Kamienna Góra (, ) is a town in south-western Poland with 18,235 inhabitants (2023). It is the seat of Kamienna Góra County, and also of the rural district called Gmina Kamienna Góra, although it is not part of the territory of the latter (the town forms a separate urban gmina).

Kamienna Góra on the Bóbr river is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship between the Stone Mountains and the Rudawy Janowickie at the old trade route from Silesia to Prague, today part of the National Road No. 5.

History

thumb|left|Historic townhouses at the Freedom Square

The area was part of the Great Moravian Empire in the Early Middle Ages, and became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century under its first ruler Mieszko I of Poland. During the times of the fragmentation of Poland it was part of the duchies of Silesia, Legnica, Jawor and Świdnica. In the early 13th century, Polish Duke Henry the Bearded erected a defensive castle at the site, due to its proximity to the Polish–Czech border. Kamienna Góra received new privileges from Duke Bolko II the Small in 1334. In 1345 the heavily fortified town was captured by the Bohemians, probably by digging an underground tunnel. In 1348 it was recaptured by the Poles, probably by using a ruse modeled on the Trojan Horse. Carts with hidden soldiers, supposedly filled with hay or other goods, were reportedly used. The two largest were fought on 22 May 1745 and 23 June 1760. and in the latter Austrians defeated a Prussian corps. It was one of the locations of the Silesian weavers' uprising of 1793, brutally crushed by Prussian troops.

From 1871 the town formed part of Germany. The town was not destroyed during World War I and II. With the rise of Nazism among the Germans, a local branch of the NSDAP was established in 1929, and soon five Nazis became town councilors. In 1934, a local branch of the Hitler Youth was established. The town's mayor, Günther Ries, supported the Nazis and provided funding for the Hitler Youth. The Nazis held three party ceremonies in the town, on 22 June 1935, 9 November 1937 and 2 March 1939. There was also a forced labour camp for Jews. It was captured by the Soviets on 9 May 1945, and after the war it became again part of Poland, The town was repopulated by Poles, expellees from former eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union and settlers from central Poland. in 1946 the name Kamienna Góra, which was first recorded in 1249, was adopted. The Polish anti-communist resistance was active in Kamienna Góra, including the nationwide Freedom and Independence Association, the local military Polish National Party–Polish National Self-Defence and four youth organizations.

From 1975 to 1998, it was administratively located in the Jelenia Góra Voivodeship.

Sights

The main historic district of Kamienna Góra is the Old Town (Stare Miasto) with the Freedom (Plac Wolności), Grunwald Squares (Plac Grunwaldzki) and Brewery (Plac Browarowy) Squares, filled with numerous historic buildings. Among the historic sights of Kamienna Góra are:

  • Gothic churches of Saints Peter and Paul and Corpus Christi
  • Baroque Church of Our Lady of the Rosary
  • Town Hall
  • Weaving Museum (Muzeum Tkactwa)
  • Lower Silesian Rehabilitation Center (Dolnośląskie Centrum Rehabilitacji)
  • Culture Centre (Centrum Kultury)
  • ZUS office
  • preserved medieval town walls
  • ruins of the Grodztwo Castle
  • numerous historic townhouses and buildings, incl. the train station, tax office, high school, courthouse, etc.

There are also several monuments dedicated to the victims of the local branch of the Nazi German Gross-Rosen concentration camp.

Cuisine

The officially protected traditional food of Kamienna Góra, as designated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, is the kamiennogórski ser pleśniowy (Kamienna Góra blue cheese).

<gallery widths=140>

File:2025 Rynek w Kamiennej Górze (1).jpg|Market square

File:KAMIENNA GÓRA, AB-139.jpg|Town Hall

File:Kamienica, ob. Muzeum Tkactwa Dolnośląskiego, XVIII, XIX.jpg|Weaving Museum (Muzeum Tkactwa)

File:Dolnośląskie Centrum Rehabilitacji - Aw58 - 27 maja 2009 r. DSC05217.jpg|Lower Silesian Rehabilitation Center

File:Kościół pw. śś Apostołów Piotra i Pawła - Aw58 - 4 lutego 2010 r. DSC01006.jpg|Gothic Church of Saints Peter und Paul

File:Kamienna Góra, kościół pw. Matki Bożej Rażańcowej (Aw58) SDC11032.JPG|Baroque Church of Our Lady of the Rosary

File:Kamienna Góra, Centrum Kultury, ul. Kościuszki 4.jpg|Culture Centre

File:Kamienna Góra, plac Wolnośći 6.jpg|Architectural decorations of one of the old townhouses

File:Kamienna Góra, al. Wojska Polskiego 14, ZUS (2014)(02).jpg|ZUS office

File:Budynek Zespołu Szkół Ogólnokształcących w Kamiennej Górze..jpg|High school (Liceum ogólnokształcące)

File:Dworzec kolejowy w Kamiennej Górze.jpg|Train station

File:Kamienna Góra, ruiny zamku - 27 kwietnia 2012 r..JPG|Grodztwo Castle ruins

File:Kamienna Góra - pomnik męczenników AL Landeshut.jpg|Memorial to murdered prisoners of the local branch of the Nazi German Gross-Rosen concentration camp

File:Kamienna Góra, Kościół pw. Najświętszego Serca Pana Jezusa - 23.06.2011 r. (MW).JPG|Sacred Heart of Jesus Church

File:Kamienna Góra, sąd rejonowy 2020.09.16. 125136-001.jpg|Courthouse

</gallery>

Notable people

  • Carl Gotthard Langhans (1732–1808), architect, designer of the Brandenburg Gate
  • Walter Arndt (1891–1944), zoologist
  • Viktor Hamburger (1900–2001), biologist
  • Rudolf Hamburger (1903–1980), architect and spy
  • Gosia Dobrowolska (born 1958), actress
  • Damian Dąbrowski (born 1992), Polish professional footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Kamienna Góra is twinned with:

  • Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany
  • Dvůr Králové nad Labem, Czech Republic
  • Ikast-Brande, Denmark
  • Trutnov, Czech Republic
  • Vierzon, France
  • Wolfenbüttel, Germany

References

  • Official town website
  • Jewish Community in Kamienna Góra on Virtual Shtetl
  • Satellite photo from Google Maps
  • News from local area