Sobótka
Encyclopedia
Sobótka s is a town in Wrocław County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship
, in south-western Poland
. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina
) called Gmina Sobótka
. Sobótka is located about 30 km (18.6 mi) southwest of Wrocław on the northern slope of Mount Ślęża
, part of the Central Sudetes
mountain range. As of 2006, the town has a population of 6,832.
times, as evinced by numerous archaeological artefacts, and in the 2nd century BC Mount Ślęża was the site of a sanctuary of the Celtic Boii
, marking a northern outpost of their settlement area.
In 1128, the Polish voivode Piotr Włostowic established an Augustinian
monastery on Mount Ślęża which was later moved to Wrocław, while the area remained a property of the Augustinian order. The settlement was first mentioned in a 1148 bull issued by Pope Eugene III
as Sabath, from , , "Saturday", referring to a weekly market. The market rights were confirmed by the Silesian
duke Bolesław I the Tall in 1193. His son Duke Henry I the Bearded
granted it town privileges rights according to Magdeburg Law
in 1221. The location of the city is on the ancient Amber Road
and its first role was trade. After the Polish King Casimir III the Great had renounced Silesia, Sobótka in 1353, due to marriage of the Czech princess, became the Bohemian kings
territory. King Wenceslaus
explicitly acknowledged the city rights in 1399. The town was again purchased by the Augustinians in 1494.
Devastated by the Thirty Years' War
, the town with most of Silesia was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia
in 1742. King Frederick William III
finally secularized
the Augustinian territory in 1810. After World War II
, Prussian Silesia fell back to the Republic of Poland
and the German population was expelled
from Sobótka.
, one of the 28 peaks of Polish Mountains Crown :pl:Korona Gór Polski. The name of the region Silesia
comes from the name of that mountain. Now it is under reservation as”Gora Sleza landscape and geological reservation park”. With its 718 m.s.l. is the highest peak of the Sudetes Foreland. Its specific microclimate allows develop of the large species of Fauna and Flora. In ancient time (bronze) it was the Pagan Solar Cult center. The Christianization
of the territory begins in X century.
There are many touristic paths as well for the pedestrians and for the cyclists. In the oldest house in center of Sobotka there is a museum of an archeology of Mr. Stanislaw Dunajewski showing the large exposition of what was found nearby Sleza Mountain. It is also necessary to visit the churches of Saint Anna ( XIII/XIV) and Saint Jacob (1738) and Gorka Castle.
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 the 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 Sobótka
Gmina Sobótka
Gmina Sobótka is an urban-rural gmina in Wrocław County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the town of Sobótka, which lies approximately south-west of the regional capital Wrocław....
. Sobótka is located about 30 km (18.6 mi) southwest of Wrocław on the northern slope of Mount Ślęża
Mount Sleza
Ślęża is a mountain in the Sudetes foothills in Lower Silesia, from Wrocław, southern Poland. This natural reserve built mostly of granite is 718 m high and covered with forests....
, part of the Central Sudetes
Central Sudetes
The Central Sudetes are the central part of the Sudetes mountain range on the border of the Czech Republic and Poland. They stretch from the Nysa Kłodzka River and the Kłodzko Valley in the east to the upper Bóbr in the west....
mountain range. As of 2006, the town has a population of 6,832.
History
The area had been settled since prehistoricPrehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
times, as evinced by numerous archaeological artefacts, and in the 2nd century BC Mount Ślęża was the site of a sanctuary of the Celtic Boii
Boii
The Boii were one of the most prominent ancient Celtic tribes of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul , Pannonia , in and around Bohemia, and Transalpine Gaul...
, marking a northern outpost of their settlement area.
