As we all know, Bolesław I, the Great Duke of Silesia, was the founder of our settlement, so it is worth presenting this ruler’s profile in greater detail. He was probably born in 1130, and his parents were Władysław, son of Bolesław the Wrymouth, and Agnes, sister of the German emperor Ridolf. He was therefore the direct grandson of the brave and outstanding ruler of Poland—but did he inherit these qualities from his illustrious grandfather?
As a young man, he led a lively and interesting life. He travelled around the world with his imperial relatives, took part in the crusade to the Holy Land in 1147, and participated in Frederick Barbarossa’s Italian wars. At the age of 12 (!) he was married to the Kievan princess Zwienisława, which at the time was nothing extraordinary. Such marriages were often contracted for political reasons. It should only be added that this union was not a happy one for our Bolko, because the son of this marriage—Jarosław—later became his sworn enemy, and Bolesław married for a second time. This took place during the period of the fragmentation of Poland into districts. The heirs of Bolesław the Wrymouth fought one another, and Bolesław the Tall also joined the rivalry; he was even forced to seek refuge at the imperial court from his relatives. In 1163, a temporary peace came to the Piast family, and Bolesław’s uncles granted him the whole of Lower and Central Silesia, with Opole and Lubusz, to rule. Bolesław might have ruled his lands peacefully if not for his brothers, who considered themselves wronged and once again started a fraternal war in 1177.
Bolesław’s younger brother Mieszko, unwilling to be satisfied with the castellanies granted to him—Cieszyn and Racibórz—began military operations, and Bolesław’s son Jarosław joined him. Once again, Bolesław had to flee the country to Germany. Only the emperor’s intervention forced the opposing sides to reconcile, and Bolesław the Tall returned to Lower Silesia. However, his son took power in the Opole region, while his second brother Konrad received the Duchy of Głogów together with Legnica.
In this way, the formerly great district of Silesia was divided into several parts, and over time into ever smaller “mini-states” among the expanding family of Piast the Wheelwright’s descendants. Such a significant fragmentation of Silesia facilitated the expansion of the German element into these lands, and the consequences of this phenomenon weigh upon Poland to this day.
Bolesław perhaps understood the threat from Germany most clearly, because the Bóbr River formed the western border of Silesia as early as the 10th century, when the Slavic tribe of the Dziadoszans lived here. Probably guided by these considerations, Bolesław strengthened the old fortified settlement and in 1190 granted it town rights. It is from this very year that we officially, as it were, date the history of our town.
Let us return, however, to the biography of our hero, who was given the name the Tall by posterity because he was indeed a tall man. His unfortunate brother went down in history as Mieszko Tanglefoot (he was partially paralysed), and medieval people in general did not show excessive tenderness towards their rulers, ruthlessly calling them what they deserved. That is why in the history of Poland we encounter nicknames such as Bolesław the Wrymouth, Leszek the White, Władysław Spindleshanks, the Short, Henry the Fat, the Bearded, and so on.
Bolesław I the Tall dreamed of acquiring the seniorate district of Kraków and thus supreme power in the country, possibly ultimately the royal crown. It is a pity that he did not achieve this, but he had ambitions. He was the first to use the title “Duke of Silesia”—although, as we can see from the divisions, he did not rule all of Silesia. Only his second son, Henry the Bearded, a wise and energetic ruler, reunited all of Silesia and later the remaining districts of the country, and sought the royal crown in Rome—but that is another story... Duke Bolesław sought to strengthen his duchy, colonised the vast forests of Lower Silesia, built new fortified settlements, founded a Cistercian monastery in Lubiąż, where he was also buried after his death in 1201.
It is difficult to characterise Duke Bolesław unequivocally as a ruler using today’s criteria. He was simply a man of his era, and this must not be forgotten when attempting to criticise his political actions.
Many readers, as well as some historians, assess the period of fragmentation following the death of Bolesław the Wrymouth using words such as lawlessness, self-interest, cruelty and lack of patriotism... In my opinion, however, such epithets are unfair when applied to most of the protagonists of those events. It is enough to look at the political map of medieval Europe to see that Poland was not the only country plunged into chaos. Even the enormous Holy Roman Empire nominally recognised the emperor’s authority, while in reality it was a patchwork of more than a hundred kingdoms, duchies and monarchies at odds with one another. Let us remember that in the 12th and 13th centuries, the concepts of patriotism and national belonging were unknown, and individual states or duchies were considered the private property of their rulers. Let us therefore not hastily accuse our Bolesław I the Tall, his brothers or his son Jarosław. They merely fought for their rights, in accordance with the law and customs of the time, as members of a ducal family. Let us instead remember our hero for his contribution to preserving Polish identity in Lower Silesia and be grateful for the beautiful city proudly called Bolesławiec!
I shall conclude this account with a significant statement by the Wrocław educator J.G. Schummel, a German after all, who said:
- “The numerous names of Lower Silesian towns are often Polish... once, in what is today the entirely German Bolesławiec or Jawor, people spoke only Polish.
So let us not begin any proceedings against the Polish people of Silesia: before the court of history, we will lose in every instance!”
Sources: “The History of Silesia”, Kazimierz Popiołek; Paul, “A Roll of Polish Kings and Dukes – Duke Bolesław I the Tall”.