Editing Legnica (section)

==History==
===Pre-history===
Archaeological research conducted in eastern Legnica in the late 1970s, showed the existence of a [[Bronze Age Europe|bronze]] [[foundry]] and the graves of three metallurgists. The find indicates a time interval about year 1000 BC.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.tvn24.pl/wroclaw,44/legnica-brzytwy-sprzed-trzech-tysiecy-lat-w-grobach-kowali,701791.html |title = Brzytwy sprzed 3 tysięcy lat w grobach kowali| date=26 December 2016 }}</ref>

A settlement of the [[Lusatian culture]] people existed in the 8th century B.C. [[Pre-Celtic|After invasions of Celts beyond upper Danube]] basin, the area of Legnica and north foothills of [[Sudetes]] was infiltrated by Celtic settlers and traders.

[[Tacitus]] and [[Ptolemy]] recorded the ancient nation of [[Lugii]] (Lygii) in the area, and mentioned their town of Lugidunum, which has been attributed to both Legnica<ref>Pierre Deschamps. ''Dictionnaire de géographie ancienne et moderne''. Straubling & Müller, 1922.</ref> and [[Głogów]].<ref>James Cowles Prichard. ''Researches into the Physical History of Mankind''. Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper. London, 1841.</ref>

===Early Poland===
{{See also|Battle of Legnica}}
[[File:Battle of Legnica1241-From Legend of Saint Hedwig.jpg|thumb|left|[[Battle of Legnica]], medieval illuminated manuscript, collection of the [[J. Paul Getty Museum]] in [[Los Angeles, California]]]]

Slavic [[Lechitic languages|Lechitic]] tribes moved into the area in the 8th century.

The city was first officially mentioned in [[chronicle]]s from 1004,<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.staypoland.com/cityHistory.aspx?TownId=71&lang=pl |title = Legnica}}</ref> although settlement dates to the 7th century. [[Dendrochronology|Dendrochronological]] research proves that during the reign of [[Mieszko I of Poland]], a new fortified settlement was built here in a style typical of the early [[Piast dynasty]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Korta|first=Wacław|year=2013|title=Historia Śląska do 1763 roku|language=pl|location=Warsaw|publisher=DiG|page=63}}</ref> It is mentioned in 1149 when High Duke [[Bolesław IV the Curly]] funded a chapel at the St. Benedict monastery.<ref name="arch">{{Cite journal |last=Łaborewicz |first=Edyta |date=1997 |title=ŹRÓDŁA DO DZIEJÓW KOŚCIOŁA W LEGNICY |url=https://www.archiwa.gov.pl/images/docs/archeion/Arch_XCVII.pdf |language=Polish | journal=Archeion | volume=97 |issn=0066-6041 | pages=149–153}}</ref> Legnica was the most likely place of residence for Bolesław<ref name="bar">{{cite journal | title=Polscy święci | author=Bar, Joachim Roman | journal=Akademia Teologii Katolickiej | year=1986 | volume=9–10 | pages=36}}</ref> and it became the residence of the [[List of Polish monarchs|high dukes of Poland]] in 1163<ref name=EB1911/> and was the seat of a [[Duchy of Legnica|principality]] ruled from 1248 until 1675.

Legnica became famous for the [[Battle of Legnica|battle]] that took place at [[Legnickie Pole]] near the city on 9 April 1241 during the [[First Mongol invasion of Poland]]. The Christian army of the Polish duke [[Henry II the Pious]] of Silesia, supported by feudal nobility, which included in addition to Poles, Bavarian miners and [[Military order (society)|military orders]] and Czech troops, was decisively defeated by the [[Mongols]]. The Mongols killed Henry and destroyed his forces, then turned south to rejoin the rest of the Mongol armies, which were massing at the Plain of [[Muhi|Mohi]] in [[Hungary]] via [[Moravia]] against a coalition of King Bela IV and his armies, and Bela's Kipchak allies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=SINOR |first=DENIS |title=The Mongols in the West |date=1999 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41933117 |journal=Journal of Asian History |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=1–44 |jstor=41933117 |issn=0021-910X}}</ref>

