Prudnik
Prudnik is a town in Poland, located in the southern part of Opole Voivodeship near the border with the Czech Republic. It is the administrative seat of Prudnik County and Gmina Prudnik. Its population numbers 21,368 inhabitants. Since 2015, Prudnik is a member of the Cittaslow International.
The town was founded in the 1250s, and was historically part of the Polish-ruled Duchy of Opole, and afterwards was located within the Habsburg Monarchy, Poland, Habsburg Monarchy again, Prussia, Germany, and eventually Poland again. It was once an important industrial hub known for its shoe-making traditions and more recently towel making by the ZPB "Frotex" Company, one of the largest towel manufacturers in Europe. The town also possesses numerous architectural monuments and historic buildings such as the Main Town Hall and "Wok's Tower" from the 14th-century.
Geography
Prudnik is located in the historic Silesia region at the confluence of the Prudnik river and its Złoty Potok tributary. The city is situated on the border of Opawskie Mountains and the Głubczyce Plateau. Prudnik and Vrbno pod Pradědem are headquarters of the Euroregion Praděd.Etymology
The name "Prudnik" was created after Polish word prąd and, like nearby Prężyna, means a river with a fast stream. In the Middle Ages, the city's name was writted with a letter u, which was Czech counterpart of ą. Since 17th century, the name Prudnik was used along with Neustadt.The town's German name was also written in its Latin form Neostadium. Sometimes its Polish and Czech translations were used. The town's older name also had its Latin form. The town was also called Polnisch Neustadt, but in 1708 it got replaced with Königliche Stadt Neustadt. Its Polish counterpart Nowe Miasto Królewskie was used in a Polish document published in 1750 by Frederick the Great.
In the 19th century, the city's name was changed to Neustadt in Oberschlesien, while the Slavic name Prudnik was still used by its Polish inhabitants, which was mentioned in Upper Silesia's topographical description from 1865: "Der ursprünglische Stadtname „Prudnik" ist noch jetz bei den polnischen Landbewohnern üblich". In the alphabetic list of cities of Silesia published by Johann Knie in Wrocław in 1830, Polish name Prudnik was used along with German Neustadt.
In Polish publications since the 20th century, the city's name was written as Prądnik. This name was also used formally in 1945. The city's name was changed to Prudnik on 7 May 1946.
In Polish, the city name has masculine grammatical gender.
History
Middle Ages
The first human traces in the present town area are dated to the Neolithic times. In 1259 the Czech knight Wok of Rosenberg founded in the defensive bend of the Prudnik river a castle, and his son Jindřich obtained the city rights in 1279. In 1337 it became a part of the Duchy of Opole, and remained under the rule of local Polish dukes of the Piast dynasty until the dissolution of the duchy in 1532, when it was incorporated into the Austrian-ruled Bohemian Crown. It was located on a trade route between Wrocław and Vienna.Early modern era
In 1562, the Austrian-ruled Duchy of Opole and Racibórz passed a resolution that obligated Jews to sell their houses, pay their debts, and leave the duchy in a year. On the basis of this resolution, in 1564, Jews were ordered to leave Prudnik, but Krzysztof Prószkowski, who leased the land there, let them stay until 1570. The town was captured and plundered by the Swedes in 1632, during the Thirty Years' War. In 1645 along with Opole and Racibórz it returned to Poland under the House of Vasa, and in 1666 it fell to Austria again.In 1742 the town was incorporated into Prussia. During the Seven Years' War it was the scene of a bloody surprise attack upon the Prussians as they were marching out of the city. The London Gazette of 25 March 1760 reported "General Laudohn, who had set out from his Quarters on 14th with Palfy's Regiment of Cuirassiers, Lowenstein's Dragoons, 500 Hussars of Nadaski, 500 of Kalnocki, 2000 Croats and 14 Companies of Grenadiers, marched all Night with a View to surprise our Troops at Neustadt. The latter were scarce out of the Gates, when they were surrounded by those of the Enemy. General Jacquemin was posted with the Regiment of Lowenstein near Buchelsdorff on the road to Steinau, General Laudohn followed with the Regiment of Palfy and 2000 Croats, supported by 14 Companies of Grenadiers; a thousand of their Hussars were upon our