The 50th anniversary of the Bolesławiec land being within Poland’s borders is an opportunity to reflect on what happened here before. On the occasion of this anniversary, it is worth taking a moment to consider what we know about the beginnings of this land’s history and what happened here later.
The oldest traces of human presence in this part of Lower Silesia date back approximately 80,000 years. These are archaeological finds near Złotoryja. Remains found along the Bóbr River indicate that people lived here during the Mesolithic period—that is, the Middle Stone Age, from 10,000 to 4,200 BC. From the Bolesławiec area, clay bird figurines dating from the Early Iron Age, 650–400 BC, were found at Ulina near Włodzice Wielkie, while animal-shaped vessels were found at Wizna.
During the Early Middle Ages, that is, from the 5th to the 10th century, one of the Silesian Slavic tribes—the Bobrzanie—lived along the upper and middle Bóbr. According to our present knowledge, however, it is not certain where the town’s beginnings should be sought. Archaeological confirmation of the Bobrzanie’s presence concerns the left-bank (western) part of the town—Bolesławie. A 10th-century fortified settlement is located there. Some researchers who support the view that the town originated on this side of the Bóbr also cite practical considerations. The lower-lying right (eastern) bank of the Bóbr was more exposed to the destructive effects of flooding. It may also have been important that locating the stronghold there better served defensive purposes against threats from the east.
A second fortified settlement, dating from the 10th to the 14th century, stood on the right bank of the Bóbr, approximately 100 metres east of the intersection of Staszica and Stolarska Streets. The construction of this defensive stronghold was connected with the transfer of the settlement centre to the river’s right bank. Much therefore indicates that two strongholds existed in the area of the present town: the earlier one, on the left bank of the Bóbr, was the tribal stronghold of the Bobrzanie, while later—probably after these lands were incorporated into the Polish state—a stronghold serving administrative and defensive functions was built on the right bank of the Bóbr, near the state’s western border. It was therefore situated in front of the river, which also played an important defensive role.
Another place where an Early Medieval Bobrzanie fortified settlement was discovered is the village of Otok. The Bobrzanie defensive centre discovered approximately 1 km southeast of the village dates from the 10th–12th centuries (M. and T. Kaletyn, “Early Medieval Fortified Settlements of the Wrocław Province,” Wrocław 1968, pp. 36–40).
We also know from written sources that a stronghold existed in Bolesławiec. Although the Bolesławiec castellany was not mentioned in the oldest list of Silesian strongholds included in Pope Hadrian IV’s bull of 1155 confirming the extent of the Wrocław bishopric, information about it appears in documents from the first half of the 13th century. We also know the names of several castellans who held office in the Bolesławiec stronghold. This means that Bolesławiec was at that time a castellany stronghold. Castellanies, or stronghold districts, were territorial administrative units introduced by the first Piasts.
That is all we know about the strongholds in the Bolesławiec land.
At the end of the 9th century, the southern districts of Poland—Silesia and Lesser Poland—were incorporated into the Great Moravian State, and after its collapse at the beginning of the 10th century they came under Czech rule. At the end of the 10th century, in the final years of Mieszko I’s reign or at the beginning of Bolesław the Brave’s rule, both districts—probably after a conflict with Bohemia—were incorporated into Poland. Silesia briefly came under Czech rule again as a result of Duke Bretislaus’s expedition in 1039, but was recovered by Casimir the Restorer in 1050.
A remnant of this Polish–Czech rivalry over Silesia is the so-called Prague Document, issued in 1086 by the German emperor Henry IV. It lists the Bobrzanie, together with other Silesian tribes, as belonging to the Diocese of Prague. Most probably, this document merely presented the claims of the Diocese of Prague to the heritage of the Great Moravian archbishopric.
The beginnings of Bolesławiec as a town lay in a craft-and-trading settlement that developed near the stronghold. Its growth was encouraged by the fact that three trade routes ran through Bolesławiec: from Wrocław to Leipzig, from Wrocław to Prague and Jelenia Góra via Lwówek Śląski, and from Szprotawa to Lwówek Śląski. Fryderyk Holstein, the author of the “Bolesławiec Chronicle...” written in the second half of the 16th century, stated that the settlement was called “Three Inns” after the three inns located there, and attributed the town’s expansion to the Silesian duke Bolesław the Tall (1177–1201), who was also said to have named it after himself.
