Few people realize that in the Middle Ages, gold was the wealth of the Bolesławiec region. The gold-bearing area between Lwówek and Bolesławiec consisted of three zones: the areas east and west of Lwówek (Płóczki, Dworek, Bielanka); the area between Włodzice, Żeliszów, Ustronie and Skała; and the third area south of Bolesławiec (the forests between Bożejowice and Bolesławiec).
The gold-bearing sand layer averaged 1.5 metres in thickness. It contained an average of 0.2 g of gold per tonne, although in some places this reached 1.5 g per tonne.
This made profitable exploitation possible. It is difficult to determine exactly when gold was discovered and mining began. Gold particles were washed from gold-bearing sand located just beneath the earth’s surface.
Much suggests that the establishment of the urban settlement in Bolesławiec was connected with the activities of gold prospectors.
In the manuscript of Chrtystian Ruthard, a 17th-century town chronicler, under the date 1180 we read: "...gold mining was highly developed here and brought in great revenue; for this reason, Duke Bolesław was moved to elevate the former village of Trzy Karczmy to the rank of a town in 1190 and give it the name Boleslavia..." Ruthard sees the town’s origins directly in gold mining. He mentions the legendary Trzy Karczmy and refers to the town being named by Duke Bolesław Wysoki. This may be linked to the fact that in Lower Silesia, the earliest settlements under German law were established in places where gold was mined: examples include Złotoryja in 1211 and Lwówek in 1217. By comparison: Wrocław in 1242, Legnica in 1252 and Głogów in 1253.
To be continued.