Głogówek

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Oberglogau / Głogówek

	(Coat of arms)


Basic Information
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Opole Voivodship
Population	5,731
Founded	before 1212
City rights	1275
Latitude Longitude	50° 22' N 17° 52' E
Area	8.51 mi², 22.06 km²
Agglomeration	14,265
Density	672.6/mi², 259.8/km²
Area code	+48 77
Car plates	OPR
Twin towns	Rietberg, (Germany), Vrbno pod Pradědem, (Czech Republic)
Economy and Traffic
Administration
Mayor	Andrzej Kalamarz

Głogówek / Oberglogau (German: Oberglogau, earlier Klein Glogau or Kraut Glogau, Czech: Horny Glogov) is a city in Poland located in Opole Voivodeship in Upper Silesia. The city lies approximately 35 km (22 mi) from Opole, the capital of the voivodeship, and is about 10 km (6 mi) from the Czech border. The name of the city comes from the Polish word głóg, derived from the German Weißdorn, meaning hawthorn. The plant grew quite thickly in the area when the city was founded.

[edit] History

It is often said that the first historical mention of Oberglogau was in 1076, but this is now know to be false. The Russian sources frequently quoted citing the city's 11th century were misinterpreted, referring instead to a Lower Silesian village, Glogau, with a very similar name. This village, first mentioned in 1010, was located some distance from Oberglogau and later became a fortified castle and major city. However, given the ages of the Russian texts, a mistake in identifying the first historical mentions of the two villages is understandable. At the time, military conflict in the region was common, and the use of the Glogau fortress may very well have inspired the names of smaller villages in the surrounding area, causing the confusion.

The city hall of Oberglogau / Głogówek.

The first unequivocal historical mention of Oberglogau in a Silesian source was in 1212. This source, a list of villages which were in the tithing area of the Leubus Cloister. The village was referred to as "Glogov" in the Latin text, which describes, in some detail, the boundaries of the village. This description could only apply to the present-day village, and is considered to be the first unambiguous mention of Oberglogau / Głogówek, separate from the much larger Glogau to its south. Town privileges were granted to Oberglogau in 1275. Another error in Silesian record-keeping states that Oberglogau, still a fairly small town, as 12 official representatives, a number much too large for a city of that size. Breslau, a much larger city, had only five at the time. The city was later granted German town privileges as well.

In 1327, Oberglogau, like all other Silesian villages, came under Bohemian rule. The town's city rights were renewed again in 1373, this time under the Magdeburg rights provision. In 1379, a church, Saint Bartholomew's, was built. Only a few years later, the duke of Opppeln, Ladislaus II (+1401), built another large cloister in Mochau Pauliner-Wiese, associated with Częstochowa in the area. In 1643, the village was largely destroyed by Swedish invaders. The Polish king Jan Kasimir sought refuge during the invasion by staying in a castle in the village from October 17, 1655 until December 18 of the same year. After the First Silesian War in the 18th century Oberglogau and many others villages in the area came under Prussian control. The village was for the most part destroyed in a large fire in 1765. In addition, Ludwig van Beethoven came to stay in the city's castle, using it to finish his fourth symphony. The city was connected to the railroad network in 1876 when its population, almost completely bilingual stood at 6,000, and by 1880 the population had decreased to 5,000. The population stood at 7,500 at the outbreak of World War II, which destroyed 40% of the city.

[edit] Gmina

Oberglogau / Głogówek is the seat of a Gmina, a Polish administrative division similar to a parish. The Gmina has an area of 170,06 km² (65.66 mi²), and contains the villages of Biedrzychowice, Błażejowice, Cieszniów, Dzierżysławice, Góreczno, Kazimierz, Kazimierz-Anachów, Kierpień, Leśnik, Mionów, Mochów, Nowe Kotkowice, Nowe Kotkowice-Chudoba, Racławice Śląskie, Rzepcze, Stare Kotkowice, Szonów, Tomice, Twardawa, Twardawa-Małkowice, Wierzch, Wróblin, Zawada, Zawada-Bud, Zawada-Golczowice, Zawada-Mucków, Zawada-Sysłów und Zwiastowice. The population of the Gmina is 14,265.