council.-Overview:Randers municipality has 94,750 inhabitants...

, Denmark Tequila, Jalisco
Tequila, Jalisco
Santiago de Tequila is a town and municipality located in the state of Jalisco about 60 km from the city of Guadalajara. Tequila is best known as being the birthplace of the drink that bears its name, “tequila,” which is made from the blue agave plant, native to this area. The heart of the...

, Mexico Tyler, Texas
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...

, USA Valkeakoski
Valkeakoski
Valkeakoski is a town and municipality in Finland.Valkeakoski is located south of Tampere and north of Helsinki in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of...

, Finland Vladimir
Vladimir
Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...

, Russia Jablonec nad Nisou
Jablonec nad Nisou
Jablonec nad Nisou is a town in northern Bohemia, the second largest town of the Liberec Region. It is known as a mountain resort in the Jizera Mountains, an education centre, and a centre of world-production of glass and jewellery...

, Czech Republic

Notable residents

  • Philipp Gotthard von Schaffgotsch
    Philipp Gotthard von Schaffgotsch
    Count Philipp Gotthard von Schaffgotsch was a German Prince-Bishop of Breslau and an important promoter of music.-Ecclesiastical career:...

    , born and buried here.
  • Christian Michael Adolphi (1676–?), physician
  • Johann Traugott Adolphi (1728–?), physician
  • Christian Jacob Salice-Contessa (1767–1825), merchant, politician and writer
  • Karl Wilhelm Salice-Contessa (1777–1825), poet
  • Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Wander (1803–1879)
  • Maximilian Schwedler (1853–1940), flutist
  • Karl Joel
    Karl Joel (philosopher)
    Karl Joel was a German philosopher and professor.Joel was born in Hirschberg, Silesia, and died in Walenstadt, Switzerland...

     (1864–1934), philosopher
  • Felix Funke
    Felix Funke
    Felix Funke was a German admiral of the Kaiserliche Marine .-Early life:Funke was born in Hirschberg , Prussian Silesia. His father Adolf Funke, originally from Magdeburg, was President of the Alsatian Railway Company in Strassburg...

     (1865–1932), admiral
  • Fritz Warmuth (1870–?), politician, member of Reichstag
  • Wilhelm Iwan
    Wilhelm Iwan
    Wilhelm Iwan, author, historian, and theologian lived from 1871 until 1958. As a historian, he documented the 19th century exodus from Germany to America and Australia by a group who sought religious freedom...

     (1871–1958), author, historian, and theologian
  • Georg Heym
    Georg Heym
    Georg Heym was a German writer. He is particularly known for his poetry, representative of early Expressionism.- Life :...

     (1887–1912), early expressionist writer
  • Hanna Reitsch
    Hanna Reitsch
    Hanna Reitsch was a German aviator and the only woman awarded the Iron Cross First Class and the Luftwaffe Combined Pilots-Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds during World War II...

     (1912–1979), test pilot
  • Ernst Augustin (1927) author
  • Dieter Pohl (* 1934), regional historian
  • Armin Nentwig (* 1943), politian Landrat of Landkreis Amberg-Sulzbach 2003-2008;
  • Dorota Piedel (born 1959), press operator

Reading

External links

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