Węgliniec

Place in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

Flag

Coat of arms

51°17′18″N 15°13′32″E / 51.28833°N 15.22556°E / 51.28833; 15.22556Country

PolandVoivodeship

Lower SilesianCountyZgorzelecGminaWęgliniecTown rights1967Government

• MayorMariusz WieczorekArea

• Total8.71 km² (3.36 sq mi)Population

(2019-06-30^[1])

• Total2,846 • Density330/km² (850/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+1 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)Postal code

59-940

Area code+48 75Car platesDZGClimateCfbWebsitehttp://www.wegliniec.pl

Węgliniec [vɛŋˈɡliɲɛt͡s] (German: Kohlfurt) is a town in Zgorzelec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, close to the border with Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Węgliniec.

The town lies approximately 22 kilometres (14 mi) north-east of Zgorzelec, and 128 kilometres (80 mi) west of the regional capital Wrocław. As of 2019, the town has a population of 2,846.

History

The oldest known historical mention of the settlement dates back to 1502 ^[2] in the context of medieval German Ostsiedlung, receiving the name Kohlfurt.^[3] In 1742 it was annexed by Prussia. ^{[citation needed]} It was plundered by different armies during the Third Silesian War (1756–1763).^[4] In 1846 a railway line connecting Wrocław and Berlin, running through the village, was opened.^[2] In 1847 a line to Dresden was built, and in 1865 to Lubań.^[2] The settlement became an important railway junction. During World War II, the Germans located there two prisoner-of-war labor subcamps and a forced labor camp.^[2] Near the end of World War II, in February 1945, the almost completely abandoned village was captured by the Soviets.^[4] After World War II the region was placed preliminary under Polish administration according to the post-war Potsdam Agreement. It was repopulated with Poles, some of whom were from the Eastern Borderlands, which were annexed by the Soviet Union.

Węgliniec was granted town rights in 1967.^[2]

Transport

Węgliniec railway station remains a major railway junction, located on strategic passenger and freight routes between Poland and Germany, with regular cross-border passenger services to Görlitz/Dresden and a limited service to Cottbus/Berlin.

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Węgliniec.

References

^ "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 2020-02-14.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Zmiana Studium Uwarunkowań i Kierunków Zagospodarowania Przestrzennego Gminy Węgliniec (projekt), Węgliniec, 2015, p. 35 (in Polish)
^ Hugo Weczerka. Handbuch der historischen Stätten: Schlesien. Vol. 15. p. 239.
^ ^a ^b Krzysztof Mazurski, Z przeszłości Węglińca. „Wędrowiec. Wrocławskie zeszyty krajoznawcze”, Wrocław, 1996, p. 56-61 (in Polish)