Gryfów Śląski
Gryfów Śląski | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Country |  Poland |
| Voivodeship | Lower Silesian |
| County | Lwówek Śląski |
| Gmina | Gryfów Śląski |
| Area | |
| • Total | 6.63 km2 (2.56 sq mi) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Total | 7,128 |
| • Density | 1,100/km2 (2,800/sq mi) |
| Website | http://www.gryfow.pl |
Gryfów Śląski [ˈɡrɨfuf ˈɕlɔ̃skʲi] (German: Greiffenberg; Greifenberg in Schlesien) is a town in Lwówek Śląski County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Gryfów Śląski. As at 2006, the town has a population of 7,128. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany.
The town is located between Zgorzelec and Jelenia Góra, on the Kwisa river. It lies approximately 16 kilometres (10 mi) south-west of Lwówek Śląski, and 114 kilometres (71 mi) west of the regional capital Wrocław.
The settlement of Gryfów Śląski arose from a castle built by the Piast Duke Bolesław I the Tall of Silesia near the border with Upper Lusatia. It received town privileges by Duke Bolesław II the Bald in 1242. The ruins of the medieval Gryf Castle, a possession of the House of Schaffgotsch from 1400 on, are still visible south of the town. In 1274 Gryfów became part of the Silesian Duchy of Jawor, which finally was incorporated by the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1392. After the First Silesian War it was annexed by Prussia in 1742. In 1865 the Greiffenberg station opened on the Silesian Mountain Railway line from Görlitz to Reibnitz (Rybnica).
Notable people
- Africa explorer Hermann Steudner (1832–1863)
- Actor Andrzej Chyra (born 1964)
Twin towns
Gryfów Śląski is twinned with Bischofswerda in Germany, Raspenava in the Czech Republic and Gryfice in Poland.
External links
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