Rudy ', also known as Rudy Wielkie ("Great Rudy") or Rudy Raciborskie, is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in the administrative district of Gmina Kuźnia Raciborska

Gmina Kuznia Raciborska

Gmina Kuźnia Raciborska is an urban-rural gmina in Racibórz County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. Its seat is the town of Kuźnia Raciborska, which lies approximately north of Racibórz and west of the regional capital Katowice.The gmina covers an area of , and as of 2006 its total...

, within Racibórz County

Racibórz County

Racibórz County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, on the Czech border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is...

, Silesian Voivodeship

Silesian Voivodeship

Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province , is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centering on the historic region known as Upper Silesia...

, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 12 kilometres (7 mi) east of Kuźnia Raciborska

Kuznia Raciborska

Kuźnia Raciborska is a town in Racibórz County, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, with 5,630 inhabitants .-External links:*...

, 20 km (12 mi) north-east of Racibórz

Racibórz

Racibórz is a town in southern Poland with 60,218 inhabitants situated in the Silesian Voivodeship , previously in Katowice Voivodeship...

, and 40 km (25 mi) west of the regional capital Katowice

Katowice

Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...

. The village has a population of 2,800.

With history going back to the 13th century, it is a site of a gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 Cistercian palace-monastery.

Rudy gives its name to the protected area

Protected area

Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...

 called Rudy Landscape Park

Rudy Landscape Park

Rudy Landscape Park is a protected area in southern Poland, established in 1993, covering an area of .The Park lies within Silesian Voivodeship: in Gliwice County , Pszczyna...

(in full: "Landscape Park of the Cistercian Landscape Compositions of Rudy Wielkie").