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Prudnik

Coordinates: 50°19′22″N 17°34′36″E / 50.32278°N 17.57667°E / 50.32278; 17.57667
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Prudnik (disambiguation).

Prudnik
Market Square
Market Square
Culture Centre
Prudnik Culture Centre
St. Michael's Church
St. Michael's Church
Town Hall
Town Hall
Castle Tower
Castle Tower
Museum
Museum of Prudnik Region
St. Joseph Church
St. Joseph Church
Flag of Prudnik
Flag
Coat of arms of Prudnik
Coat of arms
Official logo of Prudnik
Brandmark
Nickname(s): 
Town of weavers and shoemakers
Motto(s): 
Prudnik – spotkajmy się
(Polish for "Prudnik – let's meet")
Prudnik is located in Poland
Prudnik
Prudnik
Coordinates: 50°19′22″N 17°34′36″E / 50.32278°N 17.57667°E / 50.32278; 17.57667
Country Poland
Voivodeship Opole
CountyPrudnik
GminaPrudnik
Established1255
Town rights1279
Government
 • BodyPrudnik Town Council
 • MayorGrzegorz Zawiślak (Ind.)
Area
 • Total
20.50 km2 (7.92 sq mi)
Highest elevation
403 m (1,322 ft)
Lowest elevation
238 m (781 ft)
Population
 (30 June 2019[1])
 • Total
21,041
 • Density1,000/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
Demonym(s)prudniczanin (male)
prudniczanka (female) (pl)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
48-200
Area code+48 77
Car platesOPR
National roads
Voivodeship roads
Websitewww.prudnik.pl
Map

Prudnik [ˈprudɲik] ⓘ (Czech: Prudník, Silesian: Prōmnik,[2] German: Neustadt in Oberschlesien, Latin: Prudnicium) is a town in southern Poland, located in the southern part of Opole Voivodeship near the border with the Czech Republic. It is the administrative seat of Prudnik County and Gmina Prudnik. Its population numbers 21,368 inhabitants (2016). Since 2015, Prudnik is a member of the Cittaslow International.[3]

The town was founded in the 1250s, and was historically part of the Polish-ruled Duchy of Opole, and afterwards was located within the Habsburg monarchy, Poland, Habsburg monarchy again, Prussia, Germany, and eventually Poland again. It was once an important industrial hub known for its shoe-making traditions and more recently towel making by the ZPB "Frotex" Company, one of the largest towel manufacturers in Europe.[4] The town also possesses numerous architectural monuments and historic buildings such as the Main Town Hall and "Wok's Tower" (Wieża Woka) from the 13th-century.

Etymology

[edit]
See also: Names of Prudnik in different languages
18th-century document mentioning the name Nowe Miasto Królewskie

The name "Prudnik" was created after the Polish word prąd (flow, stream, Czech: proud, Silesian: prōnd), similarly to the nearby villages of Prężyna and Prężynka, and means a river with a fast stream. In the Middle Ages, the town's name was written with a letter u, which was a Czech counterpart of ą (1262 Pruthenos, 1331 Prudnik). Since the 17th century, the name Prudnik was used alongside the German name Neustadt.[5]

The town's German name was also written in its Latin form – Neostadium. Its occasionally used Polish and Czech translations were: Nowe Miasto and Nové Město. The town's older name also had its Latin form – Prudnicium. The town was also called Polnisch Neustadt ("Polish New Town"),[6][7] but in 1708 it got replaced with Königliche Stadt Neustadt ("Royal Town New Town").[5] Its Polish counterpart, Nowe Miasto Królewskie, was used in a Polish document published in 1750 by Frederick the Great.

In the 19th century, the town's name was changed to Neustadt in Oberschlesien ("New Town in Upper Silesia"), while the Slavic name Prudnik was still used by its Polish inhabitants, which was mentioned in Upper Silesia's topographical description from 1865: "Der ursprünglische Stadtname "Prudnik" ist noch jetz bei den polnischen Landbewohnern üblich".[5] In the alphabetic list of cities of Silesia published by Johann Knie in Wrocław in 1830, Polish name Prudnik was used along with German Neustadt ("Prudnik, polnische Benennung der Kreistadt Neustadt").[8]

In Polish publications since the 20th century, the town's name was written as Prądnik.[6] This name was also used formally in 1945. The town's name was changed to Prudnik on 7 May 1946.[9]

In Polish, the town's name has masculine grammatical gender.