In 1128, the Polish voivode Piotr Włostowic established an Augustinian
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
monastery on Mount Ślęża which was later moved to Wrocław, while the area remained a property of the Augustinian order. The settlement was first mentioned in a 1148 bull issued by Pope Eugene III
Pope Eugene III
Pope Blessed Eugene III , born Bernardo da Pisa, was Pope from 1145 to 1153. He was the first Cistercian to become Pope.-Early life:...
as Sabath, from , , "Saturday", referring to a weekly market. The market rights were confirmed by the Silesian
Duchy of Silesia
The Duchy of Silesia with its capital at Wrocław was a medieval duchy located in the historic Silesian region of Poland. Soon after it was formed under the Piast dynasty in 1138, it fragmented into various Duchies of Silesia. In 1327 the remaining Duchy of Wrocław as well as most other duchies...
duke Bolesław I the Tall in 1193. His son Duke Henry I the Bearded
Henry I the Bearded
Henry I the Bearded , of the Silesian line of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1201 and Duke of Kraków and thus High Duke of all Poland - internally divided - from 1232 until his death.-Heir of Wroclaw:...
granted it town privileges rights according to Magdeburg Law
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 1221. The location of the city is on the ancient Amber Road
Amber Road
The Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber. As one of the waterways and ancient highways, for centuries the road led from Europe to Asia and back, and from northern Africa to the Baltic Sea....
and its first role was trade. After the Polish King Casimir III the Great had renounced Silesia, Sobótka in 1353, due to marriage of the Czech princess, became the Bohemian kings
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...
territory. King Wenceslaus
Wenceslaus, King of the Romans
Wenceslaus ) was, by election, German King from 1376 and, by inheritance, King of Bohemia from 1378. He was the third Bohemian and second German monarch of the Luxembourg dynasty...
explicitly acknowledged the city rights in 1399. The town was again purchased by the Augustinians in 1494.
Devastated by 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 town with most of Silesia was annexed 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...
in 1742. King Frederick William III
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...
finally secularized
Secularization
Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...
the Augustinian territory in 1810. After 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...
, Prussian Silesia fell back 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...
and the German 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 Sobótka.
Sights
The main attraction of the area is the Mount SlezaMount Sleza
Ślęża is a mountain in the Sudetes foothills in Lower Silesia, from Wrocław, southern Poland. This natural reserve built mostly of granite is 718 m high and covered with forests....
, one of the 28 peaks of Polish Mountains Crown :pl:Korona Gór Polski. The name of the region Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
comes from the name of that mountain. Now it is under reservation as”Gora Sleza landscape and geological reservation park”. With its 718 m.s.l. is the highest peak of the Sudetes Foreland. Its specific microclimate allows develop of the large species of Fauna and Flora. In ancient time (bronze) it was the Pagan Solar Cult center. The Christianization
Christianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...
of the territory begins in X century.
There are many touristic paths as well for the pedestrians and for the cyclists. In the oldest house in center of Sobotka there is a museum of an archeology of Mr. Stanislaw Dunajewski showing the large exposition of what was found nearby Sleza Mountain. It is also necessary to visit the churches of Saint Anna ( XIII/XIV) and Saint Jacob (1738) and Gorka Castle.
Historical names of the city
- 1148 – "Sabath"
- 1193 – "Sobath"
- 1200 – "Sobat"
- 1256 – "Czobotha"
- 1329 – "Zobota"
- 1336 – "Zobotka"
- 1343 - "Czoboten"
- 1399 - "Czobothen"
- 1404 - "Czobotaw"
- 1561 - "Zobten"
- 1938 - "Zobten am Berge"
- 1945 - "Sobótka"
Notable people
- :pl:Wladyslaw Kabat aka "Brzechwa" (1906-1980),Colonel of Polish Army, participated in Operation Most IIIOperation Most IIIOperation Most III or Operation Wildhorn III was a World War II operation in which Poland's Armia Krajowa provided the Allies with crucial intelligence on the German V-2 rocket.-Background:...
, action of transfer of pieces of V2 rocket from occupied PolandPolandPoland , 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...
to BrindisiBrindisiBrindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city... - :pl:Stanislaw Dunajewski(1900-1985), Polish Army an Armia KrajowaArmia KrajowaThe Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
soldier, imprisoned in PawiakPawiakPawiak was a prison built in 1835 in Warsaw, Poland.During the January 1863 Uprising, it served as a transfer camp for Poles sentenced by Imperial Russia to deportation to Siberia....
, the Founder of the Museum of Mount ŚlężaMount SlezaŚlęża is a mountain in the Sudetes foothills in Lower Silesia, from Wrocław, southern Poland. This natural reserve built mostly of granite is 718 m high and covered with forests....