Wałbrzych (; ; or Walmbrich; or ) is a city located in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland, seat of Wałbrzych County. Wałbrzych lies approximately southwest of the voivodeship capital Wrocław and about from the Czech border. Wałbrzych has the status of municipality. Its administrative borders encompass an area of with 110,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the voivodeship and the 33rd largest in the country.

Wałbrzych was once a major coal mining and industrial center alongside most of Silesia. The city was left undamaged after World War II and possesses rich historical architecture; among the most recognizable landmarks is the Książ Castle, the largest castle of Lower Silesia and the third-largest in Poland.

In 2015 Wałbrzych became widely known due to the search for an allegedly buried Nazi gold train, which however was not found.

Etymology

The earliest documented mention of the settlement appears 1305 in the Liber fundationis episcopatus Vratislaviensis, a tithe and revenue register of the Diocese of Wrocław. It is recorded there in Latinized form as Waldenberc, the first attested version of the German name Waldenburg (“forest castle”). This name, with variants such as Waldenberg, Walbrich or Walmbrich, remained the official designation until 1945. The Polish name Wałbrzych comes from the German dialect form Walbrich. It became the official name after 1945.

Polish local historiography has sometimes postulated a hypothetical pre-German Slavic name Lasogród (“forest castle”). This reconstruction first emerged in 19th-century Polish national historiography and was popularized after 1945 in regional narratives. However, Lasogród (or any comparable Slavic form) is absent from all primary documents – no medieval or early-modern charter, register or chronicle records it.

History

Middle Ages

thumb|left|upright=0.85|Seal of Duke [[Bolko I the Strict]]

Polish sources indicate the city's predecessor, Lasogród, was an early medieval Slavic settlement whose inhabitants engaged in hunting, honey gathering, and later agriculture. Lasogród eventually developed into a defensive fort, the remains of which were destroyed in the 19th century during expansion of the city. However, some German sources say no archaeological or written records support notions of an early West Slavic or Lechitic settlement nor the existence of a castle before the late 13th century. They also denounce the idea that during the Middle Ages the area of Wałbrzych was part of an unpopulated Silesian forest, known as the Silesian Przesieka. In April 2022, a coin hoard was discovered near Wałbrzych dating from the first half of the 13th century.

According to 17th-century Polish historian Ephraim Naso, Wałbrzych was a small village by 1191. This assertion was rejected by 19th-century German sources and by German historian Hugo Weczerka, who says the city was founded between 1290 and 1293, and was mentioned as Waldenberc in 1305.

He places the city near Nowy Dwór (), built by Bolko I the Strict of the Silesian Piasts. Nevertheless, the region became part of Poland after the establishment of the state under the Piast dynasty in the 10th century and during the fragmentation of the realm, it was part of various Polish-ruled duchies, the last of which was the Duchy of Świdnica until 1392, later it was also part of the Bohemian Crown and Hungary.

In the late Middle Ages, it was a centre for silver and lead mining. The settlement was first mentioned as a town in 1426, but it did not receive the rights to hold markets or other privileges due to the competition of nearby towns and the insignificance of the local landlords. Subsequently, the city became the property of the Silesian knightly families, initially the Schaffgotsches in 1372, later the Czettritzes, and from 1738, the Höchberg family, owners of Książ Castle.

Modern era

thumb|19th-century view of the [[Książ Castle]]

Coal mining in the area was first mentioned in 1536. From the 16th to the 18th century, it was a centre for wool and linen weaving. In 1843 the city obtained its first rail connection, which linked it with Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland). In the early 20th century a glassworks and a large china tableware manufacturing plant, which are still in operation today, were built. During World War I, the German administration operated three forced labour camps for Allied prisoners of war in the city.

