Starostwo Powiatowe - History
History of Kamienna Góra Print E-mail
Nasz Powiat
The oldest traces of the activity of man in the area of the Kamienna Góra administrative district come from the age of stone. However the eldest archeological finds come from the Neolithic age ( 3500-2500 B.C.).

Many more traces come from the early Middle Ages when the Bobrzanie Tribe, mentioned in so called Prague document from XI century, lived in this area. From this period there are numerous remains of cities, among others in Kamienna Góra, Błażkowa, Lubawka, Pastewnik and Ulanowice.

Important facts from the history of Kamienna Góra

From the VII century until the X century this area belonged to the Great-Moravian State and at the end of X century it was annexed by Mieszko I to the Polish State.

In 1201 Henry the Bearded became the ruler of Silesia. In that period on the mountain at the mouth of the River Zadrna into the River Bóbr, a sentry castle was built, overlooking the trade route leading through the Lubawka Gate towards the south. At the foot of the castle a market settlement was established.

The battle of Legnica and the death of Henry the Pious (the successor of Henry the Bearded) in 1241 meant the end of their State. In 1242 Henry the Bearded’s widow wanted to execute the will of her dead husband and brought a convent from Opatowice to Kresowy Bor. She then gave them areas for the monastery.

In 1249 Boleslav the Turnpike, the Prince of Legnica (son of Henry the Pious) let the Benedictines run a market village called Landishute, situated in the fork of two rivers, Bóbr and Zadrna, according to German law. It is the oldest historical mention of Kamienna Góra. In 1278 the death of the Turnpike leads to the division of the principality of Legnica between his three sons. Bolko I gets Kamienna Góra.

In 1286 Bolko I of Świdnica bought off the lands given earlier to Benedictines (as they are subjected to Waclaw II – the Czech King) and in 1292 brings in Cistercians from Henrykowo. Before the secularization in 1810, the Cistercians created a latifundia in the area of Kamienna Góra contributing to development of this territory. From 1285 until 1295 the Prince of Świdnica and Jawor – Bolko I, built a castle on the mountain in the place of the old city and changed the market settlement at the foot of the castle into a city governed according to German law.

On the 2nd of February 1392, the widow of Bolko II of Świdnica died. The Principality of Świdnica which was Anna`s dowry (who was adopted by Bolko II ) comes under dominance of the German dynasty of Luxemburgs that reign Czech State. The beginning of XV century is a period of great tension in Czech. During the reign of Ludwik of Luxemburg there was a national uprising called the Hussite Uprising, directed against the German dynasty of theLuxemburgs. That uprising spread to the territory of Silesia.

The second half of the XV century brought other changes. Silesia came under the dominance of Maciej Korwin – Hungarian King. It is a very stormy period as Korwin first fought against Jerzy of Pobierad , who was a King of Czech since 1458, and then against Wacław the Jagiellończyk, reigning in Czech since 1471. The death of Korwin in 1490 finally brings peace to Silesia. Unill 1516 Czech, Silesia and Hungary are ruled by Władysław Jagiellończyk. Under this reign Kamienna Góra was fortified with city walls and a moat.

In 1526 in the battle of Mohacz against the Turks, Ludwik II, son of Władysław the Jagiellończyk, died. On the strength of a survival treaty, Silesia came under dominance of the Austrian monarchy of the Habsburgs . The next hundred years is a period of dynamic development of handicraft and architecture. This time of development was stopped by the 30-year war (1618-1648) when Kamienna Góra was being robbed and plundered by Swedish and imperial armies passing through this territory. In 1639 after the next march of the army, only 2 citizens in Kamienna Góra remained. After the end of the 30-year war Kamienna Góra had to be rebuilt from the beginning. For the next one hundred years the political situation in this area was relatively peaceful. Within this period the production and sale of linen cloth flourished. This linen cloth from the area of Kamienna Góra became famous all over Europe. Development of the economy allows those in the city and the surrounding area live in prosperity. Kamienna Góra, Chełmsko Śląskie and Lubawka are rebuilt and extended.

1740 brings big changes to Silesia and the same to Kamienna Góra . After the death of Fryderyk Wilhelm the Prussian king, his son Fryderyk II invades Austrian Silesia on 16th December 1740. Until July 1742 Prussia rules Silesia. However Austria doesn`t want to give up “the most precious pearl of its monarchy” as Maria Teresa used to call Silesia. Many destructive Prussian wars break out, that last, with short breaks, until 1763. The area of Kamienna Góra is destroyed after the wars and the town itself is said to be one of the most unpopulated towns in Silesia. Some time after the wars big estates of such families as the Zedlitz, the Langenthal, the Nositz and the Seidlitz begin to prosper.

In 1793 the exploitation of cottage-workers by merchants leads to the rebellion of weavers in Chełmsko Śląskie, kamienna góra and Lubawka.

On 10th of September 1810 according to the edict of Fryderyk III all Silesian convents are liquidated and expropriated. Also Cistercians form Krzeszów loose their properties.

The XIX century is a period of peace and dynamic development of Kamienna Góra and the surrounding areas. The development of the textile industry, trade, new sawmills, filling-mills, whitewashes, mangles, starches, breweries and alcohol distilleries were set. Together with industrial development there were trials of the development of the mining industry. New roads and new railroads were built. Kamienna Góra became the area visited by tourists and therefore many hotels and inns were set in villages and towns.

Direct military operations of the First and Second World Wars omitted the area of Kamienna Góra. In this interwar period there was a dynamic development of tourism. In Lubawka there was a complex of sports buildings, where German sportsmen could train for the Olympiad in Berlin in 1936. During the Second World War many compulsory workers and prisoners of war were brought to work in the factories of the III Reich. In Kamienna Góra, Lubawka, Chełmsko Śląskie and Marciszów there were branches of the Gross Rosen concentration camp (Rogoźnic ).

On the 9th of May 1945 the Kamienna Góra Valley was entered by detachments of the 21st Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front. The consequence of this was the settlement of Polish people in the area of Kamienna Góra, especially people from over the Bug River, and war repatriates. Although all of them were Polish, they were dressed differently, and were used to eating differently, and they even spoke in a different way. However a great will of survival let them adapt to a new and difficult reality. Today this separateness is only a form of nostalgic folklore.

In 1975 the district of Kamienna Góra came into the composition of the newly existing province of Jelenia Góra, and in 1999 the town once again became the seat of the district authorities.