ZGORZELEC

'Zgorzelec' (German ''Görlitz''; Lower Sorbian: ''Zgórjelc'', Upper Sorbian: ''Zhorjelc'', Czech: ''Zhořelec'') is a town in southwestern Poland with 33,278 inhabitants (2004). Situated in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship since 1999, Zgorzelec was previously in the Jelenia Góra Voivodeship from 1975-1998. It is also the seat of Zgorzelec County. The city is located on the Lusatian Neisse river, the Polish-German border close to the German city of Görlitz, of which it was the eastern part until 1945.

Contents

History

Zgorzelec today

Sports

External links

History

The history of the city of 'Zgorzelec' distinct from Görlitz begins when part of the Lusatian city of ''Zgorzelec'' /''Görlitz'' /''Zgórjelc'', /''Zhorjelc'' became a part of Poland in the aftermath of the Potsdam conference, splitting what had been one city into two parts. The city has a layered multi-national history, having been under the rule of the Holy Roman Empire as well as the Polish and Czech crowns, and as a part of Germany. Since before 1945 today's cities of 'Zgorzelec' in Poland and Görlitz in Germany were part of one entity, their history up until that point is shared.
The date of the town's foundation is unknown. It was first mentioned in 1071. At that time Görlitz was a small village named ''Gorelic'' in the region of Lusatia, that soon after became a part of Bohemia. In the 13th century the village gradually became a city. Due to its location on the Via Regia, an ancient and medieval trade road, it became a very rich city.
In the following centuries it was a wealthy member of the Six-City League of Upper Lusatia, consisting of the six Lusatian cities Bautzen, Görlitz, Kamenz, Lauban, Löbau and Zittau.
The town of Gorlice in southern Poland, the capital of Gorlice County was founded During the reign of Casimir the Great in 1354 by colonists from Görlitz.
After suffering for years in the Thirty Years' War, the region of Upper Lusatia (including Görlitz) was passed over to Saxony (1635). In 1815, after the Napoleonic Wars, the Congress of Vienna decided to make Görlitz a part of Prussia. Thus the city was a part of the Prussian province of Silesia from 1815 to 1945.
The town has a rich architectural heritage (gothic, renaissance, baroque, historicist, art nouveau), which was - in contrast to most other German cities - not destroyed during World War II.
In the 1950s a large number of Greek immigrants, mainly communist partisans defeated in the Greek Civil War, were settled there. The Greek community of Zgorzelec was intrumental in the building of Ss. Constantine and Helen Orthodox Church in 2002. The Treaty of Zgorzelec was signed in the city between Poland and East Germany in 1950.
Since the fall of communism in 1989, Zgorzelec and the German city of Görlitz have developed a close political relationship. In 2006 for example the cities jointly applied to be the European Capital of Culture in 2010. It was hoped that the jury would be convinced by the concept of Polish-German cooperation but the award fell to Essen, with Görlitz/Zgorzelec achieving second place.

Zgorzelec today

Today Görlitz and Zgorzelec, two towns on opposite banks of the river, have friendly relations. Two of the numerous bridges over the Neiße river that had been blown up by retreating German forces in World War II have been rebuilt, reconnecting the two towns along with one bus line. There is also a common urban management and annual common sessions of both town councils.

Sports

★ Turów Zgorzelec, men's basketball team promoted to play in Era Basket Liga (current name of the league Dominet Bank Ekstraliga) in the 2004/05 season.

External links

★ Zgorzelec Official Internet Site (in Polish)

★ Zgorzelec Tourist Information (in Polish/English/German)

★ Zgorzelec Internet Portal (in Polish)

★ Zgorzelec Internet Portal (in Polish)

★ Zgorzelec Internet Portal (in Polish)

★ Görlitz Internet Portal (in German/English/Polish)

★ The old town bridge (online camera)