Olesno is a
townA town is a type of settlement ranging from a few hundred to several thousand inhabitants, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas; the precise meaning varies between countries and is not always a matter of legal definition...
in
Opole VoivodshipOpole Voivodeship is a Polish voivodeship, or province, created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Opole Voivodeship and parts of Częstochowa Voivodeship, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998...
,
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
about north-east of the city of
OpoleOpole is a city in southern Poland on the Oder River . It has a population of 129,553 and is the capital of the Opole Voivodeship, and also the seat of Opole County. It is the historical capital of Upper Silesia...
. It is the capital of
Olesno CountyOlesno County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Opole Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Olesno, which lies ...
and seat of the
Gmina OlesnoGmina Olesno is an urban-rural gmina in Olesno County, Opole Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the town of Olesno, which lies approximately north-east of the regional capital Opole....
.
History
The area near the ancient
Amber RoadThe Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber. As one of the waterways and ancient highways, for centuries the road led from Europe to Asia and back, and from northern Europe to the Mediterranean Sea....
had been settled since the
NeolithicThe Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BCE in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age...
era. Olesno was first mentioned in a 1226 deed by Bishop Lorenz (Wawrzyniec) of Wrocław though it may refer to the neighbouring village of
Stare Olesno (Old Olesno). In 1229 it was acquired by Duke
Henry I the BeardedHenry I the Bearded , of the Silesian line of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Lower Silesia from 1201. He was later also Duke of Lesser Poland and thus senior prince of all Poland - internally divided - from 1232 until his death.He was the son of Bolesław I the Tall, Duke of Wrocław, by his second...
of Wrocław. Olesno became seat of a
CastellanA castellan was the governor or caretaker of a castle or keep. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle".-Duties:...
and received
town privilegesGerman town law or German municipal concerns concerns town privileges used by many cities, towns, and villages throughout Central and Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages.- Town law in Germany :...
about 1292. It then was a part of the
Duchy of OpoleDuchy of Opole was one of the duchies of Silesia. Its capital was Opole .The Duchy was formed in 1172 as a territory for the eldest of Bolesław I the Tall sons, Jarosław, Duke of Opole. In the years 1201-1202 it was briefly incorporated into the Duchy of Wrocław...
which became a
fiefdomUnder the system of medieval European feudalism, a fiefdom, fief, feud, feoff, or fee, often consisted of inheritable lands or revenue-producing property granted by a liege lord, generally to a vassal, in return for a form of allegiance, originally to give him the means to fulfill his military...
of the
Kingdom of BohemiaThe Kingdom of Bohemia was a country in Central Europe, a de-facto independent member of the Holy Roman Empire and thereafter a part of the Austrian Empire.-History:...
in 1327 and was finally incorporated into the
Holy Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Otto I, crowned in 962. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during...
by
Charles IVCharles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and Holy Roman Emperor....
in 1355.
After the
First Silesian WarThe Silesian Wars were a series of wars between Prussia and Austria for control of Silesia. They formed parts of the larger War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years' War. They eventually ended with Silesia being incorporated into Prussia, and Austrian recognition of this...
and the Peace of Breslau in 1742 Olesno became a
PrussianThe Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918, until the defeat of Germany in World War I, was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising almost two-thirds of the area of the empire...
town, part of the
Province of SilesiaThe Province of Silesia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1815 to 1919; the territory had been conquered from Habsburg Austria during the 18th century Silesian Wars. The provincial capital was Breslau. During the Weimar Republic, in 1919, Silesia was divided into the separate provinces...
from 1815 on. In 1945 according to the results of the
Potsdam ConferenceThe Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States...
it fell to
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
Notable people
- David Rosin
David Rosin was a German Jewish theologian from Rosenberg, Silesia.Having received his early instruction from his father, who was a teacher in his native town, he attended the yeshibah of Kempen, of Myslowitz , and of Prague ; but, wishing to receive a regular school education, he went to Breslau,...
, theologian, born May 27, 1823 in Olesno, died December 31, 1894 in Wrocław (then )
- Hermann Friedberg
Hermann Friedberg was a Jewish German physician from Rosenberg, Silesia.He studied at the universities of Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Paris, and Breslau, receiving from the last-named the degree of doctor of medicine in 1840...
, physician, born July 5, 1817 in Olesno, died March 2, 1884 in Breslau
- Reinhold Saltzwedel
Lieutenant junior grade Reinhold Saltzwedel was a successful and highly decorated German U-boat commander in the Kaiserliche Marine during World War I....
, U-boat commander, born November 23, 1889 in Olesno, died December 2, 1917 on UB-81, English ChannelThe English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover...
- Helmuth von Pannwitz
Helmuth von Pannwitz was a German general who distinguished himself as a cavalry officer during the First and the Second World Wars, Supreme Ataman of the Wehrmacht and SS Cossacks.-Early life:...
, general, born October 14, 1898 in Bodzanowice, Gmina Olesno, died January 16, 1947 in MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
- Adam Ledwoń
Adam Ledwoń was a Polish football player with Polish and German passport. He was born in Olesno, Upper Silesia, Poland and died in Klagenfurt, Austria.-Career:...
, football player, born January 15, 1974 in Olesno, died June 11, 2008 in KlagenfurtKlagenfurt am Wörthersee is the capital of the federal state of Carinthia in Austria. With a population of over 90,000 it is the sixth-largest city in the country. The city is the bishop's seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt and home to the Alpen-Adria...
, AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
.
External links