Jelenia Góra

The name of the city as mentioned in historical sources, seems to be consistent: German-named Hirschberg but written differently through the centuries (e.g. Hyrzberc 1281, Hyrspergk 1305 and 1355 Hirssbergk, Hirsberg 1521). In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Latin names appear in different records, for example, Mons Cervi, Cervimontia, Monscervinus, Cervigera. The Polish name Jelenia Góra together with Hyrszberg is mentioned in the book Krótki rys jeografii Szląska dla nauki początkowej published in Głogówek in 1847 by writer Józef Lompa. The 19th-century Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland mentioned the city as Jeleniagóra.[6] The Polish name Jelenia Góra was confirmed official, when the city became again part of Poland after World War II ended in 1945.

Human settlement in the area dates back to prehistoric times, and cemeteries of the Lusatian culture were discovered within the city limits during archaeological excavations.[7]

Middle Ages

In the Early Middle Ages, the area was inhabited by the Bobrzanie, one of the old Polish tribes.[7] In the 7th century it was part of the short-lived Samo's Empire, and in around 990 it became part of the emerging Polish state under Mieszko I.[7]

The city's origins officially date back to the legendary founding of the settlement by the Polish duke Bolesław III Wrymouth of the Piast dynasty in 1108,[8] and in 2008 the city celebrated its 900th anniversary.[9] Jelenia Gora is also mentioned as having been used as a staging point by Bolesław III for his military campaigns against the Czechs in 1110.[10] The original fortified hilltop gród over time developed into a sizable trading settlement, which expanded outside of the old fortifications, forming a suburb around the original settlement.[11] The Piast gród has been preserved as an archeological site – now the Bolesław Wrymouth Hill.[12] In 1242, Duke Bolesław II the Horned expanded the city's fortifications.[13]

St. Anne Chapel and Wojanowska Gate, part of the medieval defense complex

In 1281, the city was given an urban charter by the Polish duke Bolko I the Strict when German settlers migrated to the region.[14][15][16] In 1281 the settlement was first mentioned as Hyrzberc, and in 1288 in Latin as Hyrsbergensium.[17] The city flourished in the 14th century, and became a center of crafts and trade.[18] Weaving developed, and the citizens were exempt from tolls in trade with Wrocław and Bohemia.[18] In 1317, the Corpus Christi Hospital was first mentioned in documents, although it possibly was founded in the 13th century.[19] In 1345 a city council was established.[20] In 1348 an earthquake struck the city, and Duke Bolko II the Small granted it new privileges.[21][22] In 1361 the city was allowed to build a winery, market stalls and was given the privilege of minting its own gold and silver coins.[23] When the Silesian Piasts lost inheritance and Agnes of Habsburg, the last duchess of Świdnica-Jawor died in 1392, the city passed to Bohemia, ruled by the House of Luxembourg.[24]

In 1426 and 1427 the city was invaded by the Hussites.[25] From 1469 to 1490 it was part of Hungary and afterwards it was part of Bohemia, ruled by the Jagiellonian dynasty.

Modern era

In 1502 King Vladislaus II issued a privilege extending the city's autonomy[26][22] and in 1519 King Louis II granted the right to an annual fair.[27]

The town was inherited by Habsburg Austria in 1526, two years after the town adopted the Protestant faith. In 1533, all old privileges of the city were confirmed.[28] In 1539, a second annual fair was established.[28] In 1540 the municipal school suffered a fire.[28] In 1548, the city refused to support Charles V in the religious Schmalkaldic War, for which he fined the city and deposed the mayor.[28] A Protestant school was built in 1566. In 1560 a fire destroyed large parts of the city and stopped the economic development, which until then had been characterized by linen-weaving. The city recovered when Joachim Girnth, a shoemaker on a return journey from Holland, introduced veil-weaving. The first "light veils" were offered in 1625, and five years later the city received an imperial privilege by Ferdinand II for these veils.

