The city was first referenced in chronicles dating from the year 1004,[3] although previous settlements could be traced back to the 7th century. The name "Legnica" was mentioned in 1149 underHigh Duke of PolandBolesław IV the Curly. Legnica was most likely the seat of Bolesław and it became the residence of thedukes of Legnica from 1248 until 1675.[4][5] Legnica is a city over which thePiast dynasty reigned the longest, for about 700 years, from the time of rulerMieszko I of Poland after the creation of the Polish state in the 10th century, until 1675 and the death of the last Piast dukeGeorge William. Legnica is one of the historical burial sites ofPolish monarchs andconsorts.
As of 31 December 2012[update] Legnica has 102,708 inhabitants and is the third largest city in the voivodeship (afterWrocław andWałbrzych) and 38th in Poland. It also constitutes the southernmost and the largest urban center of a copper deposit (Legnicko-Głogowski Okręg Miedziowy) with agglomeration of 448,617 inhabitants. Legnica is the largest city of the conurbation and is a member of the Association of Polish Cities.
Archaeological research conducted in eastern Legnica in the late 1970s, showed the existence of abronzefoundry and the graves of three metallurgists. The find indicates a time interval about year 1000 BC.[9]
Tacitus andPtolemy recorded the ancient nation ofLugii (Lygii) in the area, and mentioned their town of Lugidunum, which has been attributed to both Legnica[10] andGłogów.[11]
SlavicLechitic tribes moved into the area in the 8th century.
The city was first officially mentioned inchronicles from 1004,[12] although settlement dates to the 7th century.Dendrochronological research proves that during the reign ofMieszko I of Poland, a new fortified settlement was built here in a style typical of the earlyPiast dynasty.[13] It is mentioned in 1149 when High DukeBolesław IV the Curly funded a chapel at the St. Benedict monastery.[14] Legnica was the most likely place of residence for Bolesław[15] and it became the residence of thehigh dukes of Poland in 1163[3] and was the seat of aprincipality ruled from 1248 until 1675.
Legnica became famous for thebattle that took place atLegnickie Pole near the city on 9 April 1241 during theFirst Mongol invasion of Poland. The Christian army of the Polish dukeHenry II the Pious of Silesia, supported by feudal nobility, which included in addition to Poles, Bavarian miners andmilitary orders and Czech troops, was decisively defeated by theMongols. The Mongols killed Henry and destroyed his forces, then turned south to rejoin the rest of the Mongol armies, which were massing at the Plain ofMohi inHungary viaMoravia against a coalition of King Bela IV and his armies, and Bela's Kipchak allies.[16]
After the war, nonetheless, the city was developing rapidly. In 1258 at the church of St. Peter, a parish school was established, probably the first of its kind in Poland.[17] Around 1278 a Dominican monastery was founded byBolesław II the Horned,[17] who was buried there as the onlymonarch of Poland to be buried in Legnica. Already by 1300 there was a city council in Legnica.[17] DukeBolesław III the Generous granted new tradeprivileges in 1314 and 1318 and allowed the construction of a town hall, and in 1337 the first waterworks were built.[17] In the years 1327–1380 a newGothic church of Saint Peter (today's Cathedral) was erected in place of the old one,[17] and is one of Legnica's landmarks since. Also by the 14th century the city walls were erected.[17] In 1345 the first coins were produced in the local mint.[17] In 1374, the potters' guild was founded, as one of the oldest in Silesia.[17]Queen consort of PolandHedwig of Sagan died in Legnica in 1390 and was buried in the local collegiate church, which has not survived to this day.[18]
As the capital of the Duchy of Legnica at the beginning of the 14th century, Legnica was one of the most important cities of Central Europe, having a population of nearly 16,000 residents. The city began to expand quickly after the discovery ofgold in theKaczawa River between Legnica andZłotoryja (Goldberg). Unfortunately, such a growth rate can not be maintained long. Shortly after the city reached its maximum population increase, wooden buildings which had been erected during this period of rapid growth were devastated by a huge fire. The fire decreased the number of inhabitants in the city and halted any significant further development for many decades.