An important stage in the town’s formation was its foundation under German law. The basis for such a foundation was a foundation charter, most often issued by the ruler, which legally expressed the separation of the town from the remaining territory and of the burgher estate from the rest of the country’s population.
Urban foundation introduced organisational and legal forms developed in Western and Central Europe into existing Polish urban settlements. A town founded under charter was usually built beside the former urban settlement and generally took over its name. The old settlement then became a suburb or village. The new town was built according to an urban plan with a market square at the centre and perpendicular streets extending from it. In view of this, it becomes understandable why Bolesławiec’s Market Square is located some distance from the site of the castellany stronghold.
The Bolesławiec foundation charter has not survived. In its absence, confirmation of the town’s existence must be sought in other documents from the period, on the basis of which the date of the town’s foundation can be determined. The first known reference to Bolesławiec as a town appears in a document from 1251, in which the Silesian duke Bolesław the Bald donated three measures of silver annually from Bolesławiec’s customs duty to the convent of the Magdalene Sisters in Nowogrodziec. Bolesławiec is mentioned as a town for the second time in a document from 1260, in which Duke Konrad II of Głogów sold the Brothers of the Holy Spirit in Bolesławiec a mill in his town of Bolesławiec. The town’s existence in subsequent years is no longer in doubt. In the absence of either a foundation charter or reliable information about it, it seems appropriate to regard the first reference to Bolesławiec as a town—1251—as the date closest to its foundation.
Although many Lower Silesian towns were founded during the reign of Henry the Bearded (1201–1238)—Złotoryja in 1211, Lwówek Śląski in 1217, Środa Śląska in 1223, and Nowogrodziec in 1233—there is not a single reliable confirmation of Bolesławiec’s foundation at that time. Moreover, when Duke Henry the Bearded granted Nowogrodziec town rights under German law in a document of 1233, he referred to Lwówek Śląski as already honoured with such rights, but did not mention neighbouring Bolesławiec at all. Therefore, the hypothesis that Bolesławiec did not possess town rights during this duke’s reign is justified.
After Bolesławiec received town rights, a hereditary vogt appeared alongside the castellan as the ruler’s representative. The vogt headed the bench court, which he treated as his own auxiliary body, since he influenced the selection of its lay judges. In the second half of the 13th century, a municipal self-government body—the town council—was established by the patriciate, the wealthiest group of the urban population. The council dealt with trade, crafts and security in the town. Disputes arose between the town council, representing the town, and the vogt, representing the ruler. The best way to resolve them was to buy out the vogt’s office. This took place in 1326. From then on, the town council became the fully empowered supreme body of municipal self-government. It was headed by one of the councillors, who served as mayor.
In the 13th century, the Bolesławiec land had a Polish settlement character. At that time, 36 localities around Bolesławiec bore Polish names. Many villages retained Slavic etymological roots in their names until the 20th century. They included, among others, Bolesławiec Czerna, Dobra, Golnice, Gromadka, Kliczków, Kozłów, Kraszowice, Krępnica, Kruszyn, Lubichów, Mierzwin, Modła, Nowa Oleszna, Ołdrzychów, Otok, Parkoszów, Parowa, Przejęsław, Pstrąże, Warta Bolesławiecka, Wierzbowa, Wykroty and Zebrzydowa (after: B. Czyżewski, “On the Mountain of the Poles, or on the Beginnings of Bolesławiec Based on Local Chronicles,” in Bolesławiec: Sketches from the History of the Town, Materials from the popular-science session of 10 May 1986).
The town’s population was also initially Polish, as shown by the known names of 14th-century burghers: Mikołaj Broda, Bolesławiec’s first mayor from 1326, and his successors—Piotr Wilk, Piotr Apecz and Arnold Czeszwic. By the second half of the 14th century, however, while the Piast dukes still ruled, the German population had gained the majority.