World War II

During the German invasion of Poland at the start of World War II in September 1939, some 2,000 young men from the city were conscripted to the Wehrmacht.

thumb|upright=0.7|World War II memorial

The first forced labourers, Poles, were probably brought to the city in early 1940, whereas Allied prisoners of war were brought to forced labour in the city probably since 1941. Several thousands POWs, Serbian, British, Italian, Belgian, Soviet, Polish, French and others, were held in various labour camps in the city, including subcamps of the Stalag VIII-A and Stalag VIII-B/344 POW camps. There were also several other forced labour camps, for Poles, Jews, Ukrainians, including camps solely for women, two subcamps of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, intended for Jews, located in the present Gaj and Książ districts, and a Nazi prison. There are known cases when Polish civilian workers gave food to starving Soviet prisoners of war. The forced laborers made several attempts to escape, and those caught were either beaten by the Gestapo, sent to the Gross-Rosen camp or murdered. The camp in Książ was dissolved in February 1945, and its prisoners were sent on a death march towards Trutnov in German-occupied Czechoslovakia.

It was conquered by the Soviet Red Army on 8 May 1945, a few hours before the German surrender and the end of World War II in Europe.

Post-war period

thumb|left|Memorial to settlers from [[Boryslav|Borysław]]

After World War II, a previously unknown mass grave of roughly 18,000 murdered Jews was discovered in or near Wałbrzych. Waldenburg became again part of Poland under border changes demanded by the Soviet Union at the Potsdam Conference and was renamed to its Polish name Wałbrzych. Many of the Germans living in the city fled or were expelled. The town was repopulated by Poles, initially those who already were brought to the city as forced labourers by the Germans after the fall of the Warsaw Uprising, then prisoners of the nearby Gross-Rosen concentration camp and prisoners-of-war. were held back as they were deemed indispensable for the economy, e.g. coal mining. Also nearly 700 Greeks, refugees of the Greek Civil War, settled in Wałbrzych in the 1950s, however, most returned to Greece after 1983.

The city was relatively unscathed by the Second World War, and as a result of combining the nearby administrative districts with the town and the construction of new housing estates, Wałbrzych expanded geographically. In 1951, city limits were expanded by including Biały Kamień, Rusinowa, and parts of Glinik, Konradów, Lubiechów, Opoka, Podgórze, Sobięcin and Szczawienko as new districts.

After the Treaty of Zgorzelec, remaining Germans were treated less harshly and an ethnic German society was established in 1957.

From 1958 to the mid-1980s, the Kleks Poetry Theater, a leading school theater in Poland, was active in the city.

From 1975 to 1998 it was the capital of Wałbrzych Voivodeship. At the beginning of the 1990s, because of new social and economic conditions, a decision was made to close down the town's coal mines. In 1995, a Museum of Industry and Technology was set up on the facilities of the oldest coal mine in the area, KWK THOREZ. In 2001, the Wałbrzych Scientific Society was founded. The 2005 the film The Collector was filmed in and around Wałbrzych.

In 2016, a hoard of 1,385 late medieval coins, Prague groschen of Kings Charles IV and Wenceslaus IV, was found on the border of Wałbrzych and Boguszów-Gorce. The hoard may have been hidden after 1420 during the Hussite Wars.

There are seven city parks in the city, and in the main city park (King Jan III Sobieski Park) is the only mountain shelter in Poland, located in the city center PTTK Harcówka.

Nature protection

Protected areas in Wałbrzych

  • Książ Landscape Park – northern outskirts of the city
  • Przełomy pod Książem Nature reserve – northern outskirts of the city
  • Sudety Wałbrzyskie Landscape Park – southern outskirts of the city
  • Chełmiec Mountain Natura 2000 area – western outskirts of the city

There are several natural monuments in the city; among them is the coat of arms oak, a descendant of the oak which was the inspiration for the coat of arms of the city, as evidenced by a nearby stone with the inscription "" ('City oak planted in 1933 in place of the coat of arms oak'). The mildest winter in the city was in 2006/2007 and 1992/1993.