History

[edit]

Prehistory and the ancient times

[edit]

Traces of human presence in the area of ​​the present-day town of Prudnik, confirmed by archaeological research, date back to the Paleolithic era. The oldest settlements near Prudnik were formed by groups of hunters who exploited the surrounding flint deposits. Their products, found during excavations, are typical of the Acheulean culture, from the interglacial era.[10] The local population of early Slavs held trade contacts with Rome, as documented by Roman coins found in Prudnik dating back to 700 BC–1250 AD.[11] On a hill by the Złoty Potok river, in the western part of town, the remains of a warrior of the Germanic Vandals tribe, who died in the 4th century AD, were excavated.[12]

Middle Ages

[edit]

The area of present-day Prudnik was located at the borderlands between the local West Slavic tribes of Golensizi and Opolans.[13] The earliest written information regarding settlements near Prudnik were included in the 1233 will of a Silesian nobleman Johannes Sibote, the owner of nearby villages of Jasiona, Skrzypiec, Krzyżkowice, Czyżowice and Lubrza.[14] In 1253, the area was captured by the Czechs during a revenge campaign for the invasion of Opavian Silesia by Polish dukes Vladislaus I of Opole and Bolesław V the Chaste.[15]

Prudnik Castle in 1260

In the Autumn of 1255, King Ottokar II of Bohemia instructed Vok of Rosenberg to help new settlers move into the borderland. Between 6 November and the middle of December of that year, Vok founded the Wogendrüssel castle in the defensive bend of the Prudnik river. The castle controlled the trade route between Nysa and Opava. The foundation of the castle in this place is equivalent to the foundation of Prudnik as a settlement.[16] Prudnik was the northernmost stronghold of the Kingdom of Bohemia.[17]

Vok's son, Henry I of Rosenberg, obtained Magdeburg rights for the town in 1279. After Henry's death, Prudnik was passed over to knight Jaxa de Snelwald.[18] Prudnik belonged to the historical region of Moravia until 1337, when the town became a part of the Duchy of Opole in the Upper Silesia region, and remained under the rule of local Polish dukes of the Piast dynasty until the dissolution of the duchy in 1532, when it was incorporated into the Austrian-ruled Bohemian (Czech) Crown. It was located on a trade route between Wrocław and Vienna.[19]

14th-century seal showing Prudnik's coat of arms

In 1373, the town suffered a plague epidemic. Several residents survived the epidemic by escaping into the nearby Opawskie Mountains. Having returned to Prudnik, they burned down most of the buildings and started the process of rebuilding the town.[20] The oldest known form of Prudnik's coat of arms comes from a 1399 wax seal.[21]

During the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War, a knight known as Maćko of Prudnik (Maczke von der Neuwidnstadt) fought in the Battle of Grunwald on 15 July 1410 alongside Polish troops.[22][23] After the death of late Duke Vladislaus II's wife, brothers Bernard of Niemodlin and Bolko IV of Opole took over the area of Prudnik and Głogówek. The rule of the area was later passed over to Bolko IV's son, Bolko V the Hussite. The first written mention of Bolko V as the ruler of Prudnik is dated 6 May 1425.[24] Bolko V titled himself as the Duke of Głogówek and Prudnik. During the Hussite Wars, the town of Prudnik and nearby villages were plundered and burned down by the Hussites.[25] On 23 March 1464, Prudnik and villages around it were excommunicated by Pope Pius II for refusing to pay the debt of Duke Konrad IV the Elder. Although local historian Antoni Dudek has claimed that the excommunication was revoked in 16th century, the Holy See never revealed a document that lifted the curse.[26]

Early modern era

[edit]
Contemporary model of Prudnik in 1626

In 1506, a Silesian Sejm took place in Prudnik, in the presence of King Sigismund I the Old of Poland. While in Prudnik, the King recruited 200 troops into the light cavalry to maintain public order in Silesia.[27] After the death of Duke Jan II the Good in 1532, Prudnik, along with the entire Duchy of Opole and Racibórz, was incorporated into the Habsburg monarchy. In 1562, the Austrian-ruled Duchy of Opole and Racibórz passed a resolution that obligated Jews to sell their houses, pay their debts, and leave the duchy in a year. On the basis of this resolution, in 1564, Jews were ordered to leave Prudnik, but Krzysztof Prószkowski, who leased the land there, let them stay until 1570.[28]

