Sulechów

Sulechów
Town hall

Flag
Coat of arms
Sulechów
Sulechów
Coordinates: 52°5′N 15°37′E / 52.083°N 15.617°E / 52.083; 15.617
Country  Poland
Voivodeship  Lubusz
County Zielona Góra
Gmina Sulechów
Government
 • Mayor Roman Rakowski
Area
 • Total 6.8 km2 (2.6 sq mi)
Population (2009)
 • Total 17,416
 • Density 2,600/km2 (6,600/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code 66-100
Car plates FZI
Climate Cfb
Website http://www.sulechow.pl

Sulechów [suˈlɛxuf] (German: Züllichau) is a town located within the Zielona Góra County, in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It is the administrative seat of the Gmina Sulechów. Established in the Middle Ages, the town features many historical monuments significant to the Polish Lubusz region.

Geography

Sulechów is situated in the historic Lower Silesia region, north of the Oder river. The town centre is located about 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of the regional capital Zielona Góra, where the national road 32 to Poznań crosses the national road 3 to Gorzów Wielkopolski. The regional Zielona Góra Airport is about 10 km (6.2 mi) away.

History

The settlement of the region on the Middle Oder dates back to the 4th century AD. In the 10th century the area was part of the Polish realm of the Piast duke Mieszko I. It became part of the Duchy of Silesia in 1138, and, later belonged to the Silesian Duchy of Głogów,[1] established in 1249-51 under the rule of Duke Konrad I.

Sulechów Castle and former Calvinist church

The settlement itself was first mentioned in a 1319 deed, at the time when the warlike Ascanian margrave Waldemar of Brandenburg campaigned the area, occupying Sulechów and neighbouring Świebodzin. Margrave Waldemar, however, died in the same year, and the localities fell back to the Piast dukes of Głogów.[1]

When the last Piast duke Henry XI of Głogów died without issue in 1476, inheritance claims were raised by his widow Barbara of Brandenburg and her father, the Hohenzollern elector Albrecht Achilles. The Brandenburg influence met with fierce opposition by Henry's Piast cousin, Duke Jan II the Mad of Żagań, who nevertheless after several years of fighting had to sign an agreement, whereby the Silesian towns of Krosno (Crossen) and Sulechów finally passed to Brandenburg.

Krosno Gate

With Crossen, Züllichau was incorporated into the Brandenburg Neumark district by 1535, ruled by Margrave John of Brandenburg-Küstrin who implemented the Protestant Reformation. Two years later, the Piast duke Joachim of Münsterberg-Oels and his younger brothers officially waived any rights to the Crossen and Züllichau territories. Part of Brandenburg-Prussia from 1618, the town was devastated during the Thirty Years' War but again flourished under the rule of the "Great Elector" Frederick William.

Züllichau was part of the newly established Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. While King Frederick the Great went on to conquer the bulk of the Silsian lands in the southeast, Züllichau became a garrison town of the Prussian Army. From 1815 it belonged to the Province of Brandenburg and became the administrative seat of the Züllichau-Schwiebus rural district within the Frankfurt Region.

The territory was conquered by Red Army forces during the Vistula-Oder Offensive in the final stage of World War II. Sulechów fell to the Republic of Poland by the implementation of the Oder–Neisse line in 1945, while the remaining German population was expelled.

Holy Cross Church

Notable people

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Sulechów is twinned with:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Sulechów - Internetowy Serwis Miejski Archived 2011-12-29 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ "Rushmoor - Our Twin Towns". Rushmoor Borough Council. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
  3. ↑ "Twinning Association of Rushmoor". The Farnborough Society. Archived from the original on 2013-06-03. Retrieved 2013-07-29.

Coordinates: 52°05′N 15°37′E / 52.083°N 15.617°E / 52.083; 15.617

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