After the vogt’s office was bought out and the castellan’s office abolished, the German patriciate began to concentrate power in the town. As a result, Polish names appear increasingly rarely in the town’s subsequent history, while German newcomers supported by the dukes took over both the administration and a dominant role in trade and crafts. At the end of the 15th century, manifestations of discrimination against the Polish population even appeared. One example is a certificate issued by the Lwówek council in 1484 to Jan Opecz of Ocice, “that he is a born and true German and therefore may apply for the right to train baking apprentices,” or a description issued in 1494 by master shoemakers for one of their apprentices, stating that he “has an impeccable reputation because he does not associate with shepherds, musicians or people of Wendish (Slavic) origin” (after: J. Bachmiński, Bolesławiec, Wrocław 1970, p. 14).
These examples, however, already come from the period when the Bolesławiec land, together with all of Silesia, lost its political connection with Poland. When Władysław the Elbow-high was uniting Poland after the period of feudal fragmentation, most Silesian dukes recognised the overlordship of the Czech king John of Luxembourg. The Silesian dukes were influenced in this decision by fear of losing their duchies through their incorporation into the unifying Kingdom of Poland. The influence of the German patriciate in Silesia was also significant; it saw better protection of its economic interests in connection with Bohemia.
Although this homage by the Piast duchies bypassed the Bolesławiec land for some time—it then formed part of the Świdnica-Jawor Duchy—soon, following the death of Duchess Agnes in 1392 and in accordance with earlier agreements, it too, together with the entire duchy, found itself within the Bohemian Crown.
These political events of the 16th century determined the land’s further development. Further growth was linked to the strengthening of the German element and increasingly strong cultural and economic ties with Bohemia and Germany.
Some architectural monuments in the town date from the reign of the last Piasts and the period when the Bolesławiec land belonged to the Bohemian Crown. These include, in particular, the town fortifications, built in the 13th and 14th centuries, and the castle, which stood on the site of the present Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Castle Square. The defensive walls and agreements with neighbouring towns—agreements from 1346 and 1398 are known—were intended to ensure the safety of the town’s inhabitants and trade. These fortifications proved insufficient, however, during the Hussite Wars. In 1427, the Hussites captured localities around Bolesławiec, but the town itself managed to buy its way out; the ransom consisted of beer. Two years later, in 1429, when the Hussites again approached Bolesławiec, most of the German patriciate, which supported the emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg in his struggle against the Hussites, fled the town. The Hussites captured the town, partly demolished it and imposed a ransom; as security for its payment, they held hostages from Bolesławiec in the Czech town of Jaroměř.
The experience of the Hussite Wars led to the strengthening of the defensive system in the following years. The moat was deepened and a double ring of massive walls reinforced with semicircular towers was built. Three gates led into the town: the Upper Gate, at the exit of present-day Sierpnia ’80 Street; the Lower Gate, at the exit of B. Prusa Street; and the Nicholas Gate, at the exit of Kutuzowa Street.
In addition to defensive functions, these gates served other purposes: customs duties were collected at the Lower Gate, the Nicholas Gate had the privilege of selling small quantities of salt, and announcements of the town council were made public at the Upper and Nicholas Gates.
Population growth meant that the area within the town walls was becoming too cramped. By the end of the 15th century, there was no longer enough room for newcomers. As a result, three suburbs arose along the main roads leading out of the town: Upper, Lower and Nicholas. The largest was the Lower Suburb, which contained four pottery workshops, a paper mill, a sawmill, a wood-grinding mill, a fulling mill and mills. The Nicholas Suburb was inhabited by miners employed in the gold mine; it also contained a cloth dye works, a hospital, a pepper mill, a cemetery and ponds. The Upper Suburb had a pottery workshop and a shooting range, and in the 17th century a brickworks was built there (after: B. Berduła, Outline History of Bolesławiec to 1742, in Bolesławiec: Sketches from the History of the Town...).
The 15th century also saw the construction of the two most imposing buildings in the town centre: the town hall and the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The first town hall had been built earlier, probably soon after the vogt’s office was bought out, but it was burned during the Hussite raid. A brick building with a tall tower was erected in 1432. The town hall was expanded in 1525–1535. The parish church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, formerly also dedicated to St Nicholas, acquired its present form in 1482–1492. It replaced a church dedicated to the same patron saint that had stood there since the 13th century and was destroyed during the Hussite raid in 1429. Older than these buildings is the parish Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. In its present form, it was built in the first half of the 14th century on the site where a chapel was mentioned in 1270, and it was rebuilt in the 16th century.
