Bielawa () is a town in Dzierżoniów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland. As of January 1, 2023, it has a population of 28 344.

Geography

Bielawa lies in the central part of Lower Silesia, along the Bielawica stream in the Owl Mountains region. The town covers an area in excess of .

Bielawa lies at an altitude range of 280 and 964 m above sea level, in the Owl Mountains. The town is a year-round tourist destination; its outdoor attractions include four major hiking trails of varying difficulty in an park, as well as cycling trails and ski lifts.

Etymology

The name is of Polish origin and is derived from the word biela, bila, current Polish biała ("white"). Also in 1288, Bialawa is mentioned when it was part of fragmented Piast-ruled Poland.

In 1720 the first brick house was built in the village and in 1741 it was captured and afterwards annexed by Prussia. In 1805 Christian Dierig founded a weaving company (Christian Dierig AG). During the Napoleonic Wars, the village was occupied by France. In 1844 it was the site of the Weavers' Uprising, brutally crushed by the Prussians. During World War II the Germans established the FAL Langenbielau II subcamp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp in the town. In 1945 it was captured by the Soviets and eventually reintegrated with Poland. Greeks, refugees of the Greek Civil War, settled in Bielawa in the 1950s.

From 1975 to 1998, it was part of the Wałbrzych Voivodeship.

Demographics

Main sights

There are numerous historical buildings in Bielawa. At its center is the 19th-century Neo-Gothic Church of the Assumption with a 101 m tall tower, the third tallest in Poland. Other buildings include a late-Renaissance palace originally built as a fortified manor house; the Church of the Corpus Christi, erected in 1743; and numerous 18th-century Baroque houses that were restored in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is also a home to a number of medieval penitential crosses.

Twin towns and sister cities

Bielawa is twinned with:

  • Chatham-Kent, Canada
  • Ciechanów, Poland
  • Hronov, Czech Republic
  • Kostelec nad Orlicí, Czech Republic
  • Lingen, Germany

Surroundings

  • Gola Dzierżoniowska Castle
  • Medieval town of Niemcza
  • Cistercian monastery at Henryków

Notable people

thumb|right|Mural of singer [[Eleni Tzoka|Eleni]]

  • Jeremiah Dencke (1725−1795), composer
  • Ferdinand Gottlieb Flechtner (1811–1867), German industrialist
  • Adolph Franz (1842–1916), German politician
  • Friedrich Dierig (1845–1931), German industrialist
  • Arthur Philipp Flechtner (1858–1936), Prussian General
  • Karl Franz (1881–1967), German politician
  • Georg Muschner (1885–1971), German cinematographer
  • Walter Möse (1920–1944), Wehrmacht Oberfeldwebel
  • Waltraut Engelberg (born 1929), author and wife of Ernst Engelberg
  • Johann Alexander Wisniewsky (1929–2012), German industrialist
  • Horst Weigang (born 1940), German athlete
  • Eleni Tzoka (born 1956), Polish singer
  • Aleksandra Kwasniewska (born 1978), Polish singer
  • Robert Skibniewski (born 1983), Polish basketball player
  • Jarosław Kuźniar (born 1979), Polish journalist and TV presenter
  • Janusz Góra (born 1963), Polish footballer
  • Art Binkowski (born 1975), Polish-Canadian boxer
  • Jarosław Jach (born 1994), Polish footballer

<gallery widths="140">

File:Zbiornik Sudety w Bielawie.jpg|Parkowa Hill and Bielawa Lake in Bielawa

File:8126viki Kościół pw. Wniebowzięcia NMP w Bielawie. Foto Barbara Maliszewska.jpg|Church of the Assumption of Mary

File:Pensjonat Leśny Dworek d. willa Dieriga Waldhaus w Bielawie.jpg|Pension Leśny Dworek

File:Hotel Spa in Bielawa, summer 2014 (1).JPG|Palace

File:Building in Bielawa, summer 2014 (1).JPG|Town hall

File:Park Miejski w Bielawie 3.jpg|Municipal Park

File:Bielawa Aquarius.jpg|swimming pool "Aquarius"

File:Bielawa - pomnik papieża.JPG|Monument of Pope John Paul II

File:Bielawa zbiornik Sudety.jpg|Lake in Bielawa

</gallery>

References

  • Official website
  • Jewish Community of Bielawa on Virtual Shtetl