Sights

  • Książ Castle, the largest Silesian castle, the third-largest castle in Poland behind Kraków's Wawel Castle and the Malbork Castle
  • Old Książ Castle (Stary Książ). Gothic ruins opposite (across a valley) Książ Castle
  • Nowy Dwór Castle. The ruins of the castle Nowy Dwór (Ogorzelec) are on the top of Castle Hill (618 m)
  • Czettritz Castle (1604–1628), now the Angelus Silesius State College
  • Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sorrows. Gothic church, rebuilt into a Baroque style. Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sorrows placed in the center of Wałbrzych and is the oldest building of the city, called by the inhabitants "the heart of the city"
  • Town Hall (Ratusz). A representative three-storey building maintained in the style of historical eclecticism, imitating gothic
  • Market square (renovated 1997–1999). A place where a weekly market took place in the past. In the years 1731-1853 its center was occupied by the Baroque town hall.
  • Palmiarnia (Palm House)
  • Museum of Porcelain in the old Alberti Palace
  • Guardian Angels Church. Built in 1898 in the neo-Gothic style, in place of a previous church.
  • Protestant church. Designed in the years 1785-1788 by Carl Gotthard Langhans, the founder of the Berlin Brandenburg Gate
  • Mausoleum in Wałbrzych. A 1938 monument designed by Robert Tischler to commemorate the Silesian dead of World War I, as well as 23 early Nazis from Silesia. The structure is a four-sided fortalice measuring by , with walls tall. A metal torch on a tall column once at the center of the courtyard was designed by Ernst Geiger. The site is locally rumored to have been used for Nazi SS occult rituals.
  • Railway tunnel under the Little Wołowiec mountain. Counting 1,601 m (5,253 ft) is the longest railway tunnel in Poland
  • Mountain Borowa (black mountain). The highest mountain in the Wałbrzyskie Mountains, with observation tower.
  • Mountain Chełmiec. The second largest peak in the area. A monumental mountain in the shape of a dome that dominates the city. At the top there is an observation tower, 45 meter cross, and two radio-television masts
  • Old Mine – Center for Science and the Arts (Stara Kopalnia - Centrum Nauki i Sztuki)is the biggest post-industrial tourist attraction in Poland, located in the former bituminous coal mine – Kopalnia Węgla Kamiennego "Julia" ("Thorez"). It covers the area of 4.5 hectares of historic post-industrial objects with authentic equipment, such as a machine park which has been secured and made accessible for visitors.
  • Mining monuments in the city have been a lot of post-mining objects, among others, buildings, halls and mining towers.
  • Mining and Motorsports Museum at the Ayrton Senna street.
  • Ayrton Senna's statue located next to the Mining and Motorsports Museum museum at the Ayrton Senna street.

Transport

Roads

National roads

32x32px (A4 autostrada/ Bielany Wrocławskie-Świdnica-Wałbrzych-Golińsk- Czech border)

Voivodeship roads

32x32px 32x32px 32x32px 32x32px

Public transport

There are 14 bus lines in the city

Rail

There are two main directions of passenger railways in the city, which include:

  • Wrocław Świebodzki–Zgorzelec railway
  • Kłodzko–Wałbrzych railway

Aviation

The nearest airport is Wrocław airport located from the city, in the closer distance, about , is located light aircraft landing ground in Świebodzice.

City districts

thumb|City hall (built 1879)

Including date of incorporation into the city

{| valign="Top"

|-

|

  • Nowe Miasto (1880)
  • Stary Zdrój (1905, 1919)
  • Poniatów – formerly (U)Stronie (1929, 1973)
  • Podgórze I (1931)
  • Podgórze II – formerly Dzietrzychów (1934)
  • Sobięcin – formerly Węglewo (1951)
  • Szczawienko (1951)
  • Rusinowa (1951)
  • Piaskowa Góra (1951)

|

  • Biały Kamień (1951)
  • Konradów (1958)
  • Kozice (1958)
  • Glinik Stary (1973)
  • Książ (1973)
  • Lubiechów (1973)
  • Glinik Nowy (1973)
  • Podzamcze (1976)
  • Osiedle Wanda

|}

Education

thumb|Stara Kopalnia Science and Culture Centre

thumb|upright|Biblioteka Pod Atlantami (public library)

  • Angelus Silesius State University in Wałbrzych
  • Wrocław Technical University in Wałbrzych
  • Wałbrzyska Wyższa Szkoła Zarządzania i Przedsiębiorczości
  • Ignacy Paderewski High School
  • Hugo Kołłątaj High School
  • Mikołaj Kopernik High School
  • The city has a research center, Polish Academy of Sciences