In 1526, the Bolesławiec land, together with all of Silesia and Bohemia, came within the borders of the Habsburg monarchy under an earlier agreement between the Jagiellonians and the Habsburgs. Bolesławiec was then one of the largest Silesian towns. In 1549, it had 3,450 inhabitants. In 1531, construction of a sewage network began. Wastewater was carried through wooden pipes, using the terrain’s gradient, westwards towards the Bóbr. This did not solve many problems related to keeping the town clean, however, since in 1570 the town council still issued an order restricting the free roaming of pigs in the town streets and prohibiting the pouring of refuse onto the roads after dawn and before dusk. During this period, in 1565, a gravity-fed water-supply system was also built; water was carried through wooden pipes to 148 houses and nine open reservoirs.
These measures had a positive effect on the inhabitants’ health, and epidemics that struck Bolesławiec claimed fewer victims than in other localities. Nevertheless, nearly 500 people died of smallpox in 1565.
In 1573, Bolesławiec’s first post office was established, and from 1596 there was a regular six-day connection between Wrocław and Leipzig. Despite the fact that trade routes had run through the town for centuries, the roads were in poor condition. This was caused by their being laid too low in relation to the Złoty Potok and the ponds. Wooden bridges over the Bóbr were repeatedly destroyed when water levels rose in this mountain river; the first mention of a wooden bridge over the Bóbr dates from 1361.
In addition to economic improvements, Bolesławiec’s burghers also cared about their children’s education. There was a parish school in Bolesławiec. The first reference to it dates from 1452. Its most famous graduate was Martin Opitz (1597–1639), a German poet and literary theorist, courtier and historiographer of the Polish king Władysław IV. For further education, young people from Bolesławiec mainly travelled to Wittenberg and Nuremberg.
The influence of the Reformation reached Bolesławiec quickly from there, as early as 1518. After several years, in 1524, the church and secular authorities in Bolesławiec were taken over by Protestants. No major religious disturbances occurred here. It can be said that the 16th century was also Bolesławiec’s “golden age”.
The 17th century left a much worse mark on the town’s history. It was characterised by wars, epidemics and natural disasters. It began with a peasant revolt in 1597 in Krzyżowa, where peasants demolished a house belonging to the town. Later, the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) left its mark. In 1620–1622, bloody suppressed peasant revolts took place in Łąka, Kraśnik, Oleszna and Tomaszów. The final period of the Thirty Years’ War proved catastrophic for Bolesławiec, as repeated marches by imperial and Swedish troops, which routinely used violence, led to the town’s destruction. Its convenient location on the main road by a ford across the Bóbr caused the town’s ruin under wartime conditions. Epidemics of smallpox that decimated the population and a great fire in 1642, in which the castle among other buildings burned down, added to the devastation. The population left the town and hid in less accessible settlements. According to the chronicles, only 80 people survived the horrors of the war there. It is likely, however, that some inhabitants returned to Bolesławiec soon after the hostilities ended.
The town’s reconstruction after the destruction of the Thirty Years’ War was long and slow. It was disrupted by another fire in 1652. Religious conflicts also occurred. The imperial authorities’ support for Catholicism and repression of Protestants caused some members of that denomination to emigrate in the second half of the 17th century, among others to Rawicz in Greater Poland. Craftspeople emigrated as well; for example, the number of shoemakers and cloth workers fell from a total of 52 to six after 1699.
Among the significant buildings erected after the Thirty Years’ War, the Dominican monastery, built in 1676–1680, deserves attention. Only its eastern part has survived to this day, on Teatralna Street, where the office of the Bolesławiec rural municipality is located. The church and the western part were demolished after the Dominican order was dissolved at the beginning of the 19th century.
In 1746, the town had 3,000 inhabitants and 250 residential buildings. During this period, the Bolesławiec land changed state affiliation once again. In 1740, on the orders of King Frederick II, Prussian troops entered Silesia and soon took control of the province. Under the Treaty of Breslau of 1742, Silesia remained with Prussia. Two subsequent Silesian Wars, in 1744–1745 and 1756–1763, did not change this situation. For more than two centuries, until 1945, Bolesławiec found itself within Prussia’s borders.
