The village of Świętoszów lies on the Kwisa River, a left-bank tributary of the Bóbr, approximately 18 km south of Żagań and 36 km northwest of Bolesławiec, in an extensive pine forest. Świętoszów is situated along the Żagań–Zebrzydowa–Jelenia Góra railway line, which crosses the former Żagań Princely Forest and what is now the Lower Silesian Forest.
Before 1945, Świętoszów was known by the German name Neuhammer, which can be translated as “New Hammer,” “New Forge Hammer,” or “New Smithy.” The name Świętoszów derives from the bog iron ore mined and smelted here and recalls the existence of iron forges in ancient times.
The register of settlements in the Duchy of Żagań contains the first information about Świętoszów as early as 1405, 1550, and 1575. During the Piast era, the lands east of the Kwisa formed part of the Polish state. Following the fragmentation of Poland and the division of Silesia into numerous duchies, they became part of the Duchy of Głogów and later the Duchy of Żagań, up to modern times. The origins of this Lower Silesian settlement have not yet been fully explained. In ancient times, it was probably a forest village located far from important transport and trade routes. Its inhabitants obtained the resources provided by the vast forested areas, hunting wild animals and gathering berries, mushrooms, and honey. Presumably, the village began to develop because of the occurrence and use of bog iron ores. For the forges established here to operate, in addition to the aforementioned iron ore, three further conditions had to be met: a river, forests, and money. The Kwisa, flowing through the village and rich in water, was ideally suited not only for washing bog iron ore but also for powering wheels that operated bellows and blacksmiths’ hammers. Charcoal, burned by woodcutters in the forests and transported by oxen to the ironworks, also played an essential role in the metallurgy of that time. The development of the forges was possible thanks to the financial support presumably provided by the individual owners of the Świętoszów land, which was rich in ore, and who recognized the enormous demand for iron products. Several to a dozen or so craftsmen were involved in the iron-smelting process. From the early Middle Ages, among the pine and oak forests near the settlement of Świętoszów, there were also other seats of blacksmiths, extending east and southwest of Żagań toward Szprotawa and Bolesławiec.
The forges of Żagań and the Świętoszów smithies, located just under 20 km away, reflected the level of metallurgy of that era while also confirming the importance and necessity of the work carried out by master craftsmen and forge apprentices. After the Piasts, the first owners, Świętoszów belonged to the Saxon dukes from 1472 to 1549, and then, from 1549 to 1740, to the Habsburgs. In practice, however, these lands were administered by representatives of old Silesian-Lusatian noble families: von Kottwitz, von Promnitz, von Kittlitz /Kietlitz/, and von Rechenberg, as recorded in old German documents. The Thirty Years’ War /1618–1648/, which began for political and religious reasons, brought an end to the equal status of the Catholic and Protestant denominations and caused a mass exodus.
Part I of the material