right flank, the advanced Guard of which consisted of 100 Men under Capt. Blumenthal of the Regiment of Manteuffel. Capt Zitzewitz commanded the Rear Guard, consisting of the same number; and the rest of the aforesaid regiment, with a Squadron of Dragoons of Bareith under Capt. Chambaud, followed with the Baggage. General Laudohn summoned out Troops twice, by Sound of Trumpet, to lay down their Arms; which they not complying with, he ordered all his Cavalry to advance: Whereupon General Jacquemin fell upon the advance Guard, while General Laudohn himself attacked the Rear, and the Hussars, in Platoons, flanked the Baggage. The Captains Blumenthal and Zittzwitz formed their small Force in a Kind of Square, from whence they kept a continual fire. The enemy's Cavalry nevertheless advanced six Times on a Gallop, to within ten Paces of our Troops; but perceiving many fall on their Side, among whom were several Officers, they retreated in great Disorder... The Loss of the Austrians however greatly exceeds ours; they buried above 300 Men, in different Places, and sent 500 Wounded to Neustadt. Besides which we have taken 25 Prisoners, amongst whom are several Officers. We had 35 men killed, and four Officers and 65 private Men wounded, in Manteuffel's Regiment, as also one Lieutenant, with three Dragoons in Bareich's... The Officers, taken Prisoners, by our Troops, commend highly the Bravery of the Regiment of Manteuffel upon this Occasion."
In the subsequent years, the area developed into a significant centre of handcraft, in particular cloth production and shoe-making. In the 19th century, the surrounding factories continued the local tradition of handicraft. The indigenous Polish population was subject to Germanisation policies. Due to the lack of Polish schools, local Poles sent their children to schools in so-called Congress Poland in the Russian Partition of Poland. Local Polish activist, publicist and teacher, was investigated by the local Prussian administration and police for writing about this practice in the Gazeta Toruńska, a major Polish newspaper in the Prussian Partition of Poland.
Interbellum and World War II
Prudnik remained part of Germany after Poland regained independence in 1918, however, Polish organizations still operated in the town in the interbellum, including the Union of Poles in Germany and the Polish-Catholic School Society. In a secret Sicherheitsdienst report from 1934, Prudnik was named one of the main centers of the Polish movement in western Upper Silesia. Nazi Germany increasingly persecuted local Polish activists since 1937, and carried out mass arrests in August and September 1939. On 7 September 1938, Prudnik was visited by Adolf Hitler along with Hermann Göring, Heinrich Himmler, Gerd von Rundstedt, Erhard Milch, Hans-Jürgen Stumpff, Josef Wagner and Hellmut Körner.During World War II the Germans established four forced labour camps and four working units for British and Soviet prisoners of war. On 26 September 1944, a sub-camp of Auschwitz in Prudnik / Neustadt O.S' was founded in the Schlesische Feinweberei AG textile mill. Neustadt was a stopping place on a death march during final months of World War II, for prisoners-of-war transferred by the Nazis from all over Europe to stalags built in occupied Poland. About 30,000 Allied PoWs were force-marched westward across Poland, Czechoslovakia and Germany in winter conditions, lasting about four months from January to April 1945. The Red Army captured Neustadt on 18 March 1945.
In modern Poland
After the end of the Second World War in 1945, Neustadt was transferred from Germany to Poland according to the Potsdam Conference, and given its original Polish name of Prądnik. The remaining German population was expelled and replaced by Polish settlers and refugees transferred from the Kresy in the former Polish eastern territories annexed by the Soviet Union. The city's name was changed to Prudnik in 1946.In September 1980, 1500 workers of ZPB "Frotex" and firefighters from Prudnik's fire brigade went on the biggest anti-communist strike in Opole Voivodeship. The strike lasted 5 days.
Historical population
SightsPrudnik is a town rich in historic architecture from various periods. Among its sights are:
Preschools
Catholic Church">Catholic Church in Poland">Catholic ChurchPrudnik Deanery
Sports venues
Currently, the major industrial plants in Prudnik are:
Born in Prudnik
Other residents
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