The Prussian period began under the sign of war. This temporarily worsened the economic situation. The new authorities abolished municipal self-government, replacing it with a new municipal administration, ordered universal military conscription and imposed taxes that were enforced ruthlessly. Natural disasters compounded the damage: a fire in 1738 destroyed the entire Lower Suburb and part of the buildings in the town centre, followed by a major flood of the Bóbr in 1742.
At that time, most buildings in the town were still wooden. To prevent fires, the Prussian authorities ordered in 1743 that houses be built of brick or stone and covered with tiles. The order did not find acceptance among the burghers, who were too poor to erect masonry houses, and was therefore repeated several times. In 1767, for example, the ban on covering houses with shingles or straw was reiterated.
From relatively precise data from 1787, we know that Bolesławiec then had 238 residential houses, 123 houses in the suburbs and 34 burgher farmsteads. Of the houses, 104 had tiled roofs, while 291 were covered with shingles or straw. In addition, the town still had 146 fire sites, remnants of recent wars and fires. There were also public buildings: three customs and excise buildings, four guardhouses, four hospitals, the town hall, a jail, two churches (Catholic and Protestant), parsonages and schools. In 1787, the town had 3,093 inhabitants.
The Bolesławiec land’s incorporation into Prussia benefited Protestants, who gained complete freedom of worship and were even favoured by the Prussian king. In 1741, Protestant services began to be held publicly again in Bolesławiec. Initially they took place in the town hall, and from 1756 in a newly built Protestant church in the late Baroque style, erected on the site of the ruined castle. A Protestant school was opened alongside the existing Catholic school (after: J. Kwak, “Bolesławiec in Prussian Times, 1740–1870,” in Bolesławiec in People’s Poland, Materials from the popular-science session of 12 December 1987).
The town hall was rebuilt in 1776–1781, giving the building its present appearance. A pastor’s house was erected beside the Protestant church in 1767. Later, in 1854–1855, a stone-block tower was added to the Protestant church. In the town panorama, it is the third dominant vertical element after the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the town hall. At the beginning of the Prussian period, in 1755, the Orphans’ Home was also built. The building still exists and until recently served as a workers’ hotel for the “Konrad” Mining Works.
The beginning of the 19th century brought another war. After Prussia’s defeat in 1806, French troops entered Silesia, accompanied by Polish units. The war of 1806–1807 caused further destruction of the town and imposed the burden of war costs. Among the various troops stationed in Bolesławiec in 1807 was a 200-man Polish cavalry unit.
In the longer term, the reforms carried out after peace was concluded proved beneficial to the town, particularly:
- in 1808, the restoration of self-government (the first elections were held in 1809)
- in 1810, the abolition of compulsory guild membership and the introduction of industrial freedom,
- in 1812, the abolition of the ban on Jews settling in towns,
- in 1816, the establishment of a county.
Before the effects of these reforms could be felt, the Bolesławiec land was once again affected by the military operations of 1812–1815. At the turn of 1812/1813, French units passed through the town; Emperor Napoleon was in Bolesławiec on 13 December 1812. At the beginning of 1813, Russian and Prussian troops arrived, and the town had to support them. In April 1813, Field Marshal Kutuzov arrived in Bolesławiec with his staff; he died there on 28 April 1813. In 1819, the Prussian king ordered a monument to Kutuzov to be erected in Bolesławiec’s Market Square; in 1893 it was moved to its present location. In August 1813, fighting between French and Russian forces took place in Bolesławiec and the nearby villages of Tomaszów Bolesławiecki, Wilczy Las, Godnów and Kruszyn.
The Napoleonic period proved critical for the town fortifications. In 1813, retreating French troops blew up the town gates and part of the defensive walls. Over the following half-century, the moat was filled in and most of the walls were dismantled as no longer useful for defence. This created Bolesławiec’s promenade parkways, while the remaining fragments of the walls still make it possible to reconstruct the course of the former fortifications. After part of the defensive walls was demolished, a municipal arsenal was built in 1822 and converted into a theatre in 1857. Its present form results from later modernisations, particularly the rebuilding in 1886, when a number of eclectic elements were introduced into its design.
A railway viaduct was built in the middle of the 19th century. Construction began in 1845, and in 1851 the Prussian king ceremonially opened the railway line from Zgorzelec to Legnica.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the town’s population grew steadily:
1815 – 3,199 people; 1840 – 5,843 people; 1861 – 7,438 people; 1890 – 12,911 people; 1910 – 16,125 people; 1935 – 20,079 people.
