Jawor () is a town in south-western Poland with 22,890 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the seat of Jawor County.

One of the oldest towns in the region, with a history of more than a thousand years, Jawor was one of the main centers of weaving in Silesia and, in 1274–1392, the capital of an eponymous principality ruled by a local line of the Piast dynasty. It has a preserved medieval urban layout with several Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque structures, including the Church of Peace, a Historic Monument of Poland The other form Iawor is recorded in a document from 1248, and in a document from 1277 the name Iaver is used. In 1295, in the Latin work Liber fundationis episcopatus Vratislaviensis, the city is written as Jawor. In the 1475 Latin Statuta Synodalia Episcoporum Wratislaviensium, which also contains the oldest Polish-language printing, it is seen as Jaworensis.

The German name Jauer is a Germanized version of the original Slavic name, and by 1750 the Polish name Jawor was still used in Polish by Prussian authorities. The German name became official after 1763 and the Austro-Prussian war.

History

thumb|left|[[Jawor Castle|Piast Castle, former residence of local Piast dukes]]

Jawor was the main stronghold of the Trzebowianie tribe, one of the Polish tribes, and became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century. According to medieval chronicles the settlement was expanded in the 11th century. It was granted town rights between 1242 and 1275. As a result of the fragmentation of Poland, Jawor became part of the Duchy of Silesia, then the Duchy of Legnica from 1248, and from 1274 it was the capital of the Duchy of Jawor, In 1776 the town suffered a fire.

Sights

  • Church of Peace in Jawor, dating from 1655; a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Historic Monument of Poland
  • Jawor Castle, former residence of local Piast dukes
  • Jawor "Soliński", the nearby mountain peak
  • Gothic-Renaissance St. Martin's church, dating from 1267 to 1290.
  • Berdychiv, Ukraine
  • Niepołomice, Poland
  • Niesky, Germany
  • Roseto degli Abruzzi, Italy
  • Turnov, Czech Republic
  • Strassen, Luxembourg

Notable people

  • Nicholas Magni (1355–1435), theologian
  • Christoff Rudolff (1499–1545), author of the first German textbook on algebra
  • Heinrich Gottfried von Mattuschka (1734–1779), German botanist
  • Wilhelm Ebstein (1836–1912), doctor who described the heart disorder Ebstein's anomaly
  • Gerhard Bersu (1889–1964), German archeologist
  • Max Otto Koischwitz (1902–1944), Nazi propagandist
  • Heinz Finke (1920–1996), German officer
  • Janusz Krasoń (born 1956), Polish politician
  • Elżbieta Witek (born 1957), Polish politician, Marshal of Sejm (since 2019)
  • Aleksander Śliwka, (born 1995), Polish volleyball player

The surname "Jaworski," meaning someone whose ancestors had ties to Jawor, is a fairly common surname both in Poland itself, and among Polish emigres to such countries as the United States. Examples include Leon Jaworski and Ron Jaworski.

References

  • Official site
  • Local flags
  • Jewish Community in Jawor on Virtual Shtetl
  • Church Of Peace in Jawor - photo gallery