Holy Cross Church, 18th-century

Paulinum Palace, now a hotel

During the Thirty Years' War the city suffered badly.[6] It was beleaguered by troops of both parties, paid high contributions, and during a siege in 1634 the city burned down again. Two more sieges followed in 1640 and 1641. The town needed several years to recover. One reason for the new boost was the creation of a merchant society 1658, which secured Hirschberg's position as the most important center of linen and veil trade in the Silesian mountains during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The Protestants of the city were oppressed during the Counter-Reformation, but the second Treaty of Altranstädt, which allowed a Protestant community center and church to be established outside the medieval city walls, brought relief. Great sacrifices by the merchant society, especially its most prominent member Christian Menzel, made the construction of a large church, modelled after Church of Catherine in Stockholm, possible. The cemetery of the church was the preferred burial place for most merchant families.

Hirschberg was annexed with Lower Silesia by the Kingdom of Prussia during the Silesian Wars. The city was again partly destroyed, had to pay contributions and was seized several times. The detachment from Austria and the new border in the mountains to the south badly damaged the economy as the merchants lost a large part of their customers. Although Prussia took on substantial efforts to revive the economy, they never recovered completely and finally lost their position during the industrial revolution.

In 1800, John Quincy Adams, ambassador in Berlin at that time and future President of the United States, visited Hirschberg[22] and said: "Nothing can be more beautiful than the location of Hirschberg, a beautifully built city with numerous splendid buildings, in a valley surrounded by hills on all sides, with the magnificent view of the Giant Mountains".

Town hall, built between 1744 and 1749, is located on the main square

In 1871 the town became part of the German Empire with the Prussian-led unification of Germany, as one of the largest towns in the Province of Silesia. In 1889 the Deutsche Riesengebirgsverein (German Giant Mountains Club), an organization to protect the environment of the Giant Mountains (Karkonosze) and to promote tourism, was founded by Theodor Donat and 47 other dignitaries of the region.

20th century

After World War I, the town became part of the Prussian Province of Lower Silesia in 1919, and in 1922 became a separate city. On September 1, 1939, the day of the German invasion of Poland and the outbreak of World War II, Luftwaffe used the airport in Hirschberg to conduct air raids on Poland.[29] In April 1940, the first transport of 2,000 Poles deported from Sosnowiec, Będzin and Olkusz for forced labor arrived to the city.[30] In the city, the Germans organized 19 labor camps in which they imprisoned mainly Poles, Czechs, Frenchmen and Belgians, but also Luxembourgers, Russians, Ukrainians, Greeks, Estonians, including women. They also established four prisoner-of-war camps: two for French, one for Jews from different countries and one for Soviets.[31] French POWs organized a secret resistance movement and cooperated with Poles from other camps.[32] There were also two subcamps of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, whose prisoners were mostly Poles and Jews from various German-occupied countries, chiefly Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Hungary.[33] In 1943 and 1944 there was a significant influx of Germans from the bombed German cities, and in 1944, after the crushing of the Warsaw Uprising, Poles deported from Warsaw were temporarily imprisoned there.[34] When the Red Army captured the city, as a result of the influx of people in the last years of the war, there were 160,000 people in the city.[35]

Polish Independence Monument

According to the decisions of the Potsdam Conference, the city became again part of Poland, athough with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the 1980s. It became officially known by its Polish name of Jelenia Góra, which was first recorded in 1847. All remaining German inhabitants were expelled westward in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement[36] and Polish settlers came to the city. In the 1950s also Greeks, refugees of the Greek Civil War, settled in Jelenia Góra.[37]

A local unit of the Freedom and Independence Association was formed in 1945 by former Home Army partisans.[38] From October 1945, the Polish underground newspaper Wolność ("Freedom") was issued and distributed in Jelenia Góra.[39] In mid-1946, the communists carried out arrests of local resistance leaders, however, some managed to escape arrest.[39]