The year 1945 was dramatic in Bolesławiec’s history. In the final days before units of the 1st Ukrainian Front arrived, a large part of the population fled westwards, and northwards after the bridge and viaduct over the Bóbr were blown up. On 12 February 1945, the front line passed through the town. Under the political decisions of the powers of the anti-Hitler coalition, Poland received the territory east of the Oder and Lusatian Neisse, with the right to resettle the German population from there. The Bolesławiec land returned to Poland. Karol Bieniaszek was the representative of the Government of the Republic of Poland for Bolesławiec County and also served as its first starosta, while Bolesław Kubik became the first mayor of Bolesławiec.
Poles from the eastern borderlands, central Poland and Polish repatriates from various countries arrived in the Bolesławiec land. A distinctive feature of Bolesławiec County was that, under a special agreement between a delegation of Poles from Yugoslavia, headed by Jan Kumosz, and the Polish government, it was designated for the settlement of Poles from Yugoslavia. Under this agreement, approximately 15,000 Polish repatriates from Yugoslavia settled in Bolesławiec County. They arrived in an organised manner, with their belongings. They made up almost half of the population that settled in this land during the first post-war years.
The condition of the town after the war could be compared with the destruction of the Thirty Years’ War. “There was practically no town... The black, empty window sockets created an atmosphere of horror; piles of twisted iron, bricks, stones and various debris reached the first floor. Crossing this chaos of rubble required acrobatic skill. The gloomy, deserted town sank into darkness in the evenings. There was no gas, light or food,” recalled Stefania Tajcher, the first teacher to arrive in Bolesławiec in September 1945 and the organiser of the first primary school, opened on 1 October 1945 (quoted after: P. Śliwko, Today and Tomorrow of Bolesławiec, Wrocław 1985, p. 23).
At the end of 1945, Bolesławiec had approximately 3,000 inhabitants. In 1973, the town had 34,412 inhabitants, and in 1993, 44,710. The number of residential rooms before the war was 23,470. This figure was reached in the mid-1960s.
Poland’s political loss of Silesia several centuries earlier resulted from decisions made by the Silesian dukes, but it was connected with various demographic and economic processes taking place here. Silesia’s return—including the Bolesławiec land—to Poland resulted from the political decisions of the powers determining the post-World War II European order.
Traces of the past are visible almost everywhere.
The town’s reconstruction began with clearing rubble from the Old Town. A rail trolley with wagons for removing rubble was installed there. With the help of soldiers from the local military unit and schoolchildren, the Market Square was cleared of rubble as early as 1948. It then became possible to clean up other parts of the town and begin its reconstruction. The largest construction works were carried out by a state-owned company whose name changed over time but which town residents know best as the Bolesławiec Construction Enterprise, liquidated in 1991.
An important factor in the town’s development was the establishment of the “Konrad” Mining Works in 1949. Residential buildings were constructed for the mine’s employees on Konradowska and Zygmunt Augusta Streets in Bolesławiec, as well as housing estates in Iwiny, Olszanica and Warta Bolesławiecka.
At the turn of the 1950s and 1960s, the Old Town was rebuilt and new residential buildings were constructed on Polna, Słowackiego and Ogrodowa Streets. The town’s further expansion was connected with the activities of the “Bolesławianka” Housing Cooperative, established in 1965. At the end of the 1960s, a new town centre was built along Asnyka Street, followed by the Południe, Piastów, 40-lecia PRL and Konstytucji 3 Maja housing estates. In the last dozen or so years, single-family housing estates were built around Kosiby, Willowa, Sobieskiego and Witosa Streets, as well as the Kwiatowe and Przylesie housing estates.
The Bolesławiec land contains many historic objects from earlier centuries. Most of the residential buildings, industrial plants and public-use buildings, however, date from the most recent past—the last 50 years.