Politics

Wałbrzych constituency

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Wałbrzych constituency:

  • Zbigniew Chlebowski, PO
  • Henryk Gołębiewski, SLD
  • Roman Ludwiczuk, PO (Senat)
  • Katarzyna Mrzygłocka, PO
  • Giovanni Roman, PiS
  • Mieczysław Szyszka, PiS (Senat)
  • Anna Zalewska, PiS

Sports

thumb|[[2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League match between Poland and Japan in Wałbrzych]]

  • Górnik Wałbrzych is a professional men's basketball club, two times Polish champions. Currently, it plays in the Polish 3rd league. Last time Górnik played in the Polish Basketball League (the Polish top basketball league) was in 2009.
  • Górnik Wałbrzych is a professional men's football club playing in the Polish 4th league (5th level). It played in the Ekstraklasa (top tier) in the 1980s.
  • Zagłębie Wałbrzych is a male and female football club. Men's club section played in the Ekstraklasa in the 1960s and 1970s, finishing 3rd in 1971. Participated in the UEFA Cup competitions, reaching the 1/16 finals.
  • KK Wałbrzych (formerly Górnik Nowe Miasto Wałbrzych) is a semi-professional men's basketball club playing in the Polish 3rd league.
  • Chełmiec Wałbrzych is a professional men's and women's volleyball sports team.

There are many semi-professional or amateur football clubs (like Czarni Wałbrzych, Juventur Wałbrzych, Podgórze Wałbrzych, Gwarek Wałbrzych) and one basketball club (KS Dark Dog plays in the Polish 3rd league).

  • LKKS Górnik Wałbrzych is a cycling club.
  • Wałbrzych native Sebastian Janikowski is a placekicker in the NFL.
  • ASZ PWSZ Walbrzych is a level 1 women's soccer team in Ekstraliga.

Media

thumb|Słowackiego Street

  • New Walbrzych Headlines
  • Tygodnik Wałbrzyski
  • www.walbrzych.info
  • TV Zamkowa
  • TV Walbrzych
  • 30 minut – Gazeta która nie ma ceny (free newspaper)

Notable people

  • Wolfgang Menzel (1798–1873), German poet, critic and literary historian
  • Gerhard Menzel (1894–1966), German writer
  • Abraham Robinson (1918–1974), German-Jewish-American mathematician
  • Klaus Töpfer (1938–2024), German politician (CDU)
  • Christian Brückner (born 1943), German actor
  • Marcel Reif (born 1949), German soccer journalist
  • Krzesimir Dębski (born 1953), composer and conductor
  • Urszula Włodarczyk (born 1965), Polish heptathlete
  • Joanna Bator (born 1968), Polish Nike Award-winning novelist, journalist, feminist and academic
  • Maciej Szczepaniak (born 1973), Polish rally driver
  • Piotr Giro (born 1974), Polish-Swedish dancer and choreographer
  • Leszek Lichota (born 1977), Polish actor
  • Krzysztof Ignaczak (born 1978), Polish volleyball player
  • Sebastian Janikowski (born 1978), former American football placekicker
  • Adrian Mrowiec (born 1983), Polish footballer
  • Edyta Nawrocka (born 1986), Polish singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and TV presenter
  • Bartosz Kurek (born 1988), Polish volleyball player and World Champion
  • Sławomir Bohdziewicz (born 1990), Polish boxer

Twin towns – sister cities

Wałbrzych is twinned with:

  • Boryslav, Ukraine (2009)
  • Cape Breton, Canada (2019)
  • Dnipro, Ukraine (2001)
  • Foggia, Italy (1998)
  • Freiberg, Germany (1991)
  • Gżira, Malta (2000)
  • Hradec Králové, Czech Republic (1991)
  • Jastarnia, Poland (1997)

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  • Vannes, France (2001)

References

Bibliography

  • Wałbrzych official city website
  • Wałbrzych information website
  • Jewish Community in Wałbrzych on Virtual Shtetl
  • Wałbrzych - Waldenburg, Borowieck (tylko w 1945) na portalu polska-org.pl
  • Local news website (pol)