Polanica-Zdrój

Polanica-Zdrój
Spring Park Spring Park
Coat of arms of Polanica-Zdrój Coat of arms
Polanica-Zdrój
Coordinates:
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lower Silesian
County	Kłodzko
Gmina	Polanica-Zdrój (urban gmina)
Area
• Total	17.22 km2 (6.65 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Total	6,900
• Density	400/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Website	http://www.polanica.pl

Polanica-Zdrój [pɔlaˈɲit͡sa ˈzdrui̯] (German: Altheide Bad) is a town in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland.

It lies approximately 11 kilometres (7 mi) south-west of Kłodzko, and 89 kilometres (55 mi) south-west of the regional capital Wrocław. As at 2006, the town has a population of 6,900.

Polanica-Zdrój was first documented in 1347 under the name Heyde; at the time it belonged to the House of Glaubitz, Bohemia within the Holy Roman Empire. In 1645 the town was destroyed by Swedish troops during the Thirty Years' War. In 1742 the town – like all the area – changed into the hands of Brandenburg-Prussia, becoming part of sovereign Prussia with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. The town grew quickly during the 19th century, becoming a popular health resort in the 1870s, after Prussia had become a component state of Germany in 1871. In 1890 a rail connection to Glatz was completed. The town became part of Poland after World War II ended in 1945 and wasethnically cleansed according to the post-war Potsdam Agreement. The native German populace was expelled and replaced by Poles.

On 28 June 1972 the Catholic parishes of Polanica-Zdrój were redeployed from the traditional Hradec Králové diocese (est. 1664; Ecclesiastical Province of Bohemia) into the Archdiocese of Wrocław.

The amateur film festival POL-8 takes place in Polanica-Zdrój. The town is twinned with Telgte in Germany. Since 1963, it has hosted the annual Akiba Rubinstein Memorial chess tournament, honoring the great Polish Grandmaster (1882–1961). This event always attracts a high-class field of top players.

Numbers of inhabitants:

Year Numbers of inhabitants 1787 443 1816 490 1880 527 1910 1,538 1933 1,831 1950 4,482 1960 6,514 1970 6,943 1978 7,399 2006 6,900

Surroundings

• Historical city of Kłodzko with Kłodzko Fortress with 44 km (27 mi) de galleries & the bridge Saint-John (called a "Charles Bridge of Prague in miniature") from 1390 and its houses from 15th and 16th century
• Spa resorts in Duszniki-Zdrój, Kudowa-Zdrój & Lądek-Zdrój
• Śnieżnik Mountains & Stołowe Mountains
• Medieval town of Niemcza
• Cistercian monastery at Henryków
• Wojsławice Arboretum

External links

• Official web site, in Polish, English and German
• Jewish Community in Polanica-Zdrój on Virtual Shtetl