Dzierżoniów (; until 1946 ; ) is a town located at the foot of the Owl Mountains in southwestern Poland, within the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the seat of Dzierżoniów County, and of Gmina Dzierżoniów (although it is not part of the territory of the latter, since the town forms a separate urban gmina).

Established in the 13th century, Dzierżoniów is a historical Lower Silesian town that covers an area of , and as of December 2021 it has a population of 32,346.

Unique and architecturally rich, Dzierżoniów features a central market square with elegant tenements and a town hall as well as few museums and restaurants. The Old Town is a venue for several annual events and fairs.

History

In its early history until 1945, the town was known as Reichenbach; composed of the German words reich (rich, strong) and Bach (stream), it refers to the current of the Piława River. The name was rendered in Polish as Rychbach. To differentiate between other places named Reichenbach, the Lower Silesian town became known in German as Reichenbach im Eulengebirge, or "Reichenbach in the Owl Mountains".

Middle Ages

thumb|left|Medieval town walls

In the early Middle Ages, the area was inhabited by the tribe of Silesians. After short periods of Great Moravian and Czech rule, in the 10th century the region became part of the emerging Polish state. The parish Church of St. George was also noted early on. The town was part of various Piast-ruled duchies of fragmented Poland. The coat of arms, depicting Saint George slaying a dragon, was used by 1290 at the latest. The town passed successively from the Bishopric of Wrocław, to the Duchy of Ziębice, and to the Duchy of Świdnica-Jawor. It was plundered by the Hussites during the 15th-century Hussite Wars. In 1606, some 2,000 people died during an epidemic. In 1800, the town was visited by future president of the United States John Quincy Adams. Beside the Rychbach subcamp there were another two in nearby towns. These camps were set up to provide slave labour for German industries where mainly Jewish inmates were worked to death. When the town was liberated by the Red Army on 8 May 1945, about 20,000 Jewish inmates had survived the camp, many of whom were Polish Jews. They did not want to go back to their hometowns because of the decimation of their Jewish communities and the fear of antisemitic violence. They were later joined by Polish Jews repatriated from the Soviet Union, and others who had survived in hiding in Poland or returned from concentration camps in Germany.

At its peak, there were 17,800 Jews in Dzierżoniów in November 1946 of the 50,000-Jew commune in Dzierżoniów County (incl. Bielawa, Pieszyce, Piława Górna, etc.) led by Jakub Egit from 1945 to 1948. One of the town's synagogues survived the war and has been restored.

Reichenbach was transferred from Germany to Poland in 1945 after World War II. Many of its German inhabitants had fled earlier in 1945 before the war's end, while most of those who had stayed were subsequently expelled. The void was filled by Poles moving in, some of whom from the eastern part of the country that had been annexed by the Soviet Union.

In the period immediately following World War II, the town was known by different names. The municipal office, the local office and the railway administration all used different names for it: Rychbach (its traditional Polish name), Reichenbach and Drobniszew. In one of the Polish Ministerial decrees of 1945, another name was used: Rychonek. In 1946 the town was renamed Dzierżoniów after the apiarist Jan Dzierżon; ironically, Germany also viewed Dzierżon as one of their own, and in 1936, as part of a Nazi effort to remove Slavic-sounding place names, his birthplace, Lowkowitz (now Łowkowice), was renamed Bienendorf ("Bee village") in his honor.

The textile and electromechanical industry developed after the war.

From 1975 to 1998 it was administratively located in the former Wałbrzych Voivodeship.

Sports

Football team Lechia Dzierżoniów and handball team are based in Dzierżoniów. Football players Krzysztof Piątek, Patryk Klimala, Jarosław Jach, Paweł Sibik all played in Lechia Dzierżoniów in the early stages of their careers, while handball players Paweł Piwko, Jan Czuwara, Dawid Dawydzik played in Żagiew Dzierżoniów in the early stages of their careers.

The annual Tewzadze Open chess tournament is held in Dzierżoniów, to commemorate Georgian-Polish military officer Valerian Tevzadze.

Notable people

  • Bianka Blume (1843–1896), German opera singer
  • Hans-Jürgen von Arnim (1889–1962), German general
  • Valerian Tevzadze (1894–1987), Georgian-Polish military officer
  • Herbert Giersch (1921–2010), German economist
  • Tzila Dagan (1946–2004), Israeli singer
  • Neomy Storch (born 1954), Australian Academic
  • Jacek Mickiewicz (born 1970), cyclist
  • Piotr Wilczewski (born 1978), boxer
  • Paweł Piwko (born 1982), handballer
  • Krzysztof Piątek (born 1995), footballer
  • Jan Czuwara (born 1995), handballer

Paweł Juraszek (born 1994)

Swimmer

Joanna Gołebiowska (Born 1982)

Swimmer

Zuzanna Pisarska (Born 1981)

Swimmer

Twin towns – sister cities

Dzierżoniów is twinned with:

  • Bischofsheim, Germany (1990)
  • Crewe, United Kingdom (2005)
  • Hajdúszoboszló, Hungary (2015)
  • Kluczbork, Poland (2007)
  • Lanškroun, Czech Republic (1999)
  • Nantwich, United Kingdom (2005)

<gallery>

File:Dzierżoniów, domy na náměstí II.jpg|Tenements at the Market Square (Rynek)

File:Dzierżoniów, Radnice II.jpg|Town Hall (Ratusz)

File:Dzierzoniow ratusz 6.jpg|Town Hall

File:2019 Kościół Maryi Matki Kościoła w Dzierżoniowie 3.jpg|Church of St. Mary the Mother of the Church

Church of St. George in Dzierżoniów (2).jpg|St. George church

File:Kamienica na Świdnickiej - panoramio.jpg|House of Valerian Tevzadze

File:Widok na Dzierzoniow.jpg|Panorama from the outskirts of the city

File:Dzierżoniów, Ząbkowicka, rohový dům.jpg|Historic building

File:Dzierzoniow - klasztorna 12 - 1904.jpg|Historic townhouse

File:Dzierżoniów, Świdnicka, banka PKO.jpg|Bank building

File:2014 Dzierżoniów, wieża ciśnien 02.JPG|Water tower

</gallery>

References

  • Official website of Dzierżoniów (in Polish)
  • Jewish Community in Dzierżoniów on Virtual Shtetl