The city was not destroyed in the war, but the state of its buildings and infrastructure declined over the next decade.[40] The communist authorities dismantled the neglected tenements around the Old Town until 1965[41] and destroyed the cemetery of the former German Protestant church.[42] Since then the buildings around the market place have been reconstructed in simpler 18th-century historical forms.[43]

From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Jelenia Góra Voivodeship. In 1976, the city was enlarged through the incorporation of Sobieszów, Maciejowa and the spa town of Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój.[44]

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Jelenia Gora-Legnica constituency in Polish parliamentary election 2011 included: Grzegorz Schetyna PO, Ewa Drozd PO, Norbert Wojnerowski PO, Zofia Czernow PO, Robert Kropiwnicki PO, Adam Lipiński PIS, Elżbieta Witek PIS, Marzena Machałek PIS, Wojciech Zubowski PIS, Ryszard Zbrzyzny SLD, Małgorzata Sekuła-Szmajdzińska SLD, Henryk Kmiecik RP.

The city is located in the northern part of the Jelenia Góra Valley. From the west, the city is surrounded by mountains and foothills of Izera Mountains, north Kaczawskie Mountains, east Rudawy Janowickie Mountains and in the south Karkonosze Mountains. The center is located about 1 km (0.6 mi) east from the place where the two rivers Bóbr (Beaver River) and Kamienna (Stone River) connects.

Jelenia Gora Panorama, view from Mount Szybowcowa (Glider Mountain)

Population of Jelenia Góra.

The first written records from the mid-sixteenth century mention a population of approximately 3.5 thousand residents. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, the population was about six thousand people, to rise up to about 20 thousand in the early twentieth century. The population of Hirschberg/Jelenia Gora in 1939 increased to over 35 thousand people and after World War II, the city had a population of 39 thousand residents, including more than 35 thousand Germans. During the period 1945–1947, the German population was mostly expelled from Jelenia Góra in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement. After the creation of Jelenia Góra Voivodeship in 1975 and connection to the city surrounding towns, including Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój, Population increased to 80 thousand. In subsequent years, the city's population grew, but mainly as a result of joining other nearby villages. The population rose to 93,570 inhabitants by 1996, but after the administrative reform in 1998 and the establishment of Lower Silesia voivodeship, the population of Jelenia Gora is steadily decreasing. By December 2004 it was only 87,643, and by June 2010 it had fallen to 84,306 people. As of 2022, the city's population is 75,794.[58]

In 1957, a broadcasting station for mediumwave radio was inaugurated in Jelenia Góra at ul. Sudecka 55. Until 1967, it used a 47-metre-tall wooden tower, which may have been the only wooden radio tower built in Poland after 1945. In 1967 it was replaced by a 72-metre-tall steel mast. Since the shutdown of the medium wave transmitter in 1994, this mast has been used for FM broadcasting.[59]

Jelenia Góra has a wide range of cultural institutions, including theaters, a concert hall, and cinema and art exhibitions offices. Festivals such as the International Film Festival "Zoom Zbliżenia", International Street Theatre Festival, and the International Festival of Organ Music "Silesia Sonans" take place.

Silesia Sonans poster from 2013

55 Wrzesień Jeleniogórski, poster from 2013

Poster- Barejada 2013

The "Silesia Sonans" European Organ Music Festival takes place annually in autumn. Other cultural and entertainment events include concerts, art shows, exhibitions, fairs, and events geared for children and families. The"Silesia Sonans" Festival is particularly noteworthy. Outstanding Polish and foreign artists gather to play pieces of famous composers inside the Garrison Church.