In the years 1645–1666, Prudnik belonged to the Polish–Lithuanian House of Vasa as a fief. As a royal city, Prudnik became a hub of trade and industry. Linen makers of Prudnik were exporting their products to the Netherlands. Tanning businesses were also started in the town. Since the 16th century, the richest noblemen of the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz were settling in the town, and Prudnik became the most important industrial and political hub of Upper Silesia. It was also the place in which the Silesian Sejms took place.[29] The noble family of Bilitzer originated from Prudnik.[30]

Panoramic view of Prudnik, drawn by F. B. Werner, 1739

The population of Prudnik was decimated during the Thirty Years' War. In 1625, the town suffered a plague epidemic. On 12 February 1629, Emperor Ferdinand II exiled the Protestant clergy of Prudnik, while people of the town were forced to convert to Catholicism.[31] In 1642, the Swedish army captured Prudnik, then they plundered it and burned it down. After the end of the war, the town was rebuilt thanks to Emperor Ferdinand III's financial help.[32] Soon, Prudnik would become the biggest city of Upper Silesia.[33] Prudnik was a place of witch trials.[34]

See also: Battle of Neustadt (1760)
A 1780 engraving showing the town fire

Because of Prudnik being located at the borderlands, the town was a sight of multiple battles during the Silesian Wars. On 30 June 1761, King Frederick the Great of Prussia visited the town.[35] In February 1779, during the War of the Bavarian Succession, Austrians led an artillary attack on Prudnik, burning down most of the town's buildings. In an act of revenge, Prussians destroyed Krnov.[36] Prudnik was visited by Emperor Joseph II in August 1779.[37] On 20 August 1788, King Frederick William II of Prussia was passing through the town. He spent the night in the local Town House, while his son Frederick William III accommodated in a house by the Market Square.[38]

In the middle of the 18th century, Prudnik was considered to be the richest town of Upper Silesia. Its incomes were ten times higher than that of Opole, the capital of the region. This was caused by the fact that the town was an owner of eleven nearby villages: Czyżowice, Dębowiec, Dytmarów, Jasiona, Krzyżkowice, Lubrza, Piorunkowice, Pokrzywna, Skrzypiec, Szybowice, Wieszczyna and a part of Rudziczka. After the feudal service was abolished in the 19th century and the villages became independent, Prudnik's Town Council began to look for a source of income in forestry. Prudnik owned one of the biggest communal forest complexes in Upper Silesia (the Prudnik Forest), with an area of more than 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres).[39]

19th century

[edit]
Former military barracks in Prudnik

The start of the 19th century saw further development of the town, mainly through the accommodation of Prussian soldiers. During the Napoleonic Wars, Prudnik was captured by the French army at the start of 1807.[40] In accordance to Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's decree from 6 April 1807, an uhlan regiment of the Legion of the Vistula was formed in Prudnik. The regiment was made up of Polish troops returning from Italy, reinforced with recruits from Greater Poland.[41] Prudnik remained under French occupation until 1812, when it was captured by Russians.[42] After the wars, in 1816 the town had a debt of 82,330 thalers, with revenues of 14,687 thalers and expenses of 14,238 thalers. The debt lasted until the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. In 1828, the town had about 4,000 inhabitants. The first spinning and weaving mills for wool, linen and silk were built in the town, as well as a textile factory (known as ZPB "Frotex" since 1945) founded by the Jewish industrialist Samuel Fränkel. A brickyard, a brewery, mills and a vinegar factory were also built. In reference to the main professions of its inhabitants, Prudnik was nicknamed the "town of weavers and shoemakers".[43][44]

Samuel Fränkel's textile factory

Despite Prudnik being one of the biggest industrial centres of Upper Silesia, no workers' protests against capitalists were recorded to take place in the town, even during the Silesian weavers' uprising of 1844 and the Revolutions of 1848.[45] In preparations to the January Uprising of 1863, the Central National Committee designated Prudnik as a "contact point" and a "weapons collection point". Poles carried out conspiratorial activities in the vicinity of the town. After the start of the uprising, controls on the border between Prussia and Austria were tightened. Everybody arriving in Prudnik had to report to the police, and the local military garrison was put on alert and took over the duties of units from nearby cities, as they were sent to guard the Prussian–Russian border. Three Polish soldiers from Prudnik took part in the January Uprising: Hieronim Olszewski, Piotr Linowski and Antoni Strogiński.[46]