The ceramic-industry plants, for which Bolesławiec had been famous for many centuries, were rebuilt and restarted most quickly. Work on rebuilding the ceramics industry was led by Professor Tadeusz Szafran of Kraków. He arrived in Bolesławiec as early as June 1945. From there he wrote to his family: “Silesia is very beautiful here. Bolesławiec would be very lovely if not for the destruction... For a ceramicist, this is, or will be, a true paradise. There are small workshops, large and huge factories, all not operating, partly burned, their machines dismantled and taken away” (quoted after B. Rejwerska and T. Wolanin, Bolesławiec Stoneware, in Bolesławiec: Sketches from the History of the Town, op. cit.).
Under Professor Tadeusz Szafran’s direction, production was launched. The first chimney to emit smoke was that of the small ceramics factory at 10 Górne Młyny Street. This plant became the beginning of the largest enterprise in the sector—the “Bolesławiec” Ceramic Works, since 31 July 1994 ZC “Bolesławiec S.A.”. In 1946, the “Zelczów” brickworks in Gościszów and the Wall Tile Factory in Przyborsk also began operating. In 1949, the “Artistic Ceramics” Artistic Handicrafts Cooperative and the clinker plant in Ołdrzychów began production.
It is also worth listing the opening dates of other well-known investments: 1951—the launch of the “Wizów” Chemical Works,
1952—the launch of the “Polfa” Bolesławiec Vial and Ampoule Factory,
1953—the start of copper ore extraction by the “Konrad” Mining Works,
1956—the reopening of the psychiatric hospital,
1958—the launch of the brickworks in Czerna,
1962—the launch of the Experimental Vacuum Equipment Plant,
1966—the launch of the “Eskord” (“Bonitex”) Technical Fabrics Works,
1967—the launch of the “Zebrzydowa” open-pit ceramic-clay mine; 1969—the launch of the “Sława” Knitting Works,
1970—the launch of the Bolesławiec Cultural Centre (Forum—1973),
1970—the launch of the “Metalplast” Lightweight Building Components Plant; 1973/74—the launch of the “Bolmet” Disabled Persons’ Cooperative,
1976—the launch of a new children’s ward at the Municipal Hospital,
1977—the commissioning of the rotunda (from 1977 to 1990, the seat of the Municipal Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party, later the District Office),
1979—the commissioning of the medical clinic on Zwycięstwa Street,
1982—the launch of the new production plant of the District Dairy Cooperative,
1984—the commissioning of the medical clinic on Jeleniogórska Street.
These are some of what appear to be the more significant facilities created during the period after the Bolesławiec land returned to Poland 50 years ago. The expansion of primary and secondary education, cultural institutions and healthcare facilities should also be added, to the extent necessary to meet existing needs in these areas.
Many sports facilities were built. Sport developed. The greatest individual sporting success of a resident of the Bolesławiec land was Ryszard Tomczyk’s gold medal in featherweight boxing at the European Championships in Madrid in 1971.
Trade and crafts developed. Their first organisational structures were the Polish Merchants’ Association, established in 1946, and the Collective Guild of Crafts for the town and county of Bolesławiec, organised in 1947; its first guild master was Andrzej Czupkiewicz. Until 1975, Bolesławiec was the seat of the county authorities. As a result of the territorial administration reform of 1 June 1975, counties were abolished. In terms of public administration, political structures, the activities of social organisations and religious life, the Bolesławiec land during the 50 years then passing did not differ from what took place throughout the country. The successive political conflicts that occurred in Poland during this period, and the changes that followed them, were also reflected in the life of this local community.
Post-war reconstruction and economic development brought rapid population growth. At the end of 1945, Bolesławiec had approximately 3,000 inhabitants. In 1973, the town had 34,412 inhabitants, and in 1993, 44,710. The number of residential rooms before the war was 23,470. This figure was reached in the mid-1960s.
Not all structures and enterprises established during the period of the Polish People’s Republic managed to adapt to the mechanisms of a market economy. Among the large state-owned companies that were liquidated were BPB (1991), ZDAP (1993), the Voivodeship Auxiliary Production Enterprise (1993) and ZPLO Metalplast. Unemployment emerged. According to data from the District Labour Office, as of 31 March 1994, 3,940 people were registered as unemployed, including 2,053 people without the right to receive benefits.
New times bring new challenges. The history to date shows that collapses followed wars and natural disasters. Periods of peace always fostered development thanks to the land’s favourable location and natural resources. These advantages of the Bolesławiec land should also be used in the present.