Zawidów

Zawidów [zaˈvʲiduf] (German: Seidenberg) is a town in Zgorzelec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, at the Czech border.^[2] It lies approximately 14 km (9 mi) south-south-east of Zgorzelec and 139 km (86 mi) west of the regional capital, Wrocław. As of 2019, the town had a population of 4,180.

Zawidów
Town centre
Coat of arms
Zawidów
Coordinates: 51°1′N 15°4′E
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lower Silesian
County	Zgorzelec
Gmina	Zawidów (urban gmina)
First mentioned	1186
Town rights	1369
Government
• Mayor	Robert Łężny
Area
• Total	6.07 km2 (2.34 sq mi)
Elevation	245 m (804 ft)
Population  (2019-06-30[1])
• Total	4,180
• Density	701.6/km2 (1,817/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	59-970
Area code	+48 75
Vehicle registration	DZG
Website	http://www.zawidow.info

History

Town Hall

In the Early Middle Ages, Zawidów was a stronghold of the Bieżuńczanie tribe,^[3] one of the old Polish tribes.^[4] In the early 11th century it was included in the early Polish state by Bolesław I the Brave. The settlement was first mentioned in 1186.^[5] In the 14th century it became part of the Bohemian (Czech) Kingdom. It was granted town rights in 1369.^[5] In 1397 a school was founded.^[5] The town suffered from fires in 1427, 1433, 1469, 1769 and 1834.^[5] In 1635 it passed to the Electorate of Saxony and from 1697 was also under the rule of the Kings of Poland. As a result of the Thirty Years' War, Protestants from the Czech Kingdom settled there.^[6]

In 1815 it fell to Prussia, and became part of unified Germany. During World War II the German administration confiscated two historic church bells from the local church for armaments.^[7] After World War II, the town became again part of Poland under the terms of the post-war Potsdam Agreement.

The old church bells survived the war; however, they are now located in churches in Stuttgart and Ulm in Germany.^[7]

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1890 2,605 —     1900 2,659 +2.1% 1910 2,769 +4.1% 1925 2,579 −6.9%	Year Pop. ±% 1939 2,645 +2.6% 1950 1,545 −41.6% 1960 2,941 +90.4% 2010 4,301 +46.2%
Source: [8][9]

Sports

The local football team is Piast Zawidów.^[10] It competes in the lower leagues.