In 1876, Prudnik was connected with Nysa and Koźle via a railway line,[47] and in 1896, a railway line between Prudnik and Gogolin started operating. In January 1898, the first social democratic conference of Upper Silesia took place in Prudnik.[48]

Early 20th century

[edit]
A postcard depicting the Royal Catholic Gymnasium and the Evangelical church in Prudnik

At the beginning of the 20th century, a municipal bathhouse, a Town Park and military barracks were built in Prudnik. The town became a military garrison.[49] The indigenous Polish population was subject to Germanisation policies. Due to the lack of Polish schools, local Poles sent their children to schools in so-called Congress Poland in the Russian Partition of Poland.[50] Local Polish activist, publicist and teacher Filip Robota [pl], was investigated by the local Prussian administration and police for writing about this practice in the Gazeta Toruńska, a major Polish newspaper in the Prussian Partition of Poland.[50] In July 1903, Prudnik and its surrounding area suffered a giant flood. One month later, Empress Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein visited Głuchołazy, Jarnołtówek and Prudnik to inspect places destroyed during the flood. She provided money for the construction of a water dam in Jarnołtówek.[51] According to a 1 December 1910 census, among 18,864 inhabitants of Prudnik, 18,072 spoke German, 565 spoke Polish, 3 spoke a different language, and 224 were bilingual.[52] During the First World War, a military hospital operated in the Fatebenefratelli monsatery in Prudnik.[53]

An aerial photograph of the town's centre in the 1930s

Prudnik remained part of Germany after Poland regained independence in 1918, however, Polish organizations still operated in the town in the interbellum, including the Union of Poles in Germany and the Polish-Catholic School Society.[19] Polish Prime Minister Ignacy Jan Paderewski proposed to incorporate Prudnik into Poland in his unrealized political concept of the United States of Poland, which was presented to the US President Woodrow Wilson.

Arrival of a train with migrant workers from Western Germany in Prudnik during the 1921 plebiscite

Only the eastern territory of the district of Prudnik was part of the 1921 Upper Silesia plebiscite. A Polish Plebiscite Committee was established in Prudnik, but over time it was moved to Głogówek and then to Strzeleczki, as its headquarters in Prudnik were demolished.[54] Prudnik was a concentration place for German militias. The town housed a secret warehouse of military equipment for paramilitary units. It was a recruitment base for Freikorps troops.[55] During the Silesian Uprisings, several Polish sabotage groups operated in Prudnik and its vicinity, with a goal of hindering German military operations.[56] During the Third Silesian Uprising in 1921, a German kangaroo court operated in Prudnik. Poles convicted by the court were executed by shooting in a forest between Prudnik and Niemysłowice.[57] Field hospitals for wounded soldiers and volunteers operated in the town.[58]

Adolf Hitler at the railway station in Prudnik, 1938

In a secret Sicherheitsdienst report from 1934, Prudnik was named one of the main centers of the Polish movement in western Upper Silesia.[59] Nazi Germany increasingly persecuted local Polish activists since 1937, and carried out mass arrests in August and September 1939.[60] After the Munich Agreement, on 7 October 1938 Adolf Hitler arrived in Prudnik by train and then travelled to the Sudetenland. After visiting the Sudeten territories, he returned to Prudnik and went to Berlin by train. He was accompanied by Nazi officials and officers, including Hermann Göring, Heinrich Himmler, Gerd von Rundstedt, Erhard Milch and Hans-Jürgen Stumpff.[61] During the Night of Broken Glass on 9–10 November 1938, Nazi militias burned down the local synagogue, founded in 1877 by Samuel Fränkel.[62]

Prudnik Synagogue, burned down in 1938

World War II

[edit]
German army at the Market Square in Prudnik

During the Second World War, a military hospital was opened in the Fatebenefratelli monsatery again, with subsidiaries in the building of a local school and in the Castle in nearby Moszna.[63] The Germans established four forced labour camps and four working units for British and Soviet prisoners of war.[19] On 26 September 1944, a subcamp of the Auschwitz concentration camp was founded in the Schlesische Feinweberei AG textile mill (now ZPB "Frotex").[64] Around 400 women, mostly from German-occupied Hungary, were imprisoned in the subcamp, and some died.[64] In January 1945, the prisoners of the subcamp were evacuated by the Germans to the Gross-Rosen concentration camp in a death march.[64][65] During the final months of the war, the town was also a stopping place of death marches of thousands of prisoners of several other subcamps of Auschwitz,[65] and of Allied prisoners-of-war transferred by the Nazis from all over Europe to stalags built in occupied Poland. About 30,000 PoWs were force-marched westward across Poland, Czechoslovakia and Germany in winter conditions, lasting about four months from January to April 1945.[66]

