Kostrza [ˈkɔstʂa] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Strzegom, within Świdnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland.[1]
Kostrza | |
|---|---|
Village | |
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  Kostrza | |
| Coordinates: 50°59′06″N 16°15′59″E / 50.98500°N 16.26639°E | |
| Country |  Poland |
| Voivodeship | Lower Silesian |
| County | Świdnica |
| Gmina | Strzegom |
| First mentioned | 1290 |
| Population | |
| • Total | 785 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Vehicle registration | DSW |
It lies approximately 7 kilometres (4 mi) north-west of Strzegom, 20 kilometres (12 mi) north-west of Świdnica, and 57 kilometres (35 mi) west of the regional capital Wrocław.
History
edit
The village was founded by Slavic Lechitic tribes in the Early Middle Ages, and there is an archaeological site from that period in Kostrza.[2] The territory became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century. The oldest known written mention of the village comes from a medieval document of Duke Bolko I the Strict from 1290, when it passed from the Duchy of Wrocław to the Duchy of Świdnica and Jawor within fragmented Piast-ruled Poland. It developed as a linear settlement. It is possible that Duke Bernard of Świdnica granted the village to the knight Tyczko in 1318.[3] A church in the village was mentioned in the 1370s.[3] The church contains Renaissance and Baroque furnishings. There was a medieval tower castle, which was rebuilt into a Renaissance water castle in the 16th century, later rebuilt in Baroque style.
During World War II, in 1940, a forced labour subcamp of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp was established by Nazi Germany at a granite quarry north of the village, which in the following year was converted into the Gross-Rosen concentration camp.[4] Its prisoners were mostly Jews, Poles and Soviet citizens.[4] It is now a museum. There was also a forced labour subcamp of the Stalag VIII-A prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs in Kostrza.[5]
Economy
editKostrza, along with the nearby town of Strzegom and several other villages, is an important center for granite mining and stonemasonry in Poland, with several quarries in Kostrza itself.[6]
Sports
editThere is a local association football club Sokół Kostrza, which plays in the lower divisions.[7]
References
edit
- ^ "Central Statistical Office (GUS) – TERYT (National Register of Territorial Land Apportionment Journal)" (in Polish). 2008-06-01.
- ^ Atlas historyczny miast polskich. Tom IV: Śląsk. Zeszyt 6: Strzegom (in Polish and English). Wrocław: Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk. 2015. pp. 5, 36. ISBN 978-83-63760-57-1.
- ^ a b Atlas historyczny miast polskich. Tom IV: Śląsk. Zeszyt 6: Strzegom. pp. 11, 42.
- ^ a b "History of KL Gross-Rosen". Retrieved 6 November 2024.
- ^ "Jenieckie komanda robocze Stalagu VIII A Görlitz na terenie powiatu świdnickiego w latach 1940-1945" (in Polish). Retrieved 6 November 2024.
- ^ Andrzej Korzekwa. "Współczesność wydobycia granitu". Strzegom.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 6 November 2024.
- ^ "Skarb - Sokół Kostrza". 90minut.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 6 November 2024.