The year 1392 brought a fundamental change to the lives of the inhabitants of Bolesławiec. Together with the entire Duchy of Jawor–Świdnica, they came under the rule of the Luxembourgs, who ruled the Bohemian Crown. Initially, the townspeople’s lives continued normally, but they were increasingly interrupted by attacks by armed knight-robbers. During one such attack, the town lost 10 armed guards. In this situation, the town councillors decided to join an alliance of 14 Silesian towns against the knight-robbers. This all took place in 1398, and it seemed that a long-awaited period of peace would now begin, especially since King Wenceslaus of Luxembourg had confirmed the town’s privileges. Unfortunately, Bolesławiec was hit by Hussite incursions. As early as 1427, they occupied all the surrounding localities, but the town itself managed to save itself by paying a ransom. It was excellent beer, widely known for its quality. Two years later, on hearing that the Hussites were approaching, the wealthy townspeople left Bolesławiec. The town was captured, and in retaliation for the inhabitants’ conduct, a ransom of 900 Prague groschen was imposed. Hostages were held in the Czech town of Jaroměř as security for payment. In addition, the Hussites partially destroyed the town; the town gates suffered particularly badly. With difficulty, the people of Bolesławiec paid the ransom and gradually began rebuilding their houses. To protect themselves against further raids, they concluded an agreement with Lwówek to provide mutual assistance in the event of an attack.
The losses suffered in the Hussite Wars, compounded by fires, were alleviated by the provisions of Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg, under which Bolesławiec was exempted from taxes and customs duties. A few years later, the privilege of the salt markets was confirmed. Salt was imported from Poland and Saxony. To obtain additional revenue for the municipal treasury, the Town Council replaced corporal punishment with financial penalties. The town used these revenues to repay its debts.
The period of peace made it possible to expand the town. Vacant plots were quickly built up, and subsequent arrivals had to construct their homes outside the line of the town walls. In this way, three suburbs arose along the main roads leading out of the town: Upper, Lower and Mikołajskie.
The Mikołajskie Suburb was inhabited by miners employed in a gold mine. It contained a cloth dyehouse, a hospital, a pepper mill, a cemetery and three ponds: Upper, Castle (with sluices) and Gallows.
The Upper Suburb lay in the eastern part of the town. It contained a pottery workshop and a shooting range; later, in the 17th century, a brickworks was built there.
The Lower Suburb was the largest. It contained four pottery workshops, a paper mill, a sawmill, a wood-grinding workshop, a fulling mill, a “sand” mill, and the “upper” and “lower” mills, together known as the “great mill.”
Public buildings were constructed in the town itself. As early as 1452, there is evidence of a school whose patronage rights were held by the Town Council. In 1531, work began on a sewage system. The installations ran behind the plots through covered conduits, and because the town stood on a gentle slope descending westward, the sewage was directed naturally into the Bóbr.
In 1554, the town took over the Dominican monastery and converted it into a hospital. In 1558, the first pharmacy was organised and opened. The strengthening of street surfaces had begun as early as the 13th century, by placing loose stones in the most boggy areas. From the mid-17th century, not only the main routes but also the side streets were systematically paved. The town councillors also took care of their seat.
In 1525, construction began on a new town hall; the work lasted 10 years. In later years, the building was beautified by covering parts of the rooms in use with sandstone tiles and paintings.
Like in the Piast era, the inhabitants of Bolesławiec were engaged in trade and brewing, but new branches of the economy also emerged. In the mid-16th century, the largest guild was that of cloth-makers. Around 700 people practised this craft. Blacksmithing and locksmithing also played a significant role. The blacksmiths had their own guild, and their considerable growth was undoubtedly connected with the revival of production at suburban forges, which supplied large quantities of iron raw material. Pottery workshops arose on the basis of rich deposits of ceramic clay. The potters’ guild, however, was not numerous, and its members were not wealthy. The 1563 register of Bolesławiec residents, listing house owners and the amount of weapons they possessed, makes no mention of potters. The population grew, and in the mid-16th century the town had 3,450 inhabitants. This magnificent period of development was brutally interrupted by external events.
In 1618, an uprising against the ruling Habsburg dynasty broke out in Bohemia. The Thirty Years’ War began (1618–1648). In its first period, it halted Bolesławiec’s development but did not involve the town in military operations. Only the second period of the war proved catastrophic.
Its convenient location on the main road by the ford across the Bóbr, under wartime conditions, was blessed with the Blessed Sacrament. The Sisters lived in the parish house dedicated to St Stephen at 1 Zacisze Street, then in the house dedicated to St Jadwiga next to the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After a year, the Town Office assigned the Sisters two facilities: one in the village of Łaziska and another in Bolesławiec at 23 Świerczewskiego Street (now 27 Zgorzelecka Street). A year later, on 23 September 1947, another four Polish Adorers Sisters arrived from Yugoslavia.
The Sisters gradually adapted to the new conditions they found in Bolesławiec and shared their fate with the local community, which was well disposed towards them. In October 1947, the Sisters were already able to enjoy their own chapel and the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. During the first years of their stay in the Recovered Territories, they shared in the difficult post-war reconstruction. Among other things, they ran a farm in Łaziska and cultivated a garden in Bolesławiec. At the same time, the Sisters taught children and young people to play musical instruments, prepared theatrical performances and ran a kindergarten. During this period, Sister Kalista Zielonka made a significant contribution to building and developing the Polish Province of the Congregation. It was thanks to her that the Novitiate, and subsequently the Province, were opened.
A very important date in the history of the Adorers Sisters of Bolesławiec was 1965, when the Polish Province of the Congregation of the Adorers Sisters of the Blood of Christ was canonically erected, with its seat in Bolesławiec. Sister Miriam Jaskot was appointed its first Provincial Superior. During this period, the Sisters were already working as catechists, while also engaging in embroidery and sewing liturgical vestments. However, catechesis received the greatest attention. Therefore, the next Provincial Superior, Sr Kalista Zielonka, placed great emphasis on educating a cadre of catechists.
In subsequent years, when Sr Zofia Zawadzka became Provincial Superior, the Congregation began joining the oasis movement and leading the Community of the Blood of Christ. Through this work, devotion to the Most Precious Blood was introduced in other regions of Poland. In the 1980s, the Sisters undertook studies and further education at Catholic universities in Poland. From then on, they studied at the Catholic University of Lublin, the Academy of Catholic Theology in Warsaw and the Pontifical Faculty of Theology in Wrocław.
Wishing to fulfil the missionary directives of their Foundress, the Adorers Sisters of Bolesławiec, through the efforts of Provincial Superior Sr Teresa Kulik, travelled to Ukraine and distant Siberia in 1992 to proclaim there as well the truth about the healing power of the Blood of Christ. Today, the mother community of the Adorers Sisters in Bolesławiec has religious houses in Poland in Wrocław, Częstochowa, Zawidów, Zakopane, Warsaw and Poznań. Their apostolic aim is to share with their neighbours the fruits of Redemption through evangelisation and love. In accordance with the principles of Blessed Maria Mattias, the Adorers Sisters direct their prayer and work towards evangelising children and young people, providing spiritual guidance to families, and serving the sick.
As we celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Adorers Sisters, we wish them that wherever they work and carry out their apostolate, they may proclaim the Joy that flows from the Salvation of Jesus Christ.