Wałbrzych

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Wałbrzych
Image:POL Wałbrzych flag.svg	Image:POL Wałbrzych COA.svg
(Flag)	(Coat of arms)

Image:Walbrzych Mapa.PNG
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lower Silesian
Mayor	Piotr Kruczkowski
Area	84,79 km²
Population - city - urban - density	127,024 380,000 1498/km²
Founded	before 1305
City rights	before 1426
Car plates	DB
Municipal Website

Wałbrzych (pronounce: Image:Ltspkr.png ['vawbʒix], German: Waldenburg) is a town in south-western Poland with 139,600 inhabitants (1995). Situated in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999), it was previously the capital of Wałbrzych Voivodeship (1975-1998).

1 Etymology
2 History
3 Education
4 Media
5 Politics
- 5.1 Wałbrzych constituency
6 People
7 External links

[edit] Etymology

The Polish name Wałbrzych comes from the Silesian dialect (Walbrich) for the German name Waldenburg. Waldenburg means "forest castle".

[edit] History

The oldest historical records of the city date back to the 12th century. Between the 12th and 14th centuries, during the rule of the Piast princes from the Świdnica-Jawor lineage, the Książ Castle and the Nowy Dwór fortress were built. Wałbrzych was chartered in the 15th century. After the Piast family died out, Wałbrzych became the property of the Silesian knightly families, initially the Schaffgotsches, later the Czettritzes, and from 1738, the Hochberg family, owners of the Książ Castle. Coal mining in the area was first mentioned in 1536. Wałbrzych was transformed into an industrial centre at the turn of the 19th century, when coal mining and weaving flourished. In the early 20th century a glassworks and a large china tableware manufacturing plant, which are still in operation today, were built. After the Second World War, which fortunately spared the city, as a result of combining the nearby administrative districts with the town and the construction of new housing estates, Wałbrzych expanded geographically. At the beginning of the 1990s, because of new social and economic conditions, a decision was made to close down the town's coal mines. In 1995, a Museum of Industry and Technology was set up on the facilities of the oldest coal mine in the area, KWK THOREZ. The 2005 film 'Komornik' was filmed in and around Wałbrzych.