Legnica, along with other Silesian duchies, became avassal of theKingdom of Bohemia during the 14th century and was included within the multi-ethnicHoly Roman Empire, however remained ruled by local dukes of the PolishPiast dynasty. In 1454, a local rebellion prevented Legnica from falling under direct rule of the Bohemian kings.[19] In 1505, DukeFrederick II of Legnica met in Legnica with the duke of nearbyGłogów,Sigismund I the Old, the future king of Poland.[17]
Mausoleum of the last Piast dukes in the Saint John the Baptist churchOne of the preserved streets in Legnica's Old Town with the Castle in the background
TheProtestant Reformation was introduced in the duchy as early as 1522 and the population becameLutheran. In 1526, a Protestant university was established in Legnica, which, however, was closed in 1529.[17] In 1528 the first printing house in Legnica was established.[17] After the death of KingLouis II of Hungary and Bohemia atMohács in 1526, Legnica became a fief of theHabsburg monarchy of Austria. The first map of Silesia was made by native sonMartin Helwig. The city suffered during theThirty Years' War. In 1633 aplague epidemic broke out, and in 1634 the Austrian army destroyed the suburbs.[17]
In 1668 Duke of LegnicaChristian presented his candidacy to the Polish throne, however, in the1669 Polish–Lithuanian royal election he wasn't chosen as King. In 1676, Legnica passed to directHabsburg rule after the death of the last Silesian Piast duke and the last Piast duke overall,George William (son of Duke Christian), despite the earlier inheritance pact by Brandenburg and Silesia, by which it was to go to Brandenburg. The last Piast duke was buried in the St. John's church in Legnica in 1676.[17]
Silesian aristocracy was trained at theLiegnitz Ritter-Akademie, established in the early 18th century. One of two main routes connectingWarsaw andDresden ran through the city in the 18th century and KingsAugustus II the Strong andAugustus III of Poland traveled that route many times.[20] The postal milestone of King Augustus II comes from that period.[21]
During theNapoleonic Wars andPolish national liberation fights, in 1807 Polishuhlans were stationed in the city,[22] and in 1813, the Prussians, under Field MarshalBlücher, defeated theFrench forces ofMacDonald in theBattle of Katzbach (Kaczawa) nearby. After the administrative reorganization of thePrussian state following theCongress of Vienna, Liegnitz and the surrounding territory (Landkreis Liegnitz) were incorporated into theRegierungsbezirk (administrative district) of Liegnitz, within theProvince of Silesia on 1 May 1816. Along with the rest of Prussia, the town became part of theGerman Empire in 1871 during theunification of Germany. On 1 January 1874 Liegnitz became the third city in Lower Silesia (afterBreslau andGörlitz) to be raised to anurban district, although the district administrator of the surroundingLandkreis of Liegnitz continued to have his seat in the city. Its military garrison was home to Königsgrenadier-Regiment Nr. 7 a military unit formed almost exclusively out of Polish soldiers.[23]
The census of 1910 gave Liegnitz's population as 95.86%German, 0.15% German and Polish, 1.27%Polish, 2.26%Wendish, and 0.19%Czech. On 1 April 1937 parts of theLandkreis of Liegnitz communities of Alt Beckern (Piekary), Groß Beckern (Piekary Wielkie), Hummel, Liegnitzer Vorwerke, Pfaffendorf (Piątnica) und Prinkendorf (Przybków) were incorporated into the city limits. After theTreaty of Versailles followingWorld War I, Liegnitz was part of the newly createdProvince of Lower Silesia from 1919 to 1938, then of theProvince of Silesia from 1938 to 1941, and again of the Province of Lower Silesia from 1941 to 1945. After theNazi Party came to power in Germany, as early as 1933, a boycott of localJewish premises was ordered, during theKristallnacht in 1938 the synagogue was burned down,[24] and in 1939 the local Polish population was terrorized and persecuted.[25] A Nazi court prison was operated in the city with aforced labour subcamp.[26] DuringWorld War II, several members of thePolish resistance movement were imprisoned and sentenced to death there.[27] The Germans also established two forced labour camps in the city, as well as two prisoner of war labor subcamps of thePOW camp located inŻagań (thenSagan), and one labor subcamp of theStalag VIII-A POW camp inZgorzelec (thenGörlitz).[28]
Cemetery chapel
After the defeat ofNazi Germany duringWorld War II, Liegnitz and all of Silesia east of theNeisse was preliminarily transferred to Poland following thePotsdam Conference in 1945. The majority of the German population was eitherexpelled in accordance with thePotsdam Agreement or fled from the city.
The city was repopulated with Poles, including expellees from pre-wareastern Poland after its annexation by theSoviet Union. AlsoGreeks, refugees of theGreek Civil War, settled in Legnica in 1950.[29] As the medieval Polish nameLignica was consideredarchaic, the town was renamed Legnica. The transfer to Poland decided at Potsdam in 1945 wasofficially recognized byEast Germany in 1950, byWest Germany under ChancellorWilly Brandt in the 1970Treaty of Warsaw, and finally by the reunited Germany by theTwo Plus Four Agreement in 1990. By 1990 only a handful ofPolonized Germans, prewar citizens of Liegnitz, remained of the pre-1945 German population. In 2010 the city celebrated the 65th anniversary of the return of Legnica to Poland and its liberation from Nazi Germany.[30]
Post-war view of the Piast Castle (on the left) and the Głogów Gate (on the right)
The city was only partly damaged in World War II. In June 1945 Legnica was briefly the capital of the Lower Silesian (Wrocław) Voivodship, after the administration was moved there fromTrzebnica and before it was finally moved toWrocław.[31] In 1947, the Municipal Library was opened, in 1948 a piano factory was founded, and in the years 1951-1959 Poland's first copper smelter was built in Legnica.[31] After 1965 most parts of the preserved old town with its town houses were demolished, the historical layout was abolished, and the city was rebuilt in modern form.[32]
From 1945 to 1990, during theCold War, the headquarters of theSoviet forces in Poland, the so-calledNorthern Group of Forces, was located in the city. This fact had a strong influence on the life of the city. For much of the period, the city was divided into Polish and Soviet areas, with the latter closed to the public. These were first established in July 1945, when the Soviets forcibly ejected newly arrived Polish inhabitants from the parts of the city they wanted for their own use. The ejection was perceived by some as a particularly brutal action, and rumours circulated exaggerating its severity, though no evidence of anyone being killed in the course of it has come to light. In April 1946 city officials estimated that there were 16,700 Poles, 12,800 Germans, and 60,000Soviets in Legnica.[33] In October 1956, the largest anti-Soviet demonstrations in Lower Silesia took place in Legnica.[31] The last Soviet units left the city in 1993.
