Kłodzko

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Kłodzko
	Image:PB Klodzko CoA.png
(Flag)	(Coat of arms)


Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lower Silesian
Municipal government	Rada Miejska w Kłodzku
Mayor	Roman Lipski
Area	25 km²
Population - city - urban - density	30.100 none 1204/km²
Founded	10th century
City rights	after 1253
Latitude Longitude	50°44' N 16°66' E
Area code	+48 74
Car plates	DKL
Twin towns	Carvin, Bensheim, Fleron, Náchod
Municipal Website

Kłodzko (pronounce Image:Ltspkr.png ['kȗɔʣkɔ], Czech: Kladsko, German: Glatz) is a town in southwestern Poland, in Lower Silesia. It is situated in the centre of the Kłodzko Valley, at the shores of Nysa Kłodzka river.

It is the capital of Kłodzko County (Polish: Powiat Kłodzki) and is situated in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship (until 1999 in Wałbrzych Voivodeship). With 30,100 inhabitants (2003) Kłodzko is the main commercial centre as well as an important transport and tourist node for the area. For its historical monuments it is sometimes referred to as Little Prague.

1 History
2 Tourist attractions
3 Education
4 Notes
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Early history

The area of present-day Kłodzko has been populated at least since 1st century BC. There are several archaeological sites both in and around the town that indicate that there must have been a settlement located on the ancient Amber Road that conducted extensive trade relations with the Roman Empire.

The earliest mention of the town itself is in a 12th century chronicle by Cosmas of Prague. He mentions the town of Cladzco as belonging to Sławnik, father of Saint Adalbert, in 961. Initially in Bohemia, the town was also claimed by Poland, which led to a series of conflicts which in turn devastated the city completely by the beginning of 12th century. In 1114 Bohemian prince Sobeslav burnt the town to the ground, but he rebuilt it shortly afterwards. He also rebuilt and strengthened the castle located on a high rock overlooking the town. After the peace treaty of 1137 Bolesław III Wrymouth ceded all claims to the land of Kłodzko to the Crown of Bohemia.

The town was granted rights under a Magdeburg Law between 1253 and 1278, though the exact date is unknown. In 1278 it was taken over by the Duchy of Wrocław, and was therefore considered to be part of the Polish province of Silesia. In 1290 it was sold to the Dukes of Świdnica and then, in 1301, it was sold to the Dukes of Ziębice. However, in 1334 Duke Boleslav II sold the town back to Bohemia. The same year king John of Luxemburg, King of Bohemia relocated the town, which led to a period of fast growth. In 1341 a City House was built, the following year a brick factory was opened and, from 1366, the town has been protected by a group of professional firemen. The town gained significant profits from its location on the ancient road through mountain passes in the Sudetes. Augustian monks were invited to the city and, in 1376, most streets were paved with stone setts. The Augustian Abbey became one of the most important centres of culture in the region and in 1399 the Florian Psalter (Psałterz Floriański, one of the earliest texts in the Polish language) was written there. In 1390 a Gothical stone bridge over Mlynovka (now Młynówka), a local branch of Nysa Kłodzka river) was built by the local prince. Local legend has it that all villages surrounding the town were to deliver 800 eggs for the masons to prepare the grout. One of the villages lacked a decent horse cart to transport the raw eggs and brought boiled eggs instead. The inhabitants of that village were still being mocked because of the story in 1945. During the late Middle Ages the population of the city gradually became Germans, due to the German East Colonisation movement of Germans and Flemings during the Middle Ages, which heavily took place in Kłodzko (Kladsko), like in all of Lower Silesia, Czech Silesia and the Sudetenland.

[edit] 15th to 17th centuries

Kłodzko (Kladsko) developed rapidly until the advent of the Hussite Wars in 15th century. The wars left the town depopulated by plagues, partially burnt and demolished by several consecutive floods. In 1525 the Duchy of Kłodzko became a fief of the Habsburg dynasty, though the local dukes retained their powers. It was not until the 16th century that the local economy went back on track. In 1540 the sewer system was built and in 1549 all the remaining streets were paved while the City House was refurbished. Most of the houses surrounding the town square were rebuilt in a pure renaissance style.

In 1617 the first census was organised in all of the Duchy (Furstheim Glatz). The city itself had approximately 1300 houses and over 7000 inhabitants. However, two years after the census took place the Thirty Years' War started. Between 1619 and 1649 the fortress was besieged several times. Although it was never captured, the city itself was largely destroyed. Over 900 out of 1300 buildings were destroyed by fire and artillery and the population dropped by more than a half. After the war the Austrian authorities put an end to all local self-government and the Duchy of Glatz practically ceased to exist. The city was gradually converted into a small garrison town attached to the ever-growing fortress.

