Milicz
Encyclopedia
- You may be looking for Jan MilíčJan MilícJan Milíč z Kroměříže , Czech divine, was the most influential among those preachers and writers in Czech lands who, during the 14th century, in a certain sense paved the way for the reforming activity of Jan Hus.- Life :...
, the theologian.
Milicz ' is a town 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...
, in 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...
. It is the seat of Milicz County
Milicz County
Milicz 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. The county covers an area of...
, and of the smaller administrative district (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...
) called Gmina Milicz
Gmina Milicz
Gmina Milicz is an urban-rural gmina in Milicz County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the town of Milicz, which lies approximately north of the regional capital Wrocław....
. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
It lies on the Barycz
Barycz
The Barycz is a river in Greater Poland and Lower Silesian Voivodeships in western Poland. It is a right tributary of the Oder River. The river course roughly marked the northern border of the historic region of Lower Silesia with Greater Poland....
river, approximately 49 kilometres (30 mi) north of the regional capital Wrocław.
As at 2006, the town has a population of 12,004.
History
Milich Castle was first mentioned in a 1136 deed by Pope Innocent IIPope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II , born Gregorio Papareschi, was pope from 1130 to 1143, and was probably one of the clergy in personal attendance on the antipope Clement III .-Early years:...
as a possession of the cathedral chapter of the Bishopric of Breslau. It received town privileges
German town law
German town law or German municipal concerns concerns town privileges used by many cities, towns, and villages throughout Central and Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages.- Town law in Germany :...
in 1245. In 1358 the bishops sold Milicz to the Piast
Piast dynasty
The Piast dynasty was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. It began with the semi-legendary Piast Kołodziej . The first historical ruler was Duke Mieszko I . The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir the Great...
duke Konrad I of Oels
Konrad I of Olesnica
Konrad I of Oleśnica was a Duke of Żagań, Ścinawa, etc., during 1309–1312 , Duke of Oleśnica, Namysłów, Gniezno and Kalisz during 1312–1313 , Duke of Kalisz during 1313–1314 , Duke of Namysłów since 1313 and Duke of Oleśnica since 1321 until his death .He was the second son...
, whose successors held castle and town until in 1492 the line became extinct and the Duchy of Oels
Duchy of Oels
The Duchy of Oels or Duchy of Oleśnica was one of the duchies of Silesia, with the capital in Oleśnica, Poland.Initially part of the Piast Duchy of Wrocław, the Oleśnica area became part of the Duchy of Głogów in 1294, following an armed conflict between Duke Henry III and Henry V the Fat, Duke of...
was finally seized as an expired fief by the Bohemian Crown
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...
.
In 1494 King Vladislas II of Bohemia granted Milicz to his chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
Sigismund Kurzbach, who installed the autonomous Silesian state country
State country
State country was a unit of administrative and territorial division in the Bohemian crown lands of Silesia and Upper Lusatia, existing from 15th to 18th centuries. These estates were exempt from feudal tenure by privilege of the Bohemian kings...
of Milicz and Żmigród
Zmigród
Żmigród is a town in Trzebnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district called Gmina Żmigród. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany...
(Trachenberg). The Milicz part was acquired by the Maltzan noble family in 1590.
Sights
Milicz is the site of one of the six Churches of Grace, which the Silesian ProtestantsProtestantism
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...
were allowed to built with the permission of Emperor Joseph I of Habsburg
Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph I , Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, King of the Romans was the elder son of Emperor Leopold I and his third wife, Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg....
, King of Bohemia, given at the 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 ....
Convention of 1707. The half-timbered
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
church finished in 1714 today is dedicated to Saint Andrew Bobola
Andrew Bobola
Andrew Bobola was a Polish missionary and martyr of the Society of Jesus, known as the apostle of Lithuania and the "hunter of souls".-Biography:...
.
The castle of the Dukes of Oels erected in the 14th century was destroyed in 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...
. The Maltzan dynasty left a Late Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
-Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
palace erected in 1798 and an English garden
English garden
The English garden, also called English landscape park , is a style of Landscape garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The...
, the first in Silesia.
Notable people
- Maria von MaltzanMaria von MaltzanMaria Helene Françoise Izabel Gräfin von Maltzan, Freiin zu Wartenberg und Penzlin was an aristocratic member of the German Resistance against Adolf Hitler who also saved many Jews.-Biography:...
, resistanceGerman ResistanceThe German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
fighter, born in Milicz on March 25, 1909, died on November 12, 1997 in BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. The later Generalfeldmarschall Walther von ReichenauWalther von ReichenauWalter von Reichenau was a German Generalfeldmarschall during World War II.-History:Reichenau was born in Karlsruhe to a Prussian general and joined the German Army in 1903. During World War I he served on the Western Front...
married her niece at the Milicz church in 1919. - Hermann WassertrillingHermann WassertrillingHermann Wassertrilling, or Hebrew: Ẓebi-Hirsch ben Nathan Wassertrilling, Hirsch Wassertrilling was an Austrian Hebraist who flourished in the 19th century....
(Hirsch Wassertrilling), rabbi, was active here in the 19th century
See also
- Milicz PondsMilicz PondsThe Milicz Ponds are a group of about 100 fish ponds in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland, in the valley of the river Barycz, close to the towns of Milicz and Żmigród...
nature reserve