Wiązów

Wiązów
Wiązów
	Town hall
	Coat of arms
	Wiązów
	Coordinates: 50°48′55″N 17°12′13″E / 50.81528°N 17.20361°E
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lower Silesian
County	Strzelin
Gmina	Wiązów
First mentioned	1155
Town rights	1252
Area
• Total	9.16 km2 (3.54 sq mi)
Elevation	152 m (499 ft)
Population (2019-06-30)
• Total	2,241
• Density	240/km2 (630/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	57-120
Vehicle registration	DST
Website	http://www.wiazow.pl

Wiązów [ˈvjɔ̃zuf] (German: Wansen) is a town in Strzelin County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Wiązów. The town lies approximately 11 kilometres (7 mi) east of Strzelin, and 37 kilometres (23 mi) south of the regional capital Wrocław.

As at 2019, the town has a population of 2,241.

Etymology

The exact origins of the etymology of the town of Wiązów are left unknown, but two theories have been formed. The first of which states the settlement's name originates from the Polish word for elm (wiąz); the other states the town's name comes from the word for snakes (węże). Both are documented by Polish writer Konstanty Damrot, in his 1896 publication documenting Silesian names, published in Bytom - "von wiąz - Ulme" (...) auch von wąż - die Schlange (...)."^[2] The former origin was also noted by German author Heinrich Adamy in 1888.^[3]

History

The oldest known mention of Wiązów comes from 1155, when it was part of Piast-ruled Poland. In 1252, it was granted town rights by Duke Henry III the White.

In the final stages of World War II, a German-organized death march of Allied prisoners of war from the Stalag Luft 7 POW camp stopped in the town on 23 January 1945.^[4]

References

^ "Population. Size and structure and vital statistics in Poland by territorial division in 2019. As of 30th June". stat.gov.pl. Statistics Poland. 2019-10-15. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
^ Damrot, Konstanty (1896). Die älteren Ortsnamen Schlesiens, ihre Entstehung und Bedeutung : mit einem Anhange über die schlesisch-polnischen Personennamen: Beiträge zur schlesischen Geschichte und Volkskunde. Beuthen: Verlag von Felix Kasprzyk. p. 180.
^ Adamy, Heinrich (1888). Die schlesischen Ortsnamen, ihre Entstehung und Bedeutung. Ein Bild aus der Vorzeit (in German). Verlag von Priebatsch's Buchhandlung. pp. 10, 32.
^ Stanek, Piotr (2015). "Stalag Luft 7 Bankau i jego ewakuacja na Zachód w styczniu 1945 r.". Łambinowicki rocznik muzealny (in Polish). 38. Opole: 65. ISSN 0137-5199.