Duchy of Oels

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Detailed map of the Duchy of Oleśnica by Pieter Schenk ca 1720, entitled ‘DUCATUS IN SILESIA INFERIORE OLSNENSIS NOVISSIMA DELINEATIO....’ Scene with Roman warrior in top right corner, and a view of the city of Oleśnica (Olsnensis) in the lower right corner

The Duchy of Oels or Duchy of Oleśnica (Latin: Ducatus Olsnensis, German: Herzogtum Oels, Polish: Księstwo Oleśnickie) was one of the duchies of Silesia, with the capital in Oleśnica,^[1] Poland.^[2]

Initially part of the Duchy of Wrocław, it later became part of Duchy of Głogów following a conflict between Henryk III Głogowczyk and Henryk V Brzuchaty. It gained significant autonomy in 1313 during the division of the Duchy of Głogów. Soon afterwards it passed from the influence of Poland to Bohemia. The local branch of Silesian Piasts died out by 15th century. After the 1492 death of Konrad Biały Młodszy, last of the local Piast dynasty, the duchy was sold to the Bohemian Podebrad dynasty. In 1647 it was inherited by the dukes of Württemberg, and in the 18th century by the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg. The duchy, under various rulers, remained under the Crown of Bohemia until the 18th century Silesian Wars, when it was conquered by the Kingdom of Prussia.

[edit] Notes

^ (Polish) (English) Panorama miast, Oleśnica Accessed 2008-01-04. "Oleśnica had been an important trade settlement and the capital of a Duchy, undergoing its prime development during the Renaissance period."
^ Zofia Uszyńska, University of Michigan, Poland, Travel Guide Publisher: AGPOL, 1960. Digitized Nov 13, 2006. Accessed 2008-01-04. "Oleśnica used to be the capital of the Duchy of Oleśnica, which was ruled until the end of the 15th c. by Polish dukes of the Piast dynasty."