Historical population
of Kłodzko

1620		6,500
1734		4,400
1807		4,549
1809		4,887
1816		5,510
1825		6,187
1834		6,644
1840		7,654
1843		7,777
1849		8,222
1858		13,052
1871		11,545
1880		13,701
1885		13,588
1894		13,501
1900		15,015
1905		16,052
1910		17,121
1912		17,284
2003		30,100

Source: <ref>Dawne Kłodzko. 'Historical Kłodzko'. Retrieved on January 10, 2005.</ref>

[edit] 18th century until WWII

During the War of the Austrian Succession the town changed hands several times, but it was finally conquered by Prussia in 1743 and was annexed in 1763. The construction of the fortress was continued and the (mostly Catholic) inhabitants of Glatz were persecuted by the new Protestant authorities. At the same time the town had to bear the costs of the fortress expansion. Both the town and the fortress were conquered by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807 after a long siege, but it was returned to Prussia shortly afterwards. The restrictions in the city's growth were not withdrawn until 1877, after which the town began another period of fast modernisation and expansion. Some of the forts were demolished, several new bridges were built and new investments started to arrive in Glatz. The town was connected to the rest of Germany by a railway. In 1864 the gas works were built and in 1880 an electric plant was opened. The buildings along the main streets were rebuilt in neo-gothical and neo-renaissance style while the city walls with all their gates were demolished.

The end of the 19th century saw the whole Kłodzko Valley turned into one of the most popular tourist regions. Countless hotels, sanatoria and spa were opened to the public in the nearby towns of Bad Reinerz (Duszniki Zdrój), Habelschwerdt (Bystrzyca Kłodzka), Bad Altheide (Polanica Zdrój) and Bad Landeck (Lądek-Zdrój). The area of the former Duchy became a popular place among the rich bourgeoisie of Breslau (Wrocław), Berlin, Vienna and Kraków. In 1910 the city had 17,121 inhabitants: 13,629 Catholics, 3,324 Protestants and 150 Jews.

From 1936 the Jewish community of Glatz was targeted by waves of anti-Semitism and the authorities sanctioned acts of violence against them. After the Kristallnacht, the mayor of Glatz ordered all Jews to change their names to either Sara or Israel. Most of the Jews emigrated and by 1939 there were only 25 of them left. In 1938 Glatz was severely damaged by "the flooding of the century", but the damage done was quickly repaired.

[edit] WWII until now

Image:Kłodzko p.jpg

During the World War II the fortress was changed into a prison. At first it was administered by the Abwehr, but was soon taken over by Gestapo who made it into one of the most cruel places of detention in whole Silesia. It was also used as a POW camp for officers of various nationalities. Since 1944 the casemates housed the AEG arms factory evacuated from Łódź. The slave labourers were kept in the stronghold which was turned into one of the sub-camps of Gross-Rosen concentration camp.

The town itself was not damaged by the war and was taken over by the Red Army without much opposition. However, shortly after the war the Kłodzko Valley became a scene of Wehrwolf activities. The Nazis managed to blow up all the bridges in Kłodzko, the only one to survive was the gothical stone bridge erected in 1390. After the capitulation of Germany the town was given to Poland. Glatz returned to its Polish name Kłodzko and most of the German inhabitants of the city were expelled. As a consequence, virtually all of the population was deportated. At the same time the area was repopulated by Red Army and Polish Communist authorities, with Poles expelled from the ex-Polish territories annexed by the Soviet Union in the east.

In the 1950s and 1960s much of the city centre was damaged by landslides. It turned out that throughout the city's history whole generations of Kłodzko's merchants developed an extensive net of underground basements and tunnels. They were used for storage and, in times of trouble, as a safe shelter from the artillery fire. With time the tunnels were forgotten, especially after the original German population was removed, and during the years after WWII many of them started to collapse - together with the houses above. Since the 1970s the tunnels were conserved and the destruction of the city was stopped. Another disaster happened in 1997 when the city was damaged by a flooding even greater than that of 1938. However, the city quickly recovered.

Currently Kłodzko is one of the most important centres of culture, commerce and tourism in Lower Silesia. It is again popular with German nostalgic tourists and among younger tourists for its winter sports' facilities.

[edit] Tourist attractions

Stronghold - a unique fortress on a high rock overlooking the city, constructed since 9th century. Since the times of Friedrich the Great it was one of the biggest fortresses in Prussia.
Gothical bridge - often called a "Charles Bridge in miniature" due to its resemblance to one of the most notable historical monuments of Prague
Tunnels - parts of the tunnels constructed under the city since 13th century are open for the public
Assumption Church - one of the most notable examples of Gothic architecture in Poland, constructed by the Joannites in 14th century