• The Cyprian Norwid Theatre first opened as early as in 1904, with performance staged ceremoniously. The building was designed in the Art Nouveau style with features typical for 19th-century theatre edifices. Theatre remains active to this day with new performances staged regularly. The same building features a restaurant "OldPub" with live music.
• Open Air Museum of the Polish Army Armament – the largest open-air museum of this type in Lower Silesia. It is located on a former military unit. Since 2005 Łomnica has an open-air exhibition, which presents the radar equipment from entire Poland.
• Lower Silesian Philharmonic in Jelenia Góra (pl) is the concert hall of the Lower Silesian Philharmonic hosts many famous artists and the Jelenia Góra symphonists give concerts in Poland and abroad, participate in international festivals accompanying known persons from the art world and also support young talents. Concerts for the local audience, regional projects and educational activity are another vital part of the Philharmonic's undertakings.
• Zdrojowy Animation Theatre was built between 1833 and 1836 in the neoclassical style, it can accommodate up to 270 spectators. Founded by Schaffgotsch family, one of the three puppet theaters in Lower Silesia. Currently scene belongs to the Zdrojowy Animation Theater in the Zdrojowy Park which aside from its primary activity also organizes the cultural life of Cieplice.
• Natural History Museum is located in the Norweski Park in Cieplice. It was built in 1909 on the basis of a draft Frognersteren restaurant situated just below Oslo. Collections are mainly based on the now-defunct Schaffgotsch collection. It includes Poland's largest exhibition of birds.
• Jelenia Góra Cultural Center works with many events in the city (League of Rock, charity event WOŚP, September Jeleniogórski, Krokus Jazz Festival, Comedy Film Festival "Barejada", International conference on new educational techniques) also runs a number of workshops.
• Karkonosze Museum – The museum collects exhibits related to the history, ethnography, crafts and regional art. Particularly interesting exhibits include the largest artistic glass collection in Poland, ample 18th- and 19th-century glass painting collections, collections of tinwork and an ethnographic exposition – a Lusatian-built wooden cottage equipped with traditional equipment used in the 18th and 19th centuries.
• Karkonosze Light Festival – During the Light Festival the city gains a special kind of charm owing to colorful, professionally designed illuminations. The aim of the project is to present the most modern technologies and products used to illuminate cities, while maintaining care for the environment.
• ZOOM – ZBLIŻENIA International Film Festival is a festival promoting independent films. The format of the competition is open, anyone willing can challenge the silver screen with their piece.
• Antique and curio fair for a few days in September revives Jelenia Góra commercial roots. The local fair is one of the largest in Poland, it is attended by collectors from all of Europe. At the fair, you can buy old furniture and practical items, numismatic collections, books, trinkets and plenty of other things.
• International street theatre Festival – In August the Jelenia Góra Town Square for a brief period transforms into a stage for incoming artistic groups. Actors are not confined by the closed space of theatre building and the unique scenery and the scale of the plays provide unforgettable thrills.

• 
  Cyprian Norwid Theatre
• 
  T-34 Tank at the Open Air Exhibit of the Armament of the Polish Armed Forces
• 
  Zdrojowy Animation Theatre
• 
  Zdrojowy Animation Theatre - Back Entrance

The city is the educational hub for Jelenia Góra County and even further regions. Along with many primary and secondary schools, there are three higher education institutions in Jelenia góra:

• Karkonoska Państwowa Szkoła Wyższa,[60]
• Wrocław University of Economics (faculty in Jelenia Góra),[61]
• Wrocław University of Science and Technology (faculty in Jelenia Góra).[62]

A view of the historic arcades with Jelenia Góra Town Hall and "Seven Houses" in the distance

The Wojanowska gate and tower were part of the medieval defence complex that protected the road to Wojanów. Dungeons served as a prison. In 1480, the tower due to strong wind collapsed burying five people. Quickly it was rebuilt by adding the clock and the dome with a lantern, and this state has survived to this day. Coats of arms have been placed on the pillars: Prussian, Silesia, urban and inscription. In 1869, the gate was dismantled and moved to the barracks at Obrońców Pokoju street. After the renovation in 1998, returned to its former place. Located inside the medieval bastion was the St. Anne Chapel of the Wojanowska gate. In the portal above the entrance to the chapel there is an inscription: " „HonorI Magnae ChrIstI aVlae DIVae Annae ereCta”"(built for the glory of the great grandmother of Christ, St. Anna) with a hidden date of 1715.[63]