[[File:Legnica 1 lo 10100010.jpg|thumb|Former Dominican monastery and burial site of [[Bolesław II the Horned]]]]

After the war, nonetheless, the city was developing rapidly. In 1258 at the church of St. Peter, a parish school was established, probably the first of its kind in Poland.<ref name=ZL>{{cite web|url=http://zabytki.legnica.eu/historia-legnicy/od-miasta-lokacyjnego-do-konca-czasow-piastowskich|title=Od miasta lokacyjnego do końca czasów piastowskich|website=Legnica.eu|access-date=8 November 2019|language=pl}}</ref> Around 1278 a Dominican monastery was founded by [[Bolesław II the Horned]],<ref name=ZL/> who was buried there as the only [[List of Polish monarchs|monarch of Poland]] to be buried in Legnica. Already by 1300 there was a city council in Legnica.<ref name=ZL/> Duke [[Bolesław III the Generous]] granted new trade [[privilege (law)|privileges]] in 1314 and 1318 and allowed the construction of a town hall, and in 1337 the first waterworks were built.<ref name=ZL/> In the years 1327–1380 a new [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] church of Saint Peter (today's Cathedral) was erected in place of the old one,<ref name=ZL/> and is one of Legnica's landmarks since. Also by the 14th century the city walls were erected.<ref name=ZL/> In 1345 the first coins were produced in the local mint.<ref name=ZL/> In 1374, the potters' guild was founded, as one of the oldest in Silesia.<ref name=ZL/> [[List of Polish consorts|Queen consort of Poland]] [[Hedwig of Sagan]] died in Legnica in 1390 and was buried in the local collegiate church, which has not survived to this day.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://legnica.gosc.pl/doc/4457212.Krolowa-z-drugiej-ligi|title=Królowa z drugiej ligi|website=Legnica.Gosc.pl|date=18 January 2018|access-date=7 March 2020|language=pl}}</ref>

===Duchy of Legnica===
{{main|Duchy of Legnica}}
[[File:SM Legnica Zamek (5) ID 593146.jpg|thumb|left|The Piast Castle in Legnica]]

As the capital of the Duchy of Legnica at the beginning of the 14th century, Legnica was one of the most important cities of Central Europe, having a population of nearly 16,000 residents. The city began to expand quickly after the discovery of [[gold]] in the [[Kaczawa]] River between Legnica and [[Złotoryja|Złotoryja (Goldberg)]]. Unfortunately, such a growth rate can not be maintained long. Shortly after the city reached its maximum population increase, wooden buildings which had been erected during this period of rapid growth were devastated by a huge fire. The fire decreased the number of inhabitants in the city and halted any significant further development for many decades.

Legnica, along with other Silesian duchies, became a [[vassal]] of the [[Kingdom of Bohemia]] during the 14th century and was included within the multi-ethnic [[Holy Roman Empire]], however remained ruled by local dukes of the Polish [[Piast dynasty]]. In 1454, a local rebellion prevented Legnica from falling under direct rule of the Bohemian kings.<ref>T. Gumiński, E. Wiśniewski, ''Legnica. Przewodnik po mieście'', Legnica 2001, p. 15.</ref> In 1505, Duke [[Frederick II of Legnica]] met in Legnica with the duke of nearby [[Głogów]], [[Sigismund I the Old]], the future king of Poland.<ref name=ZL/>

[[File:Liegnitz-Mausoleum-1.jpg|thumb|Mausoleum of the last Piast dukes in the Saint John the Baptist church]]
[[File:Legnica, ul. Partyzantów 22-23.JPG|thumb|One of the preserved streets in Legnica's Old Town with the Castle in the background]]

The [[Protestant Reformation]] was introduced in the duchy as early as 1522 and the population became [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]]. In 1526, a Protestant university was established in Legnica, which, however, was closed in 1529.<ref name=ZL/> In 1528 the first printing house in Legnica was established.<ref name=ZL/> After the death of King [[Louis II of Hungary|Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia]] at [[Battle of Mohács|Mohács]] in 1526, Legnica became a fief of the [[Habsburg monarchy]] of Austria. The first map of Silesia was made by native son [[Martin Helwig]]. The city suffered during the [[Thirty Years' War]]. In 1633 a [[Plague (disease)|plague]] epidemic broke out, and in 1634 the Austrian army destroyed the suburbs.<ref name=ZL/>

