Grodków

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Grodków

Flag

Coat of arms

Grodków

Coordinates: 50°41′N 17°22′E / 50.683, 17.367

Country

Poland

Government

- Mayor

Marek Andrzej Antoniewicz

Area

- Total

9.88 km² (3.8 sq mi)

Population (2006)

- Total

8,771

- Density

887.8/km² (2,299.3/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

- Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Postal code

49-200

Car plates

Website: http://www.grodkow.pl

Grodków [ˈgrɔtkuf] (German: Grottkau (help·info)) is a town in Opole Voivodeship in Poland. It has approximately 9,100 inhabitants and lies 20 km south of Brzeg.

Grodków was granted city rights in 1268 by Duke Henryk IV Probus. The methodically planned medieval townscape was characterized by a rectangular ring and four streets leading to the towers of the town gates.

Historically it was the seat of a homonymous Silesian duchy, which was bought by a bishop of Wrocław from Duke Bolesław of Brieg and added to the episcopal territory of Nysa. The Prince-bishops of Wrocław had, therefore, after this the temporal princely titles of Prince of Nysa and Duke of Grodków, and took precedence of the other Silesian rulers. In 1687 Silvius Leopold Weiss was born in Grodków.

The Prussian garrison of the town was disbanded in 1920. The town had 4,867 inhabitants in 1939 and was the seat of Landkreis Grottkau until 1945; in that year Grodków was transferred from Germany to Poland.

Two of the town gate towers remain standing today.