The Basilica of St. Erasmus and St. Pancras built in the 14th century features the chapel dedicated to the Patrons of Jelenia Gora; however, it got its present form in the next century. The church was built of stone in the form of a three-nave basilica topped with a tower. Even today, you can admire numerous Gothic stone details best preserved in portals and window frames. The southern portal is exceptionally rich and interesting. Two sepulchral chapels (from the 17th and 18th century) were built into the church's walls; over 20 epitaphs and tombstones from the 16th and 18th century were placed on the two chapels. The main entrance to the chapel is located on the west, on the ground floor. The interior is also Gothic, but the fittings come from Renaissance and Baroque. The incredibly rich and monumental altar from the 18th century dominates the interior. The temple also houses priceless organs from the same period made in the workshop of an Italian organ builder – Adam Casparini. The 16th-century pulpit and the intarsiated (made of different wood types) choir stalls are a little older. There are also two 18th century figures on the church grounds – the Marian column is near the main entrance, and on the northern side, there is a sculpture of St. John of Nepomuk. It used to be located on one bridge over the Młynowka river; however, after it was damaged and then reconstructed in 1886, it was moved to its present place.[64]

Feast of the Holy Cross Church

The Feast of the Holy Cross Church was erected as a proof of the grace of the Catholic Emperor of Austria for the Silesian evangelicals. Under the arrangement concluded in Altranstadt after a religious war they were granted the right to build six churches in Silesia which at that time was under Austrian rule. The design of the temple was prepared by the architect, Martin Frantz of Tallinn. The construction works lasted nine years (1709–1718) and the newly built church was deceptively similar to its prototype – St. Catherine's Church in Stockholm (the work of the same designer). The structure was erected on the plan of a cross and topped with a dome. The interior was equipped with a three-storey matronea which can accommodate more than two thousand members of the congregation. The railings were adorned with citations and paintings displaying scenes from the Old and New Testament. The altar together with the organ front placed over it make up an extended, beautifully adorned architectural form.

The town hall is the central point of the market square. The building was erected between 1744 and 1749. The entire square is surrounded by Baroque tenement houses with arcades, which originally used to serve the merchants to sell their goods. At the beginning of the 20th century, the tenement houses near the City Hall were bought and adjoined to the town hall (the so-called "Seven-Houses"). Right next to the town hall there is a fountain with a sculpture of Neptune – god of the seas. The sculpture is to commemorate old trade relations with overseas lands.

Schaffgotsch Palace – Cieplice

The Schaffgotsch family ruling vast lands around Karkonosze settled in Cieplice in 1675. Their previous seat was Chojnik Castle, burned down due to lightning strike. Their Schaffgotsch Palace's greatest ornament are the two semi-circular finished porticos with richly ornamented cartouches carrying the family crest of the owners. The interiors boasts early classicistic fittings. Since 1975, the palace has been housing a branch of the Wrocław University of Technology.[65]

Jelenia Góra trams – Tram communication operated in Jelenia Góra in the years 1897–1969. Today there isn't much left of it – fragments of the tram line and a plaque can be found near town hall. One of the old tram carriages can be found by the north entrance to the town hall and serves as a souvenir kiosk (the other two trams are placed in front of the tram depot, in Wolności Street and at the bus terminal in Podgórzyn).

Jelenia Góra is twinned with:[72]

Former twin towns:

• Vladimir, Russia (terminated in 2022 due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine)[73]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jelenia Góra.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Jelenia Góra.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Hirschberg".

• Official website
• jelenia.pl – news from the city (in Polish)
• jeleniagora24 – news from the city (in Polish)
• Jewish Community in Jelenia Góra on Virtual Shtetl
• Dolny Śląsk na fotografii – extensive collection of old and new views of the city (in Polish)
• art1900.info Art Nouveau in Jelenia Góra (in English)
• Jelenia Góra past and present presented on the old, and modern photographs, postcards, maps and plans.