In 1668 Duke of Legnica [[Christian, Duke of Brieg|Christian]] presented his candidacy to the Polish throne, however, in the [[1669 Polish–Lithuanian royal election]] he wasn't chosen as King. In 1676, Legnica passed to direct [[Habsburg]] rule after the death of the last Silesian Piast duke and the last Piast duke overall, [[George William, Duke of Liegnitz|George William]] (son of Duke Christian), despite the earlier inheritance pact by Brandenburg and Silesia, by which it was to go to Brandenburg. The last Piast duke was buried in the St. John's church in Legnica in 1676.<ref name=ZL/>

===18th and 19th centuries===
Silesian aristocracy was trained at the [[Liegnitz Ritter-Akademie]], established in the early 18th century. One of two main routes connecting [[Warsaw]] and [[Dresden]] ran through the city in the 18th century and Kings [[Augustus II the Strong]] and [[Augustus III of Poland]] traveled that route many times.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dresden-warszawa.eu/pl/prolog/informacja-historyczna/|title=Informacja historyczna|website=Dresden-Warszawa|access-date=7 February 2020|language=pl}}</ref> The postal milestone of King Augustus II comes from that period.<ref name=slup/>

In 1742 most of Silesia, including Liegnitz, became part of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] after King [[Frederick II of Prussia|Frederick the Great's]] defeat of Austria in the [[War of the Austrian Succession]]. In 1760 during the [[Seven Years' War]], Liegnitz was the site of the [[Battle of Liegnitz (1760)|Battle of Liegnitz]] when Frederick's army defeated an Austrian army led by [[Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon|Laudon]].

[[File:Legnica kamienice.jpg|thumb|[[Eclecticism in architecture|Eclectic]] tenements located at ''Witelona'' Street]]

During the [[Napoleonic Wars]] and [[History of Poland (1795–1918)|Polish national liberation fights]], in 1807 Polish [[uhlan]]s were stationed in the city,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.polskaniezwykla.pl/web/place/28281,legnica-tablica-pamiatkowa-poswiecona-ulanom-legii-nadwislanskiej-.html|title=Legnica - Tablica pamiątkowa poświęcona ułanom Legii Nadwiślańskiej|website=PolskaNiezwykla.pl|access-date=7 March 2020|language=pl}}</ref> and in 1813, the Prussians, under Field Marshal [[Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher|Blücher]], defeated the [[First French Empire|French]] forces of [[Étienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald|MacDonald]] in the [[Battle of Katzbach]] (Kaczawa) nearby. After the administrative reorganization of the [[Prussia]]n state following the [[Congress of Vienna]], Liegnitz and the surrounding territory (''Landkreis Liegnitz'') were incorporated into the [[Regierungsbezirk]] (administrative district) of Liegnitz, within the [[Province of Silesia]] on 1 May 1816. Along with the rest of Prussia, the town became part of the [[German Empire]] in 1871 during the [[unification of Germany]]. On 1 January 1874 Liegnitz became the third city in Lower Silesia (after [[Wrocław|Breslau]] and [[Görlitz]]) to be raised to an [[Districts of Germany|urban district]], although the district administrator of the surrounding ''Landkreis'' of Liegnitz continued to have his seat in the city. Its military garrison was home to Königsgrenadier-Regiment Nr. 7 a military unit formed almost exclusively out of Polish soldiers.<ref>Sedan 1870. Ryszard Dzieszyńsk, page 52, Bellona 2009</ref>

===The 20th century===
[[File:Castle in Legnica6.JPG|thumb|left|Old view of the Piast Castle]]

