2638 POLAND (Lower Silesian) - Wrocław Town Hall

The Old Town Hall of Wrocław stands at the center of Market Square and is one of the main landmarks of the city. It was developed over a period of about 250 years, from the end of 13th century to the middle of 16th century. The structure and floor plan changed over this period in response to the needs of the city. The exact date of the initial construction is not known, but between 1299 and 1301 a single-storey structure with cellars and a tower called the consistory was built. The oldest parts of the current building, the Burghers' Hall and the lower floors of the tower, may date to this time.

2460 POLAND (Lower Silesia) - Wrocław

Located on the  Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, at roughly 40km north from the Sudeten Mountains, Wrocław is the historical capital of Silesia. In the 10th century, the Bohemian duke Vratislaus I founded here a Bohemian stronghold, Vratislavia, probably named after the duke's name. In 990, Duke  Mieszko I of Poland conquered Silesia including Wroclaw. The chronicle Gesta principum Polonorum, written in 1112-1116, named Wrocław, along with Kraków and Sandomierz, as one of the three capitals of the Polish Kingdom.

2015, 2146 POLAND (Lower Silesia) - Churches of Peace in Jawor and Świdnica (UNESCO WHS)

2015 Church of Peace in Jawor

Posted on 07.11.2015, 24.12.2015
The Churches of Peace in Jawor (German: Jauer) and Świdnica (German: Schweidnitz) in Silesia were named after the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, that ratified, among others, that Protestants and Catholics are equal before the law. It permitted the Lutherans in the Roman Catholic parts of Silesia to build three churches from wood, loam and straw outside the city walls, without steeples and bells. The construction time was limited to one year.

2146 Church of Peace in Świdnica

The result was the erection of the largest timber-framed religious buildings in Europe, were built in the former Silesia in the mid-17th century. Constrained by the physical and political conditions, the Churches of Peace bear testimony to the quest for religious freedom and are a rare expression of Lutheran ideology in an idiom generally associated with the Catholic. In addition to the two was also built such a church in Głogów (then German Glogau) which burned down in 1758.

0603 POLAND (Lower Silesia) - Książ Castle

Located on a rock cliff on the bank of the Pelcznica River,  Książ Castle (Zamek Książ), often called "the Pearl of Lower Silesia", is surrounded by the forest, within a protected area called Książ Landscape Park. The original fortification was destroyed in 1263 by Ottokar II of Bohemia, but 25 years later Bolko I, Duke of Świdnica and Jawor, built a new castle. It passed through several hands (including of the Hussites) until 1482, when it was destroyed again. In 1509 it became the property of Hoberg family (from 1714: Hochberg), who owned it until 1941, when was taken by German State partly to pay taxes, partly as punishment for the "treason" of Hans Heinrich’s eldest children: one served in the British army, the other in the Polish one. During WWII was part of the Project Riese, which consisted in the building of seven underground military complexes of the Nazi Germany. In 1945 the castle was occupied by the Red Army, and all artifacts were lost or destroyed.

0558 POLAND (Lower Silesia) - Centennial Hall in Wrocław (UNESCO WHS)

Founded as a Bohemian stronghold at the intersection of two trade routes, the Via Regia and the Amber Road, and later becomed the capital of Silesia, Wrocław it has been part, throughout history, of the Kingdom of Poland, the Austrian Empire, Prussia, Germany; and, since 1945, of Poland. In this city, on 10 March 1813 King Frederick William III of Prussia issued the proclamation An Mein Volk (To my People), by which he called upon the Prussian and German people to rise up against Napoleon's occupation. In October of that year, at the Battle of Leipzig, Napoleon was defeated.

0258 POLAND (Lower Silesia) - Journey of a church

In the summer of 1841, the parish church of the Norwegian village Vang went on the road. More than 600 years served the community, since she was build by Eindridi, son of Olav of Lo, but locals wanted a new church, larger and bright, so the stave church followed the advice of painter J.C. Dahl and left her fate in the hands of Frederick William IV, king of Prussia.