Legnickie Pole (in 1945–1948 Dobre Pole) is a village in Legnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Legnickie Pole.

History

thumb|left|[[Battle of Legnica, medieval illuminated manuscript]]

The territory became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century. The village was the site of the decisive Battle of Legnica during the first Mongol invasion of Poland on 9 April 1241. In the battle, Mongols led by Kadan and Baidar defeated a Polish army aided by western volunteers under command of Polish ruler Henry II the Pious. The Mongols annihilated their opponents and joined with the main army in Hungary, but upon receiving the news of the death of their Grand Khan Ögedei Khan, they turned back to attend to the election of a new Khagan, or Grand Khan.

As a result of the fragmentation of Poland into smaller duchies, the village was part of the Duchy of Silesia until 1248 and the Duchy of Legnica afterwards, remaining under the rule of the Piast dynasty until its extinction in 1675. Afterwards it was incorporated into the Habsburg-ruled Kingdom of Bohemia. During the Thirty Years' War the village was plundered by the Swedes. In March 1943, the Germans established the Oflag 64 POW camp for Yugoslav officers and Soviet enlisted men, which was relocated to Szubin in May 1943.

The village became again part of Poland following the Nazi Germany's defeat in the war, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the 1980s. The German-speaking population was expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement. The village was given its current Polish name Legnickie Pole ("Field of Legnica", from 1945 to 1948 it was named Dobre Pole ["Good Field"]).

Landmarks

  • St. Jadwiga's Basilica and the Benedictines monastery, a Baroque abbey built between 1727 and 1733 with its complex of attendant buildings. The former abbey became a hospital for emotionally disturbed women in 1957, while the church remains a Catholic parish church
  • Museum of the Battle of Legnica, dedicated to the 1241 battle, one of the largest battles of medieval Poland, located in the former Holy Trinity Church

The St. Jadwiga's Basilica and abbey along with the Museum of the Battle of Legnica were jointly designated one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (Pomnik historii) on May 1, 2004, and are tracked by the National Heritage Board of Poland.

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6 Legnickie Pole 10.jpg|Frescos of the St. Jadwiga's Basilica

SM Legnickie Pole Klasztor 2017 (0) ID 593490.jpg|Former Benedictine monastery

SM Legnickie Pole Muzeum Bitwy pod Legnicą 2017 (1) ID 593504.jpg|Museum of the Battle of Legnica

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References

  • Official website
  • Gmina website