The census of 1910 gave Liegnitz's population as 95.86% [[Germans|German]], 0.15% German and Polish, 1.27% [[Polish people|Polish]], 2.26% [[Wends|Wendish]], and 0.19% [[Czechs|Czech]]. On 1 April 1937 parts of the ''Landkreis'' of Liegnitz communities of Alt Beckern (Piekary), Groß Beckern (Piekary Wielkie), Hummel, Liegnitzer Vorwerke, Pfaffendorf (Piątnica) und Prinkendorf (Przybków) were incorporated into the city limits. After the [[Treaty of Versailles]] following [[World War I]], Liegnitz was part of the newly created [[Province of Lower Silesia]] from 1919 to 1938, then of the [[Province of Silesia]] from 1938 to 1941, and again of the province of Lower Silesia from 1941 to 1945. After the [[Nazi Party]] came to power in Germany, as early as 1933, a boycott of local [[Jewish]] premises was ordered, during the ''[[Kristallnacht]]'' in 1938 the synagogue was burned down,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zabytki.legnica.eu/historia-legnicy/okres-rzadow-hitlerowskich|title=Okres rządów hitlerowskich|website=Legnica.eu|access-date=8 November 2019|language=pl}}</ref> and in 1939 the local Polish population was terrorized and persecuted.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cygański|first=Mirosław|year=1984|title=Hitlerowskie prześladowania przywódców i aktywu Związków Polaków w Niemczech w latach 1939 - 1945|journal=Przegląd Zachodni|language=pl|issue=4|pages=35–36}}</ref> A Nazi court prison was operated in the city with a [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] subcamp.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=2525|title=Gerichtsgefängnis Lignitz|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=29 November 2020|language=de}}</ref> During [[World War II]], several members of the [[Polish resistance movement in World War II|Polish resistance movement]] were imprisoned and sentenced to death there.<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Encyklopedia konspiracji Wielkopolskiej 1939–1945|year=1998|location=Poznań|language=pl|publisher=Instytut Zachodni|pages=99, 114, 183, 304, 321, 434, 529|isbn=83-85003-97-5}}</ref> The Germans also established two forced labour camps in the city, as well as two prisoner of war labor subcamps of the [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|POW camp]] located in [[Żagań]] (then ''Sagan''), and one labor subcamp of the [[Stalag VIII-A]] POW camp in [[Zgorzelec]] (then ''Görlitz'').<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lusek|first1=Joanna|last2=Goetze|first2=Albrecht|year=2011|title=Stalag VIII A Görlitz. Historia – teraźniejszość – przyszłość|journal=Łambinowicki rocznik muzealny|location=Opole|language=pl|volume=34|page=44}}</ref>
[[File:Legnica, kaplica cmentarna - 9 grudnia 2008 r..jpg|thumb|Cemetery chapel]]

After the defeat of [[Nazi Germany]] during [[World War II]], Liegnitz and all of Silesia east of the [[Neisse]] was preliminarily transferred to Poland following the [[Potsdam Conference]] in 1945. The majority of the German population was either [[Expulsion of Germans after World War II|expelled]] in accordance with the [[Potsdam Agreement]] or fled from the city.

The city was repopulated with Poles, including expellees from pre-war [[Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union|eastern Poland]] after its annexation by the [[Soviet Union]]. Also [[Greeks in Poland|Greeks]], refugees of the [[Greek Civil War]], settled in Legnica in 1950.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kubasiewicz|first=Izabela|editor-last1=Dworaczek|editor-first1=Kamil|editor-last2=Kamiński|editor-first2=Łukasz|year=2013|title=Letnia Szkoła Historii Najnowszej 2012. Referaty|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|IPN]]|page=117|chapter=Emigranci z Grecji w Polsce Ludowej. Wybrane aspekty z życia mniejszości}}</ref> As the medieval Polish name ''Lignica'' was considered [[Archaism|archaic]], the town was renamed Legnica. The transfer to Poland decided at Potsdam in 1945 was [[Treaty of Zgorzelec|officially recognized]] by [[East Germany]] in 1950, by [[West Germany]] under Chancellor [[Willy Brandt]] in the 1970 [[Treaty of Warsaw (1970)|Treaty of Warsaw]], and finally by the reunited Germany by the [[Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany|Two Plus Four Agreement]] in 1990. By 1990 only a handful of [[Polonization|Polonized]] Germans, prewar citizens of Liegnitz, remained of the pre-1945 German population. In 2010 the city celebrated the 65th anniversary of the return of Legnica to Poland and its liberation from Nazi Germany.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://legniczanin.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3424:tekst-wali-powrot-do-macierzy-legnica&catid=78:wiadomoci&Itemid=72|title=65. rocznica wyzwolenia Legnicy - foto relacja|last=Wala|first=Grzegorz|date=9 February 2010|website=Legniczanin.pl|language=pl|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320223453/http://legniczanin.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3424:tekst-wali-powrot-do-macierzy-legnica&catid=78:wiadomoci&Itemid=72|archive-date=2012-03-20|url-status=dead|access-date=26 March 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Castle in Legnica4.JPG|thumb|left|Post-war view of the Piast Castle (on the left) and the Głogów Gate (on the right)]]

