Wołów | |
---|---|
Country | Poland |
Voivodeship | Lower Silesian |
County | Wołów County |
Gmina | Gmina Wołów |
City charter | around 1285 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Witold Krochmal |
Area | |
• Total | 18.54 km2 (7.16 sq mi) |
Population (2006) | |
• Total | 12,286 |
• Density | 660/km2 (1,700/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal code | 56-100 |
Car plates | DWL |
Website | http://www.wolow.pl |
Wołów [Polish pronunciation: ['] ] (German: Wohlau) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in south-western Poland. It is the seat of Wołów County, and of the smaller administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Wołów. It lies approximately 38 kilometres (24 mi) north-west of the regional capital Wrocław. As at 2006, the town has a population of 12,286.
History
First mentioned in 13th century[1] Wołów received its town charter about 1285. Since 1163 Silesia was ruled by Fürsten dukes , who where installed by the emperor, and the town had various overlords, passing for a time under the suzerainty of the Kingdom of Bohemia. The oldest known seal of the town dates from 1473, which shows an ox, as do all later seals and it is assumed, that the town's name is probably derived from the Polish word wół ("ox"). Until 1675 Wohlau was a residence of the Silesian Piast dukes of Liegnit-Brieg-Wohlau (Legnica-Brzeg-Wołów). The duchy was known as Fürstentum Wohlau or Principality of Wohlau. In 1742 it was annexed by Prussia.
For centuries the nearby Cistercian abbey of Leubus Lubiąż was a cultural centre of Lower Silesia.[2] In January 1945 – just before town was taken by the Red Army – the Wehrmacht evacuated the German population westwards. Already in May 1945 the first Poles – expelled by the Soviets from the eastern part of pre-war Poland – started to settle in Wohlau, now Wołów and Lower Silesia.
References
External links
51°20′29″N 16°37′42″E / 51.34139°N 16.62833°E