Zawidów

Place in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

Coat of arms

51°1′N 15°4′E / 51.017°N 15.067°E / 51.017; 15.067Country

PolandVoivodeship

Lower SilesianCountyZgorzelecGminaZawidów (urban gmina)First mentioned1186Town rights1369Government

• MayorRobert ŁężnyArea

• Total6.07 km² (2.34 sq mi)Elevation

245 m (804 ft)Population

(2019-06-30^[1])

• Total4,180 • Density701.6/km² (1,817/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+1 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)Postal code

59-970

Area code+48 75Vehicle registrationDZGWebsitehttp://www.zawidow.info

Zawidów [zaˈvʲiduf] (German: Seidenberg) is a town in Zgorzelec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, at the Czech border.

The town lies some 14 kilometres (9 mi) south-south-east of Zgorzelec and 139 kilometres (86 mi) west of the regional capital, Wrocław. As of 2019, the town had a population of 4,180.

History

In the Early Middle Ages, Zawidów was a stronghold of the Bieżuńczanie tribe,^[2] one of the old Polish tribes.^[3] In the early 11th century it was included in the early Polish state by Bolesław I the Brave. The settlement was first mentioned in 1186.^[4] In the 14th century it became part of the Bohemian (Czech) Kingdom. It was granted town rights in 1369.^[4] In 1397 a school was founded.^[4] The town suffered from fires in 1427, 1433, 1469, 1769 and 1834.^[4] In 1635 it passed to the Electorate of Saxony and from 1697 was also under the rule of the Kings of Poland. As a result of the Thirty Years' War, Protestants from the Czech Kingdom settled there.^[5]

In 1815 it fell to Prussia, and between 1871 and 1945 it was part of unified Germany. During World War II the German administration confiscated two historic church bells from the local church for armaments.^[6] After World War II, the town became again part of Poland under the terms of the post-war Potsdam Agreement.

The old church bells survived the war; however, they are now located in churches in Stuttgart and Ulm in Germany.^[6]

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1890	2,605	—
1900	2,659	+2.1%
1910	2,769	+4.1%
1925	2,579	−6.9%

Year	Pop.	±%
1939	2,645	+2.6%
1950	1,545	−41.6%
1960	2,941	+90.4%
2010	4,301	+46.2%

Source: ^[7]^[8]

Sports

The local football team is Piast Zawidów.^[9] It competes in the lower leagues.

References

^ "Population. Size and structure and vital statistics in Poland by territorial division in 2019. As of 30th June". stat.gov.pl. Statistics Poland. 2019-10-15. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
^ Bena, Waldemar (2006). Szlakiem grodzisk słowiańskich i średniowiecznych zamków (in Polish and German). Zgorzelec. pp. 9–10.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ "Plemiona polskie". Encyklopedia Internautica (in Polish). Retrieved 26 December 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Zawidów". Jizerské hory (in Czech). 27 January 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
^ "Zawidów". Encyklopedia PWN (in Polish). Retrieved 15 October 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Z historii Zawidowa: Gdzie są dzwony z wieży kościoła ewangelickiego?". zawidow.eu (in Polish). 21 August 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
^ Dokumentacja Geograficzna (in Polish). Vol. 3/4. Warszawa: Instytut Geografii Polskiej Akademii Nauk. 1967. p. 60.
^ Stan i struktura ludności oraz ruch naturalny w przekroju terytorialnym w 2010 r. (PDF) (in Polish). Warszawa: Główny Urząd Statystyczny. 2011. p. 50. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2011.
^ "KS Piast Zawidów - nieoficjalna strona klubu" (in Polish). Retrieved 26 December 2020.