Chojnów
Encyclopedia
- The word Haynau redirects here. For the Austrian general, please see Julius Jacob von HaynauJulius Jacob von HaynauJulius Jacob von Haynau was an Austrian general.The illegitimate son of the landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, William I and Rebecca Richter, a Jewish woman, he entered the Austrian army as an infantry officer in 1801 and saw much service in the Napoleonic wars...
.
Chojnów AUD is a small town in Legnica County
Legnica County
Legnica 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...
, 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 located on the Skora river, a tributary of the Kaczawa
Kaczawa
The Kaczawa is a river in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in Poland. It springs from the Kaczawskie Mountains near Kaczorów and flows north and northeast through the towns of Świerzawa, Złotoryja and Legnica...
at an average altitude of 170 m (557.7 ft) above sea level. Chojnów is the administrative seat of the rural 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 Chojnów
Gmina Chojnów
Gmina Chojnów is a rural gmina in Legnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the town of Chojnów, although the town is not part of the territory of the gmina....
, although the town is not part of its territory and forms a separate urban gmina. As of 2006 it had 14,389 inhabitants.
Chojnów is located 18 km (11.2 mi) west of Legnica
Legnica
Legnica is a town in south-western Poland, in Silesia, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the plain of Legnica, riverside: Kaczawa and Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 and 31 December 1998 Legnica was the capital of the Legnica Voivodeship. It is currently the seat of the county...
, 26 km (16.2 mi) east from Bolesławiec and 18 km (11.2 mi) north of Złotoryja, 5 km (3.1 mi) from the A4 motorway. It has railroad connections to Bolesławiec and Legnica.
History
The settlement of Haynow was mentioned in a 1272 deed. It was already called a civitas in a 1288 document issued by the PiastSilesian 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...
duke Henry V of Legnica
Henry V, Duke of Legnica
Henry V the Fat was a Duke of Jawor from 1273, of Legnica from 1278 and also Duke of Wroclaw from 1290....
, and officially received town privileges
Town privileges
Town privileges or city rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium.Judicially, a town was distinguished from the surrounding land by means of a charter from the ruling monarch that defined its privileges and laws. Common privileges were related to trading...
in 1333.
After World War II and the implementation of the Oder-Neisse line
Oder-Neisse line
The Oder–Neisse line is the border between Germany and Poland which was drawn in the aftermath of World War II. The line is formed primarily by the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers, and meets the Baltic Sea west of the seaport cities of Szczecin and Świnoujście...
in 1945, the town passed to the Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
. The 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....
population was expelled
Flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland during and after World War II
The flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland was the largest of a series of flights and expulsions of Germans in Europe during and after World War II...
from the region.
Chojnów today
Chojnów is an industrial and agricultural town. Among local products are: paper, agricultural machinery, chains, metal furniture for hospitals, equipment for the meat industry, beer, wine, leather clothing, and clothing for infants, children and adults. The local government-run weekly newspaper is Gazeta Chojnowska, which has been published since 1992.Among the interesting monuments of Chojnów are the 13th century castle of the Dukes of Legnica
Duchy of Legnica
The Duchy of Legnica or Duchy of Liegnitz was one of the Duchies of Silesia. Its capital was Legnica in Lower Silesia....
(currently used as a museum), two old churches, the Baszta Tkaczy (Weavers' Tower) and preserved fragments of city walls.
The biggest green area in Chojnów is small forest Park Piastowski (Piast's Park), named after the Polish Piast dynasty
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...
. Wild animals that can be found in the Chojnów area are roe-deer (sarna, Capreolus capraea ?), fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
es, rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s and wild domestic animals, especially cats.
Every year in the first days of June, the Days of Chojnów (Dni Chojnowa) are celebrated. The Whole-Poland bike race Masters has been organized yearly in Chojnów for the past few years.
Notable people
- Johann Wilhelm RitterJohann Wilhelm RitterJohann Wilhelm Ritter was a German chemist, physicist and philosopher. He was born in Samitz near Haynau in Silesia , and died in Munich.-Life and work:...
, chemist and physicist, born December 16, 1776 in nearby SamitzZamieniceZamienice is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Chojnów, within Legnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany....
, died January 23, 1810 in MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat... - Georg MichaelisGeorg MichaelisGeorg Michaelis became the first Chancellor of Germany with a non-noble background.-Biography :Michaelis, born in Haynau in the Prussian Province of Silesia, grew up in Frankfurt...
, politician, former Minister President of Prussia, born September 8, 1857, died July 24, 1936 in Bad SaarowBad SaarowBad Saarow is a municipality in the Oder-Spree district, in Brandenburg, Germany.... - Horst MahlerHorst MahlerHorst Mahler is a former German lawyer and advocate of radical ideologies. He once was an extreme-left militant, a founding member of the Red Army Faction. Subsequently he became a Maoist and later shifted to the extreme-right. He was for a time a member of the National Democratic Party of Germany...
, lawyer, former RAFRed Army FactionThe radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...
militant, now Neo-NaziNeo-NazismNeo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
activist, born January 23, 1936
Twin towns — sister cities
Chojnów is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Egelsbach
Egelsbach
Egelsbach is a community of 10,000 in the Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany.- Location :Egelsbach is one of 13 communities in the Offenbach district...
, 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...
Commentry
Commentry
Commentry is a commune in the department of Allier in central France. It lies southwest of Moulins by the Orléans railway.-Population:-Economy:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...