Nysa, Poland

Nysa

Main Square

Flag
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Śląski Rzym
Silesian Rome
Nysa
Coordinates: 50°28′17″N 17°20′2″E / 50.47139°N 17.33389°E / 50.47139; 17.33389
Country  Poland
Voivodeship Opole
County Nysa County
Gmina Gmina Nysa
Established 10th century
Town rights 1223
Government
 • Mayor Kordian Kolbiarz
Area
 • Total 27.5 km2 (10.6 sq mi)
Elevation 195 m (640 ft)
Population (31.12.2015)
 • Total 43,220
 • Density 1,600/km2 (4,100/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 48-300
Area code(s) +48 77
Car plates ONY
Website http://www.nysa.pl

Nysa [ˈnɨsa] (German: Neisse or Neiße) is a town in southwestern Poland on the Nysa Kłodzka river, situated in the Opole Voivodeship. With 43,220 inhabitants (2015), it is the capital of Nysa County. It comprises the urban portion of the surrounding Gmina Nysa. Historically the town was part of Lower Silesia.

History

Neisse in 1561 on 1. map of Silesia by Martin Helwig (map in reverse)
Nysa in a 1493 woodcut from Nuremberg Chronicle

Nysa is one of the oldest towns in Silesia. It was probably founded in the 10th century and afterwards became the capital of a principality of its name, which around 1200 became part of the Bishopric of Wrocław as the Duchy of Nysa. The town's fortifications from 1350 served to defend against the Hussites in 1424. The town and the duchy was part of Lands of the Bohemian Crown in years 1342 - 1742.

During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) it was besieged three times. The first Silesian War (1740–41, War of the Austrian Succession) ended Austrian sovereignty over Silesia and left the town in the hands of King Frederick II of Prussia, who laid the foundations of its modern fortifications. On 25 August 1769 Neisse was the site of a meeting between Frederick II and Emperor Joseph II, co-regent in the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria.

During the Napoleonic Wars, Neisse was taken by the French in 1807. It retained its mostly Catholic character within the predominantly Protestant province of Silesia in the Kingdom of Prussia. Because of its many churches from the Gothic and Baroque periods the town was nicknamed "the Silesian Rome". From 1816-1911, the town was the seat of the Neisse District, after which it became an independent city.

After World War I, Neisse became part of the new Province of Upper Silesia. Conquered by the Red Army during World War II, the town was placed under Polish administration according to the Potsdam Agreement and renamed to the Polish Nysa. The town's German population was largely evacuated or forcibly expelled and replaced with Poles, many of whom were themselves expelled or resettled from what is now Western Ukraine (see: Kresy).

Nysa's monuments

A list of the monuments of Nysa is seen on page Nysa's monuments

Sports

People

Historical tenements
Old town
Basilica of St. Jacob and St. Agnes in Nysa

Other residents

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Nysa, Poland is twinned with:

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nysa.

References

Coordinates: 50°28′N 17°20′E / 50.467°N 17.333°E / 50.467; 17.333

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/13/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.