Stara Kuźnia, Opole Voivodeship

Stara Kuźnia
Village
School
Stara Kuźnia
Coordinates: 50°18′0″N 18°20′30″E / 50.30000°N 18.34167°E / 50.30000; 18.34167
Country Poland Poland
Voivodeship Opole
County Kędzierzyn-Koźle
Gmina Bierawa
Population 691

Stara Kuźnia [ˈstara ˈkuʑɲa] (German: Klein Althammer) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Bierawa, within Kędzierzyn-Koźle County, Opole Voivodeship, in south-western Poland.[1] It lies approximately 8 kilometres (5 mi) east of Bierawa, 12 km (7 mi) south-east of Kędzierzyn-Koźle, and 50 km (31 mi) south-east of the regional capital Opole.

Before 1945 the area was part of Germany (see Territorial changes of Poland after World War II).

The village has a population of 691.

During the Second World War the village, then known as Klein Althammer, was the base for a working party (E537[2]) of British and Commonwealth prisoners of war, under the administration of Stalag VIIIB/344 at Łambinowice (then known as Lamsdorf) in Poland. In January 1945, as the Soviet armies resumed their offensive and advanced into Germany, the prisoners were marched westward in the so-called Long March or Death March. Many of them died from the bitter cold and exhaustion. The lucky ones got far enough to the west to be liberated by the allied armies after some four months of travelling on foot in appalling conditions.

References

  1. ↑ "Central Statistical Office (GUS) - TERYT (National Register of Territorial Land Apportionment Journal)" (in Polish). 2008-06-01.
  2. ↑ "Stalag VIIIB 344 Lamsdorf - Home". lamsdorf.com. Retrieved 2017-12-14.


Coordinates: 50°18′0″N 18°20′30″E / 50.30000°N 18.34167°E / 50.30000; 18.34167


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