Many cities aspire to have their own monographs. Bolesławiec still faces this challenge. Some things about the city’s past have nevertheless been written and said in recent years. The publishing series “Silesia in Works of Art” featured a publication by Janusz Bachmiński entitled “Bolesławiec” in 1970, while in 1985 the Lower Silesian Social and Cultural Association published Paweł Śliwko’s work “Bolesławiec Today and Tomorrow.”
Dissatisfied with these popular works, Bolesławiec enthusiasts attempted in the 1980s to prepare a detailed popular-scientific study. The then Teacher Training Branch in Jelenia Góra and the Karkonosze Scientific Society provided scientific, organizational and financial support for these efforts.
The result of several years of work was two popular-scientific sessions at which materials prepared under the academic supervision of Associate Professor Jan Kwak were presented.
The first took place on 10 May 1986 at the Youth Cultural Centre. Participants received the following texts:
- Bogdan Czyżewski, On Góra Polaków, or the Beginnings of Bolesławiec Based on Local Chronicles.
- Barbara Berduła, An Outline of the History of Bolesławiec up to 1742.
- Barbara Rejwerska, Teresa Wolanin, Bolesławiec Stoneware.
- Edmund Maliński, Education in Bolesławiec in 1945–1985.
- Jan Paździora, “Konrad” Mining Works.
- Bogusław Sendecki, “Wizów” Chemical Works. “Polfa” Vial and Ampoule Factory.
- Józef Kłosowski, Healthcare in 1945–1985.
- Zygmunt Prorok, Voivodeship Hospital for the Nervously and Mentally Ill.
- Stanisława Opala, Characteristics of the Language of Repatriates from Yugoslavia.
- Aleksandra Kornosz-Skorupa, Bolesławiec Craftsmanship during the Forty Years of the Polish People’s Republic.
- Władysław Suchoń, A Historical Outline of Sport in Bolesławiec.
The second session took place on 12 December 1987 at the Bolesławiec Cultural Centre. The following texts were presented:
- Longin Łukawski, The Geographical Environment.
- Jan Kwak, Bolesławiec in Prussian Times.
- Zygmunt Bobowski, Bolesławiec Industry.
- Wojciech Kapałczyński, Bolesławiec Art Monuments.
The reorganization of methodological advising—the closure of the Teacher Training Branch in Jelenia Góra—and financial difficulties meant that the work was halted at that point. Will an author or team of authors be found to carry this work forward? There are many Bolesławiec enthusiasts. Historians are among them.
Perhaps Mr. Włodzimierz Kowalski, who in May 1988 presented an extensive text of 167 pages entitled “Traditions of the Polish Military in the Bolesławiec Region,” will find followers?
And perhaps the municipal authorities will then take an interest in this idea and provide the necessary financial support?
Occupied with the matters brought by everyday life, we forget that the beginnings of our city—which we know so well and about which we might think we already know everything—reach deep into the Middle Ages, to the beginnings of the Piast state.
Let us therefore return to the beginning of the 13th century: it was then that the name Bolesławiec appeared in written sources as the site of a fortified settlement and a castellan’s seat. Castellans Nankier and Stefan, known as the Great, held office on behalf of the Silesian Duke Henry I the Bearded. But the fortified settlement guarding the crossing on the Bóbr was not yet a town.
The year 1251 brought the town’s foundation under German law. At that time, town rights were granted to former artisan suburbs and market settlements, since they already had relatively developed economic life and certain legal forms. The foundation was carried out by the Duke of Legnica, Bolesław the Bald, also known as Rogatka. He granted town rights to the artisan-trading settlement located on the right bank of the river. The former fortified settlement on the left bank lost its importance.
The granting of town rights led to the organization of administrative and judicial authorities. A chancery was organized and the possibility of issuing documents arose, but a town seal was necessary. An emblem had to be chosen and a seal inscription established. Three gates led into the town, and the coat of arms expressed the roads leading in three directions. It depicts a fortress gate topped by three towers. A shield bearing an eagle is visible in the gate. The seal inscription reads: “SIGILLVM. BURGENSIVM. BOLESLAV. CIVITATIS”. The town underwent intensive development. The market square formed its central point. Streets were laid out along its transverse axis. Building plots were generally similar in size, reflecting the town authorities’ concern for maintaining order in the development. Initially, buildings were made entirely of wood, but numerous fires led people to seek other materials and increasingly use stone. In 1243–1261, a parish church was built of stone; it was a foundation of Saint Hedwig of Silesia.
The inhabitants of Bolesławiec engaged in trade. Markets were held here at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries and in subsequent years. A ducal customs chamber existed from 1251 to 1330.
Three trade routes ran through the town: from Wrocław to Leipzig; from Wrocław to Lwówek and onward west to Prague and east to Jelenia Góra; and from Szprotawa to Lwówek Śląski.
Bolesławiec merchants maintained relations with the rest of the Polish lands. They imported tallow and wool and exported cloth. During the Piast era, the town was the largest salt market in Silesia. Resourceful townspeople, taking advantage of its location on an international route, made enormous profits from brewing.
Trade and brewing were not the only factors behind the enrichment of Bolesławiec’s inhabitants. Although the town’s fortunes unfolded far from the succession struggles of the Silesian Piasts, this did not prevent the townspeople from taking advantage of opportunities to acquire, through pledges or leases without fixed terms, former castellany lands from perpetually indebted Silesian princes in need of money.
The town’s sources of wealth were diverse and also included income from exploiting the relatively poor gold mines located in the area.
The Bolesławiec castellany was fairly densely settled by Poles. In the 13th century, 36 localities near Bolesławiec bore distinctly Polish names. The town’s population was also Polish, as evidenced by 14th-century surnames.
The year 1392 brought the end of Piast rule throughout the Duchy of Jawor and Świdnica. Under earlier agreements, both duchies came under the direct authority of the Bohemian Crown. Bolko II of Świdnica and his wife Agnes were the last Piast rulers of the town on the Bóbr. This was nevertheless a very important period in Bolesławiec’s history. The town owed its foundation to the Polish Piast rulers. It owed them the establishment of the fortified settlement to defend the crossing on the Bóbr, the creation of the castellany and its foundation under German law.
These Piast traditions form a strong thread in Bolesławiec’s history across the centuries.