Nazi military parade at the Market Square

The Red Army started planning an attack on Prudnik in March 1945. It was supposed to be the most important part of the Upper Silesian offensive.[67] The Soviets captured the town on 17 March 1945. In April of that year, the Red Army organised a ghetto for around 9,000 German inhabitants of the town. Prudnik remained on the frontline until May 1945, as German units stationed in close proximity to the town. Around 200 thousand soldiers took part in fighting for the town. On 23 April 1945, the Market Square, Parish Square and Castle Square were bombarded by the Soviet airforce. However, it is not known whether the bombing was intentional. According to a local priest Franz Pietsch, the bombardment was caused by drunk Russians shooting out incorrect light signals.[68]

Around 15% of the buildings in Prudnik were destroyed during the war, including the Nativity of the Virgin Mary Sanctuary and the Schwedenschanze tourist shelter. The northern part of the Market Square with Town Hall was heavily damaged.[69]

In communist Poland

[edit]
Market Square following the end of World War II

Polish administration took over civil rule in the Prudnik County on 11 May 1945.[70] A part of Poles from the Eastern Borderlands were relocated to the Prudnik and its surrounding area. Specifically, people from Nadwórna (now Nadvirna, Ukraine),[71] the area of Tarnopol (now Ternopil),[72] settled in the town, along with immigrants from Central Poland and people relocated from Czerniowce (now Chernivtsi, Ukraine).[73] The majority of the German inhabitants of the town were expelled to Germany, however, unlike other parts of the so-called Recovered Territories, the surrounding region's indigenous population remained and was not forcibly expelled as elsewhere.[74]

The first name given to the town under Polish administration was Prądnik. It was changed to Prudnik on 7 May 1946.[75] The change was preceded by months of debate in the local press, and at one point both names were in use simultaneously.[76] The first Polish mayor of the town was Antoni Błaszczyński, and the first starosta was Józef Sopa. The Red Army terrorised the local population by robbing people and raping women, including children.[77] On 3 June 1945, Czechoslovak militia from Zlaté Hory arrived in Prudnik and captured the local Town Hall, announcing that the town belongs to Czechoslovakia. Polish soldiers convinced the Czechs to leave without a firefight.[78]

A monument to Stefan Wyszyński at the place of his imprisonment

Since 1945 to 1956, a Security Office was located at the Klasztorna Street in Prudnik. An anti-communist military organization Underground Home Army operated in the town and its vicinity.[79] Since 6 October 1954 to 27 October 1955, cardinal Stefan Wyszyński was imprisoned in the Franciscan monastery in Prudnik.[80]

The Museum of Prudnik Region and the Prudnik Forest District were founded in 1959.[81][82] In the years 1964–1974, the Nowotki housing estate (since 1990 the Wyszyńskiego housing estate) was built in the southern part of the town.[83] In the 1970s, the Jasionowe Wzgórze housing estate was built in the eastern part of town.[84] In August 1977, Prudnik and its surrounding area were hit by a flood caused by heavy rainfall. The flood wave destroyed a railway bridge at Słowicza Street.[85]

Anti-communist demonstrations in Prudnik, 1981

In September 1980, 1,500 workers of ZPB "Frotex" and firefighters from the factory's fire brigade went on the biggest anti-communist strike in Opole Voivodeship. The strike lasted 5 days (5–10 September). Other factories in the town also went on strikes.

