Dobrzeń Wielki ' is a village in Opole County

Opole County

Opole County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Opole Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat is the city of Opole, although the city is not...

, Opole Voivodeship

Opole Voivodeship

- Administrative division :Opole Voivodeship is divided into 12 counties : 1 city county and 11 land counties. These are further divided into 71 gminas.The counties are listed in the following table .- Economy :...

, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the Gmina Dobrzeń Wielki

Gmina Dobrzen Wielki

Gmina Dobrzeń Wielki, German Gemeinde Groß Döbern is a rural gmina in Opole County, Opole Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the village of Dobrzeń Wielki, which lies approximately north-west of the regional capital Opole.The gmina covers an area of , and as of 2006 its total...

 (administrative district) and is situated in the central district of the Opole Voivodeship, lying approximately 13 km (8 mi) north-west of the regional capital Opole

Opole

Opole is a city in southern Poland on the Oder River . It has a population of 125,992 and is the capital of the Upper Silesia, Opole Voivodeship and, also the seat of Opole County...

. It is bordered by the Popielów municipality to the west; the Pokój municipality to the north, the Murów and Łubniany districts to the east, in addition to Opole city and the Dąbrowa and Lewin Brzeski

Lewin Brzeski

Lewin Brzeski is a town in Brzeg County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 5,843 inhabitants .-External links:*...

municipalities to the south.

Before 1945 the area was part of Germany (see Territorial changes of Poland after World War II

Territorial changes of Poland after World War II

The territorial changes of Poland after World War II were very extensive. In 1945, following the Second World War, Poland's borders were redrawn following the decisions made at the Potsdam Conference of 1945 at the insistence of the Soviet Union...

).

The village has a population of 4,500.

Geography

The climate is characteristical for that of the country, with a temperature variation slightly below average. January sees temperatures between -1 and 9 degrees Celsius, in comparison to an average of 17.8 in July. The Odra River flows from the southeast to the northwest of the district, and is the area's main watercourse. This stretch is navigable and is frequently used for water transport. The river's water levels reach their highest state from February - March and July - August, whereas they are lowest from September - October. Several other waterways, such as the Mala Panew, Żydówka, Brynica, Jemielnica, Swornica, and Brzeziczanka form a vast river network in the area, in addition to numerous streams. Several ponds, oxbow lakes, and a network of canals and drainage ditches are also situated in the town's vicinity. The Brynica and Odra rivers are characterized by relatively flat surrounds, thus the Dobrzen Wielki area is susceptible to flooding. One of the town's most catastrophic floods occurred in 1997, when water submerged land on both sides of the Odra river.

History

The town's first written mentions of the town, cited as Dobren, can be derived from a document dated 1228, concerning the transfer of the Norbertine Monastery from Rybnik to the nearby village of Czarnowąs. A later document, however, dated 1279, provides the name of the town as Dobrzeń, and mentions that it is part of the province of Dobrzeń. The village itself was under the possession of Kazimierz, Duke of Opole, and in 1279, was granted Magdeburg rights

Magdeburg rights

Magdeburg Rights or Magdeburg Law were a set of German town laws regulating the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages granted by a local ruler. Modelled and named after the laws of the German city of Magdeburg and developed during many centuries of the Holy Roman Empire, it was...

. In 1658, the Church of St. Roch (Kosciol Sw. Rocha) was constructed, following the invasion of the Norbertine monastery by Protestant armies in 1643.

People

• Jan Ficek (1790–1862), born in Groß Döbern (Dobrzeń Wielki), after studies in Breslau priest in Deutsch Piekar (Piekary Śląskie)
• Adolf Paul Ledwolorz (1892–1973), born in Groß Döbern (Dobrzeń Wielki), priest, author (ecclesiastical law, 1924)
• Friedrich Nippert (1864–1930), teacher in Linsen (Lędzina) near Festenberg (Twardogóra), owner of the Cross of Merit for war aid in the First World War, married in Groß Döbern (Dobrzeń Wielki)
• Lorenz Schwietz
  Lorenz Schwietz
  Lorenz Schwietz was Royal Prussian executioner from 21 June 1900 to 29 January 1914. Responsible for carrying out capital punishment in the Prussian provinces, he executed a total of 120 to 123 people, primarily by beheading with an axe, but also with guillotines.-Early life:Lorenz Schwietz was...
  
  (1850–1925), executioner, born in Groß Döbern (Dobrzeń Wielki)