Kożuchów
Medieval fortifications
Medieval fortifications
Flag of Kożuchów
Coat of arms of Kożuchów
Kożuchów is located in Poland
Kożuchów
Kożuchów
Coordinates: 51°45′N 15°36′E / 51.750°N 15.600°E / 51.750; 15.600
Country Poland
VoivodeshipLubusz
CountyNowa Sól
GminaKożuchów
Government
  MayorPaweł Jagasek
Area
  Total5.95 km2 (2.30 sq mi)
Population
 (2019-06-30[1])
  Total9,432
  Density1,600/km2 (4,100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
67-120
Area code+48 68
Car platesFNW
Websitehttp://www.kozuchow.pl

Kożuchów ([kɔˈʐuxuf]; German: Freystadt in Schlesien) is a town in Lubusz Voivodeship, Poland.

History

The town was founded in the 12th century, when it was part of the Kingdom of Poland. It was granted town rights in 1273 in the process of Ostsiedlung. It became part of the Duchy of Głogów/Glogau under the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by the Piasts and Jagiellons until its dissolution in 1506.

While it was still a part of Austrian Silesia, the town became highly significant to German literature during the Baroque era. During the Thirty Years War in 1632, war poet Andreas Gryphius witnessed the pillaging and burning of Freystadt by the Protestant army of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. Gryphius immortalized the sack of the city in a detailed account entitled Fewrige Freystadt, which made him many enemies.

In the Silesian Wars of the 18th century the town was annexed by Frederick the Great to the Kingdom of Prussia and, from 1871, was part of the Second Reich. After the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, Freystadt was renamed Kożuchów and was annexed to the People's Republic of Poland. The town's Silesian German-speaking population was forcibly expelled and replaced by an ethnic Polish population similarly expelled from the newly annexed Western regions of the USSR.

Defensive walls

At the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries Kożuchow was surrounded by fieldstone walls. The walls were up to 8 metres high and up to 2 metres thick. The fortifications of Kożuchow are among the best preserved in Poland. The walls and moat have survived for almost the entire medieval length.[2]

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Kożuchów.

References

  1. "Population. Size and structure and vital statistics in Poland by territorial division in 2019. As of 30th June". stat.gov.pl. Statistics Poland. 2019-10-15. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  2. https://kozuchow.pl/gmina-urzad/historia (in Polish)


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