In modern Poland

[edit]
Removal of the Red Army monument from the Wolności Square, 1990

After the first elections to local self-government in Poland after its restoration in 1990, Jan Roszkowski became the mayor of Prudnik.[86] In December 1990, a monument to the Red Army was removed from the Wolności Square.[87] A momunent to Polish soldiers was erected in its place in 1996.[88] The military garrison of Prudnik was liquidated in May 1994.[89] In June 1997, the municipal sewage treatment plant at Poniatowskiego Street was put into operation.[90]

Prudnik was the first town in Poland to be flooded during the July 1997 Central European flood. Water from the Złoty Potok river destroyed the pedestrian bridge at Kościuszki Street. The streets of Kochanowskiego, Morcinka, Chrobrego, Batorego, Powstańców Śląskich, Kolejowa, Ogrodowa, Nyska, as well as numerous industrial plants were flooded by water from the Prudnik river. In total, 192 people were evacuated from the town and surrounding villages.[91]

The 2024 flood in Prudnik

In 2007 and 2014, two of the biggest factories in the town were shut down: Prudnickie Zakłady Obuwia "Primus" and Zakłady Przemysłu Bawełnianego "Frotex".[92][93] In 2009, the local castle tower, known as "Wok's Tower", was renovated and adapted into a scenic viewpoint.[94] On 20 June 2015, Prudnik joined the Cittaslow International organisation.[95]

Prudnik was flooded during the 2024 Central European floods. The water destroyed several elements of the town's historical architecture and three pedestrian bridges. Two industrial plants and sports infrastructure were flooded.[96][97]

Geography

[edit]
Biskupia Kopa seen from the Castle Tower in Prudnik

Prudnik lies in the south-western part of Poland, in the Opole Voivodeship. It is a seat of the Prudnik County and Gmina Prudnik. It is the capital and the largest town of the Prudnik Land historical region. The other towns of the Prudnik Land are Biała, Głogówek and Strzeleczki.[98] Along with nearby Vrbno pod Pradědem in the Czech Republic, Prudnik is a capital of Euroregion Praděd.[99] Originally belonging to Moravia, the town has been a part of the historical region of Silesia (Upper Silesia) since 1337.[100]

Prudnik is situated 50 kilometres (31 mi) away from Opole, 86 kilometres (53 mi) away from Ostrava, 107 kilometres (66 mi) away from Wrocław, 115 kilometres (71 mi) away from Katowice, 263 kilometres (163 mi) away from Prague, 284 kilometres (176 mi) away from Bratislava, 289 kilometres (180 mi) away from Vienna and 356 kilometres (221 mi) away from Warsaw.

Złoty Potok river in the western part of town

The town is located at the borderline between the Silesian Lowlands and the Opawskie Mountains (Eastern Sudetes). According to Krzysztof Badora's 2017 physical and geographical division of Opole Voivodeship, Prudnik is situated in four microregions: Prudnik Valley (Dolina Prudnika), Prudnik Depression (Obniżenie Prudnickie), Głuchołazy–Prudnik Foreland (Przedgórze Głuchołasko-Prudnickie) and Długota Mountains (Wzgórza Długockie).[101] The town lies at the confluence of the Prudnik river and its Złoty Potok tributary.

There are several mountains within the administrative boundaries of the town: Czyżykowa Góra, Kapliczna Góra, Kozia Góra, Okopowa, Szubieniczna Góra, Święta Góra, Wróblik. The town's lowest elevation is situated at 238 metres (781 ft), and the highest elevation is at 403 metres (1,322 ft).[102]

Historical population

[edit]
Wok's Tower (13th–14th century), a remnant of the castle
Year Population
1675 2,527
1754 2,905
1764 2,722
1774 3,048
1782 3,696
1829 4,000
1885 16,093
1890 17,577
1910 18,865
1939 17,339
1956 14,900
Year Population
1962 14,900
1995 24 350
2000 23,800
2002 23,630
2003 23,528
2004 23,376
2005 23,234
2006 23,078
2007 22,927
2008 22,787
2009 22,663
Year Population
2010 22,514
2011 22,164
2012 21,979
2013 21,778
2014 21,676
2015 21,472
2016 21,368

German minority

[edit]

Alongside German and Polish, many citizens of Prudnik before 1945 used a strongly German-influenced Silesian language (sometimes called wasserpolnisch or wasserpolak). Because of this, the post-war Polish state administration after the annexation of Silesia in 1945 did not initiate a general expulsion of all former inhabitants of Prudnik, as was done in Lower Silesia, for instance, where the population almost exclusively spoke the German language. Because they were considered "autochthonous" (Polish), the Wasserpolak-speakers instead received the right to remain in their homeland after declaring themselves as Poles. Some German speakers took advantage of this decision, allowing them to remain in Silesia, even when they considered themselves to be of German nationality. The city surroundings currently contain the largest German and Upper Silesian minorities in Poland. However, Prudnik itself is only 1% German.[103]

