Bardo, Poland
| Bardo | ||
|---|---|---|
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  Bardo | ||
| Coordinates: 50°31′N 16°44′E / 50.517°N 16.733°E | ||
| Country |
 Poland | |
| Voivodeship | Lower Silesian | |
| County | Ząbkowice Śląskie | |
| Gmina | Bardo | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 4.71 km2 (1.82 sq mi) | |
| Population (2006) | ||
| • Total | 2,860 | |
| • Density | 610/km2 (1,600/sq mi) | |
| Postal code | 57-256 | |
| Website | http://www.bardo.pl/ | |
Bardo [ˈbardɔ] (German: Wartha) is a town in Ząbkowice Śląskie County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Bardo. The town is a widely known place of pilgrimage and adoration of the Virgin Mary.
Bardo lies on the Nysa Kłodzka river, flowing out of the Kłodzko Valley towards the Silesian Lowlands. It is located approximately 10 kilometres (6 mi) south-west of Ząbkowice Śląskie, and 72 kilometres (45 mi) south of the regional capital Wrocław. As at 2006, the town has a population of 2,860.
History
Bardo was founded in the 10th century as a defensive gord on a medieval trade route from Prague across the Sudetes via Kłodzko to Wrocław and Gniezno. The surrounding area was populated by West Slavic tribes and Bardo's castellans were Polish knights. They secured the southern border of the Lower Silesian lands with adjacent Kłodzko Land in Bohemia. In 1096 Duke Bretislaus II of Bohemia captured and devastated the fortress, nevertheless by the mid-12th century, Bardo again was part of the Polish Duchy of Silesia. From 1278 it belonged to the Duchy of Jawor under the Piast duke Bolko I the Strict, from 1321 to the Duchy of Ziębice under Duke Bolko II. With Ziębice, Bardo was vassalized by the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1336.
Its chapel was built in the 10th century, and it was first mentioned in 1189 as being granted to the Knights Hospitaller by the Bishops of Wrocław. In 1210 it passed to the Canons Regular at Kamieniec Abbey. By 1290 the gord had lost its strategic importance and ceased to exist as a castellany and in 1299 the whole area had been bought by the Cistercian order and was owned by them until 1810. The image of the Madonna dates back to the 13th century, probably the oldest in Silesia. The Baroque pilgrimage church was erected between 1686 and 1704.
After the First Silesian War, Bardo along with most of Silesia was annexed by Prussia in 1742. It passed from Germany to Poland at the end of World War II and the German population was expelled. Bardo had gained the status of a town in the early 14th century, but this was lost as the result of the destruction caused by World War II. It became the seat of a gmina in 1954, and was granted town status again in 1969.
Historic buildings still existing in Bardo include the Baroque pilgrimage church with an altarpiece by Michael Willmann and a 15th-century stone bridge across the Nysa River.
External links
- Virtual tour virtually tour the sanctuary
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bardo. |
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Coordinates: 50°31′N 16°44′E / 50.517°N 16.733°E