Local history
Information about the town – Polska / opolskie
The initial settlement existed in this place ever since the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries. In the second half of the 13th century a castle was constructed, which was to defend the trade route from Opawa to Nysa. The town rights based on German Law were probably granted in the year 1279. The town had defensive walls by that time[1.1]. In 1327 Prince Władysław Bytomski (1277-1352) paid homage to the King of Czechs and from this date on Prudnik was under Czech rule and followed the political fate of Silesia. In 1373 the Plague broke out in the town and its neighborhood. It is said that all of the Prudnik inhabitants, excluding just a few people who sought shelter in the neighboring Mountains, died during the Plague. In 1526 the King of the Czechs and Hungary, Ludwik II of the Jagiellon Dynasty died without progeny and the thrones were inherited by Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Habsburg. In such a way Prudnik came under Austrian rule. In the 16th century it developed into a major center for crafts and trade. Prudnik linen producers exported their wares to the Netherlands. During the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) the town was plundered and burnt down in 1642 by the Swedish forces. In 1742 the town came under Prussian rule, under the changed name of Neustadt in Oberschlesien. There were 2,905 of inhabitants in Neustadt in 1754 and 3,048 of them as early as 1777[1.2]. The beneficial location at the trade route from Wrocław to Vienna further influence the development of the town. At the beginning of 19th century, the textile industry developed in Neustadt. There were 4,377 inhabitants in the year 1825, 5,911 in 1840, and as many as 9,735 in 1868[1.2]. In 1876 a railway line was opened that connected the town with Nysa and Koźle.
As the result of a 1921 plebiscite the town remained within German borders. A sub-camp of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp existed in the town during World War II. The female prisoners of this camp were forced to work in the textile factory. There were also four forced labor camps in the town. In January, 1945 the town was crossed by marching columns of prisoners evacuating from the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. In March 1945, the Soviet Army captured the town, but SS troops fought until May 1945 in its vicinity. The town itself underwent substantial damages during that period.
The town counts 26 thousand inhabitants (2005).
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[1.1] Johannes Chrząszcz „Historia miasta Prudnik”, Magistrat Neustadt 1912.
[1.2] Augustin Wetzel “Historia miasta Prudnik na Górnym Śląsku”, Wydawnictwo MS Opole 2005. ISBN 83-88945-60-2.
[1.3] Augustin Wetzel “Historia miasta Prudnik na Górnym Śląsku”, Wydawnictwo MS Opole 2005. ISBN 83-88945-60-2.
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