The city was only partly damaged in World War II. In June 1945 Legnica was briefly the capital of the Lower Silesian (Wrocław) Voivodship, after the administration was moved there from [[Trzebnica]] and before it was finally moved to [[Wrocław]].<ref name=PRL>{{cite web |url=http://zabytki.legnica.eu/historia-legnicy/prl |title=[PRL]|publisher=Legnica.eu|access-date=8 November 2019|language=pl}}</ref> In 1947, the Municipal Library was opened, in 1948 a piano factory was founded, and in the years 1951-1959 Poland's first copper smelter was built in Legnica.<ref name=PRL/> After 1965 most parts of the preserved old town with its town houses were demolished, the historical layout was abolished, and the city was rebuilt in modern form.<ref>Dehio - Handbuch der Kunstdenkmäler in Polen: Schlesien'', Herder-Institut Marburg and Krajowy Osrodek Badan i Dokumentacji Zabytkow Warszawa, [[Deutscher Kunstverlag]] 2005, {{ISBN|3-422-03109-X}}, page 521</ref>

From 1945 to 1990, during the [[Cold War]], the headquarters of the [[Red Army|Soviet forces]] in Poland, the so-called [[Northern Group of Forces]], was located in the city. This fact had a strong influence on the life of the city. For much of the period, the city was divided into Polish and Soviet areas, with the latter closed to the public. These were first established in July 1945, when the Soviets forcibly ejected newly arrived Polish inhabitants from the parts of the city they wanted for their own use. The ejection was perceived by some as a particularly brutal action, and rumours circulated exaggerating its severity, though no evidence of anyone being killed in the course of it has come to light. In April 1946 city officials estimated that there were 16,700 Poles, 12,800 Germans, and 60,000 [[Soviets]] in Legnica.<ref name="IPN-Ś">{{cite web|url=http://www.ipn.gov.pl/biuletyn/4/biuletyn4_51.html|title=ARMIA CZERWONA NA DOLNYM ŚLĄSKU|publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050321233124/http://www.ipn.gov.pl/biuletyn/4/biuletyn4_51.html |archive-date=21 March 2005|language=pl}}</ref> In October 1956, the largest anti-Soviet demonstrations in Lower Silesia took place in Legnica.<ref name=PRL/> The last Soviet units left the city in 1993.

Between 1 June 1975 and {{awrap|31 December}} 1998 Legnica was the capital of the [[Legnica Voivodeship]]. In 1992 the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Legnica]] was established, [[Tadeusz Rybak]] became the first bishop of Legnica.<ref name=IIIRP>{{cite web|url=http://zabytki.legnica.eu/historia-legnicy/okres-iii-rzeczpospolitej|title=Okres III Rzeczpospolitej|website=Legnica.eu|access-date=8 November 2019|language=pl}}</ref> New local newspapers and a radio station were founded in the 1990s.<ref name=IIIRP/> In 1997, Legnica was visited by [[Pope John Paul II]].<ref name=IIIRP/> The city suffered in the [[1997 Central European flood]].<ref name=IIIRP/>