Further information: German minority in Poland

Sights

[edit]
Part of the Old Town

Prudnik is a town rich in historic architecture from various periods. Among its sights are:

  • Lower Gate
    Lower Gate
  • Historical museum
    Historical museum
  • St. Michael's Church
    St. Michael's Church
  • Park Miejski in winter
    Park Miejski in winter
  • Prudnik Culture Centre
    Prudnik Culture Centre
  • Memorial to Polish children and youth, heroes and victims of World War II
    Memorial to Polish children and youth, heroes and victims of World War II

Education

[edit]
Publiczna Szkoła Podstawowa nr 1, Elementary School
Publiczne Gimnazjum nr 1, gymnasium
Medical School
I Liceum Ogólnokształcące, Secondary School

Preschools

[edit]
  • Publiczne Przedszkole nr 1 (5 Mickiewicza Street)
  • Zespół Szkolno-Przedszkolny nr 2 (12 Szkolna Street)
  • Publiczne Przedszkole nr 3 (69 Piastowska Street)
  • Publiczne Przedszkole nr 4 (9 Mickiewicza Street)
  • Publiczne Przedszkole Specjalne nr 5 (1 Młyńska Street)
  • Publiczne Przedszkole nr 6 (9a Podgórna Street)
  • Publiczne Przedszkole nr 8 (1 Ogrodowa Street)
  • Niepubliczne Przedszkole "Skrzat" (66 Grunwaldzka Street)

Primary schools

[edit]
  • Publiczna Szkoła Podstawowa nr 1 (9 Podgórna Street)
  • Zespół Szkolno-Przedszkolny nr 2 (12 Szkolna Street)
  • Publiczna Szkoła Podstawowa nr 3 (12 Szkolna Street)
  • Publiczna Szkoła Podstawowa nr 4 (2 Dąbrowskiego Street)
  • Publiczna Szkoła Podstawowa Specjalna nr 5 (1 Młyńska Street)

Secondary schools

[edit]
  • Publiczne Gimnazjum nr 1 (1 Armii Krajowej Street)
  • Publiczne Gimnazjum nr 2 (2 Dąbrowskiego Street)
  • Publiczne Gimnazjum Specjalne nr 3 (1 Młyńska Street)

High schools

[edit]
  • I Liceum Ogólnokształcące (2 Gimnazjalna Street)
  • II Liceum Ogólnokształcące (55 Kościuszki Street)
  • Liceum Ogólnokształcące dla dorosłych (5 Podgórna Street)
  • Zespół Szkół Medycznych (Medical School) (26 Piastowska Street)
  • Zespół Szkół Rolniczych (76 Kościuszki Street)
  • Zespół Szkół Zawodowych (5 Podgórna Street)
  • Państwowa Szkoła Muzyczna I st. (36 Traugutta Street)
  • Szkoła policealna dla dorosłych (26 Piastowska Street)

Religion

[edit]
Saints Peter and Paul church
Zbór Syloe

Catholic Church

[edit]

Prudnik Deanery

Pentecostal Church

[edit]
  • Zbór Syloe (40A Kolejowa Street)

Jehovah's Witnesses

[edit]

Cemeteries

[edit]
  • Cmentarz Komunalny (19 Kościuszki Street)
  • Jewish cemetery (40 Kolejowa Street)

Sport

[edit]
Stadium on Włoska Street
Basketball players of Pogoń Prudnik (2017)

Sports venues

[edit]

Sports teams

[edit]

Economy

[edit]
ZPB "Frotex"

The biggest corporations in Prudnik were Zakłady Przemysłu Bawełnianego "Frotex", which got closed in 2014 and Prudnickie Zakłady Obuwia "Primus", which got closed in 2007.

Currently, the major industrial plants in Prudnik are:

  • Steinpol Central Services (furniture industry)
  • Spółdzielnia "Pionier" (auto parts industry)
  • Artech Polska (printing cartridges industry)
  • Okręgowa Spółdzielnia Mleczarska (food industry)
  • Henniges Automotive (auto parts industry)

Notable people

[edit]
See also: Category:People from Prudnik

Born in Prudnik

[edit]
Memorial plaque at the former home of Filip Robota

Other residents

[edit]

Twin towns – sister cities

[edit]

See twin towns of Gmina Prudnik.

References

[edit]
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Bibliography

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[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prudnik.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Prudnik.
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