Der Beginn der Kleinstädte in Niederschlesien. Der Fall Neumarkt
Beginnings of Small Towns in Lower Silesia. The Case of Środa Śląska

Summary/Abstract: Until now, the beginnings of small towns in Lower Silesia have not been a subject of broader interest the effect of which would be a comprehensive study of this topic. This probably results from unbalanced archaeological recognition of individual areas. Out of several dozen of these types of organisms, few are recognised to a degree allowing the formation of more supported hypotheses with respect to their beginnings. In the context discussed, the example of Środa Śląskia, a small town located approximately 30 km to the west of Wrocław – the biggest city in Lower Silesia – is very characteristic. It was the subject of research by historians mainly from the 19th century, however they did not dedicate too much space to its beginnings. In the sixties of the 20th century, based on opinion poll research conducted in the area of a no longer extant medieval castle, a view of the very early beginnings of Środa Śląska appeared which supposed them to take place in the 10th or at the turn of the 10th/11th century. At that time, this opinion was not supported by much archaeological research. Besides, as it seems, it appeared during the period of planned celebrations of the 1000th anniversary of the Polish state which took place in 1966. The communist authorities of Poland at that time clearly put pressure on the necessity of proving everlasting belonging to the Polish state of territories recovered after the second world war (Silesia and Pomerania). This view survived for several dozen years. The situation began to change with development of archaeological research which happened at the end of the eighties of the 20th century. Since that time, this research has been carried out without interruption and each year new sources are added to get to know the medieval beginnings of Środa Śląska. All archaeological research completed so far indicates that beginnings of Środa Śląska can be related to the activities of Henry I the Bearded in the first half of the 13th century or at the earliest with his father – Boleslaw the Tall at the end of the 12th century. At the current understanding, there is no premise which would indicate establishment of the town by the 10th century. Furthermore, reanalysis of fragments of ceramic vessels obtained in the sixties of the 20th century during archaeological research in the area of the nonexistent castle showed that these monuments should be dated from the beginning of the 13th century at the earliest. In addition, historical sources indicate that the earliest written record concerning Środa Śląska come from 1223. The same sources confirm that development of the settlement network around the town took place also only from the beginning of the 13th century. Therefore, if Środa Śląska had existed earlier, the settlements around also would have been functioning at that time. Archaeological research carried out in the recent years also confirms a very thin settlement network in the Środa Śląska area before the 13th century. All these data show that Środa Śląska was established at the beginning of the 13th century on virgin land. However, this opinion should be verified further in the course of subsequent archaeological research.

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