Legnica is a city with rich historical architecture, ranging fromRomanesque andGothic through theRenaissance andBaroque to Historicist styles. Among the landmarks of Legnica are:
the Piast Castle, former seat of the local dukes of thePiast dynasty
Dom Pod Przepiórczym Koszem ("Under the Quail Basket House")
former Dominican and later Benedictine monastery, founded byBolesław II the Horned, who was buried there as the onlymonarch of Poland to be buried in Legnica; nowadays housing theI Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Tadeusza Kościuszki (high school)
In the 1950s and 1960s, the localcopper andnickel industries became a major factor in the economic development of the area. Legnica houses industrial plants belonging toKGHM Polska Miedź, one of the largest producers of copper andsilver in the world. The company owns a large copper mill on the western outskirts of town.Legnica Special Economic Zone was established in 1997.[48]
Legnica is noted for its parks and gardens, and has seven hundred hectares of green space, mostly along the banks of theKaczawa; the Tarninow district is particularly attractive.[49]
In the city there are 20 regular bus lines, 1belt-line, 2 night lines and 3 suburban.
The town has anairport (airport code EPLE) with a 1600-metre runway, the remains of a former Soviet air base, but it is (as of 2007[update]) in a poor state and not used for commercial flights.
In recent years Legnica has been frequently used as a film set for the following films as a result of its well preserved Old Town, proximity to Germany and low costs:
Legnica tends to be aleft-of-center town with a considerable influence of workers'unions. The Municipal Council of Legnica (Rada miejska miasta Legnica) is thelegislative branch of the local government and is composed of 25 members elected in local elections every five years. The mayor or town president (Prezydent miasta) is theexecutive branch of the local government and is directly elected in the same municipal elections.
^ab"Local Data Bank". Statistics Poland. Retrieved9 August 2022. Data for territorial unit 0262000.
^"Główny Urząd Statystyczny" [Central Statistical Office] (in Polish). Select Miejscowości (SIMC) tab, select fragment (min. 3 znaki), enter town name in the field below, click WYSZUKAJ (Search)
^Cygański, Mirosław (1984). "Hitlerowskie prześladowania przywódców i aktywu Związków Polaków w Niemczech w latach 1939 - 1945".Przegląd Zachodni (in Polish) (4):35–36.
^Encyklopedia konspiracji Wielkopolskiej 1939–1945 (in Polish). Poznań: Instytut Zachodni. 1998. pp. 99, 114, 183, 304, 321, 434, 529.ISBN83-85003-97-5.
^Lusek, Joanna; Goetze, Albrecht (2011). "Stalag VIII A Görlitz. Historia – teraźniejszość – przyszłość".Łambinowicki rocznik muzealny (in Polish).34. Opole: 44.
^Kubasiewicz, Izabela (2013). "Emigranci z Grecji w Polsce Ludowej. Wybrane aspekty z życia mniejszości". In Dworaczek, Kamil; Kamiński, Łukasz (eds.).Letnia Szkoła Historii Najnowszej 2012. Referaty (in Polish). Warszawa:IPN. p. 117.
^abc"[PRL]" (in Polish). Legnica.eu. Retrieved8 November 2019.
^Dehio - Handbuch der Kunstdenkmäler in Polen: Schlesien, Herder-Institut Marburg and Krajowy Osrodek Badan i Dokumentacji Zabytkow Warszawa,Deutscher Kunstverlag 2005,ISBN3-422-03109-X, page 521
^"Miesięczna suma opadu".Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived fromthe original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved5 February 2022.
^"Liczba dni z opadem >= 0,1 mm".Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived fromthe original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved5 February 2022.
^"Średnia grubość pokrywy śnieżnej".Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived fromthe original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved5 February 2022.
^"Średnia suma usłonecznienia (h)".Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived fromthe original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved5 February 2022.
The list includes the 107 urban municipalities governed by acity mayor (prezydent miasta) instead of a town mayor (burmistrz) ·Cities with powiat rights are initalics · Voivodeship cities are inbold
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