| Oleśnica | |||
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| Wrocław gate | |||
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| Motto: Miasto w dobrym stylu A town in good style |
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Oleśnica
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Poland | ||
| Voivodeship | Lower Silesian | ||
| County | Oleśnica County | ||
| Gmina | Oleśnica (urban gmina) | ||
| Established | 13th century | ||
| Town rights | 1255 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Jan Bronś | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 20.96 km2 (8.1 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 150 m (492 ft) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| • Total | 36,951 | ||
| • Density | 1,762.9/km2 (4,566/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 56-400 | ||
| Area code(s) | +48 71 | ||
| Car plates | DOL | ||
| Website | http://www.olesnica.pl | ||
Oleśnica [ɔlɛɕˈnit͡sa] (German: Oels or Öls) is a town in the Trzebnickie Hills in southwestern Poland with 36,951 inhabitants (2006). It is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (from 1975–1998 it was in the former Wrocław Voivodeship). It is the seat of Oleśnica County, and also of the rural district of Gmina Oleśnica (although it is not part of the territory of the latter, the town being an urban gmina in its own right).
The city has been part of an important trade route between Wrocław and the Greater Poland region, and had close ties with Kraków. It was the site of an important printing press and gymnasium. From the 13th century, it had a coin mint.
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The town's name comes from the world Olcha(Alder), in the past it was named Olesznica. Olcha is a slavic word for this common plant and tree[1][2]
The ducal castle with a nearby trading settlement was first mentioned in 1189. In the 13th century, the area was settled by Germans.[3] On 22 February 1255, the village received city rights (Civitatem nostram Olesnicz)[4] from Henryk III the White, son of Henry II the Pious. From 1320 it was the capital of the Duchy of Oleśnica and the seat of Konrad of Oleśnica. After the 1492 death of Konrad Biały Młodszy, last of the local Piast dynasty, the duchy was sold to the Bohemian Poděbrady dynasty. In 1647 was inherited by the Dukes of Württemberg, and in the 18th century by the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
As Oels, the city was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1742 during the First Silesian War and administered within the Province of Silesia. Following administrative reform in 1807 during the Napoleonic Wars, Oels became the seat of Landkreis Oels. The city became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany.
After World War I, Oels was included within the Province of Lower Silesia. It was heavily damaged by the Red Army in 1945 during World War II, having approximately 60-80% of its buildings destroyed. The city was placed in Poland's borders after the Potsdam Conference and its official name became Oleśnica. The remaining German-speaking population was subsequently expelled and resettled with Poles many of whom were expelled from Eastern Poland annexed in 1945 by the Soviet Union.
Oleśnica is twinned with:
| Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article Öls. |
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