Lubań (; ; , ), sometimes called Lubań Śląski (); is a town in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in southwest Poland. It is the administrative seat of Lubań County and also of the smaller Gmina Lubań (although it is not part of the territory of the latter, as the town is a separate urban gmina in its own right).

Geography

Situated north of the Jizera Mountains on the western shore of the Kwisa River, Lubań is considered part of the historic Upper Lusatia region, although it was more closely associated with Lower Silesia in the early 14th century and from 1815. It is located about east of Zgorzelec/Görlitz and about northwest of Jelenia Góra.

Etymology

Lubań is the historic Polish and Upper Sorbian name of the town. Other Polish names include Lubiany (1847) and Lubin (1888). in the 9th and 10th century. Bieżuńczanie together with the Sorbian Milceni tribe, with whom they bordered in the west, were subjugated in 990 by the Margraviate of Meissen. From 1002 to 1031, the area was part of Piast-ruled Poland. In 1156, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa vested his ally, the Přemyslid duke Vladislaus II of Bohemia with the territory around Bautzen (Budissin), then called "Milsko", and after the 15th century called "Upper Lusatia".

Luban was granted town rights with Magdeburg rights in the course of the German Ostsiedlung. It was first mentioned in 1268. Like several other town foundings under the rule of the Přemyslid dynasty, owing to its favourable location on the historic Via Regia trade route close to the border with the Duchy of Silesia, Luban expanded rapidly. Since about 1253, Upper Lusatia temporarily had been under the rule of the Ascanian margraves John I and Otto III of Brandenburg. By the end of the 13th century, Luban's first brewery was founded by the Franciscans and cloth production flourished thanks to Flemish settlers. In 1297, a clothiers' uprising took place, which was brutally suppressed. Its two leaders were beheaded at the market square. Duke Henry I of Jawor built a new town hall, the ruins of which can be seen today (Kramarska Tower). In 1320, he founded a Magdalene monastery in Lubań. He appointed a separate wójt for the town, which to that point administratively was subordinate to the wójt of Zgorzelec. As a result, Luban obtained significant autonomy.

In 1469, Luban became part of Hungary. In 1490, it became again part of the Kingdom of Bohemia, now ruled by the Jagiellonian dynasty, and after 1526 by the House of Habsburg.

Residents celebrated the election of Augustus II the Strong as king of Poland and the formation of the Polish-Saxon union in 1697. During August II's visit to the town just before his royal coronation, a parade of the town's self-defense troops was held. From 1915, French soldiers as well as political prisoners and common criminals were also imprisoned there. Józef Piłsudski and Aleksandra Piłsudska are today commemorated in Lubań with a memorial stone. During World War II, the Nazis created numerous forced labor camps in the town, the largest of which was Wohnheimlager GEMA, in which Polish and Russian women were imprisoned. Polish and Russian women were imprisoned also in other camps, as well as Russians, Hungarians, Frenchmen, Latvians and Ukrainians.

Lauban was the site of one of the last Nazi German victories in World War II. After it was taken in the Upper Silesian Offensive by the Red Army on 16 February 1945, the Wehrmacht successfully retook the town in a counterattack on 8 March 1945. After the war, the town was placed under the administration of the Polish People's Republic

From 1975 to 1998 it was part of the former Jelenia Góra Voivodeship. Between 1992 and 2004, the marketplace was renovated. Streets were paved and town houses around the Kramarska Tower were rebuilt.

Economy

There are the following workplaces in Lubań:

  • Przedsiębiorstwo Energetyki Cieplnej (PEC Lubań Sp. z o.o.)
  • Agromet ZEHS Lubań
  • Imakon Sp. z o.o.
  • „IMKA" Dr. Schumacher Sp. z o.o.
  • Chromex Sp. z o.o.
  • Automatec Sp. z o.o.

There are also the following notable companies:

  • Lubańskie Przedsiębiorstwo Wodociągów i Kanalizacji Sp. z o.o. Lubań
  • Lubańskie Towarzystwo Budownictwa Społecznego Sp. z o.o. Lubań
  • Przedsiębiorstwo Energetyki Cieplnej Sp. z o.o. Lubań
  • Zakład Gospodarki i Usług Komunalnych Sp. z o.o. Lubań

In terms of entertainment and consumption, the town offers clubs, restaurants, swimming pools, a cinema and a small modern shopping centre.

Culture

thumb|Sudetes Festival of Minerals in Lubań in 2018

Lubań is the hub of culture in the Lubań Municipality. The town has a cultural centre (Dom Kultury). There is also a regional museum.

Lubań is a stop on the Polish sections of the Way of St. James pilgrimage route.

Education

Lubań has five kindergartens, five primary schools, and three secondary schools.

The Adam Mickiewicz Post-Primary School Complex (Zespół Szkół Ponadpodstawowych im. Adama Mickiewicza w Lubaniu) is ranked amongst the best secondary schools in the entire Lower Silesian Voivodeship.

Health care

Lubań has a hospital, the Lucjan Kopeć Lusatian Medical Centre (Łużyckie Centrum Medyczne im. Lucjana Kopcia).

Transport

Rail

The town is served by Lubań Śląski railway station. It is operated by Lower Silesian Railways with regional services to Zgorzelec, Görlitz, Jelenia Góra, and Wrocław (via Węgliniec).

Road

The Polish national road 30, and Voivodeship roads 296, 357, 393 pass through the town. A public transport system has served the town since 2011.

Places of interest

Points of interest in Lubań include:

  • Kramarska Tower – remains of the 13th-century Gothic town hall
  • Stone curtains (1318), made from basalt from a local quarry. Behind the curtains were situated four main gates: Nowogrodziecka, Mikołajska, Bracka and Zgorzelecka
  • Bracka Donjon, built in 1318 by Duke Henry I of Jawor
  • Trynitarska Tower (1320 r.) on Wrocławska street, a remnant of Holy Trinity Church
  • Salt House or Cereal House (Polish: Dom Solny/Dom Zbożowy) from 1539, a building made of basalt
  • Town hall, built 1539–1543, in a Renaissance style, housing the Regional Museum (Muzeum Regionalne)
  • Polish–Saxon post milestone from 1725 at the Market Square
  • House under the Ship (Polish: Dom pod Okrętem) (1715), the house of the Kirchoff family, now a tax office
  • Park on Kamienna Góra hill (14 hectares). Contains evidence of an extinct Tertiary volcano, such as basalt columns or "volcanic bombs"; also has a wood with exotic trees: Liriodendron tulipifera, Pinus pinea, Pinus nigra. Kamienna Góra also has an amphitheatre and a castle-style residence, which was built in 1824 and rebuilt in 1909, offering views of the Sudetes mountains (including Śnieżka, the highest peak).
  • A memorial stone dedicated to the Marshal of Poland Józef Piłsudski and his wife Aleksandra Piłsudska

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  • Kamenz, Germany
  • Kolín, Czech Republic
  • Königsbrück, Germany
  • Löbau, Germany
  • Prienai, Lithuania

References

  • Official town website
  • Jewish Community in Lubań on Virtual Shtetl