View source for Pieńsk

{{Infobox settlement
| name = Pieńsk
| image_flag = POL Pieńsk flag.svg
| image_shield = POL Pieńsk COA.svg
| image_skyline = Pieńsk, ul. Hutnicza 02.jpg
| image_caption = Main promenade in Pieńsk
| pushpin_map = Poland
| pushpin_label_position = right
| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{POL}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[Voivodeships of Poland|Voivodeship]]
| subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Lower Silesian Voivodeship|name=Lower Silesian}}
| subdivision_type2 = [[Powiat|County]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Zgorzelec County|Zgorzelec]]
| subdivision_type3 = [[Gmina]]
| subdivision_name3 = [[Gmina Pieńsk|Pieńsk]]
| established_title = First mentioned
| established_date = 965
| established_title2 = Town rights
| established_date2 = 1962
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = Janek Magda
| area_total_km2 = 9.92
| population_as_of = 2019-06-30<ref>{{cite web |title=Population. Size and structure and vital statistics in Poland by territorial division in 2019. As of 30th June|url=https://stat.gov.pl/en/topics/population/population/population-size-and-structure-and-vital-statistics-in-poland-by-territorial-division-in-2019-as-of-30th-june,3,26.html|website=stat.gov.pl|publisher=Statistics Poland|date=2019-10-15|access-date=2020-02-14}}</ref>
| population_total = 5828
| population_density_km2 = auto
| timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset = +1
| timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST = +2
| coordinates = {{coord|51|14|47|N|15|2|46|E|region:PL|display=title,inline}}
| postal_code_type = Postal code
| postal_code = 59-930
| blank_name = [[Polish car number plates|Car plates]]
| blank_info = DZG
| blank1_name = [[Köppen climate classification|Climate]]
| blank1_info = [[Oceanic climate|Cfb]]
| blank1_name_sec2 = [[Voivodeship road]]s
| blank1_info_sec2 = [[File:DW351-PL.svg|32px]] [[File:DW353-PL.svg|32px]]
| website = http://www.piensk.com.pl
}}
'''Pieńsk''' {{IPAc-pl|p|J|e|ń|s|k}} ({{langx|de|Penzig}}) is a town in [[Zgorzelec County]], [[Lower Silesian Voivodeship]], in south-western [[Poland]]. It is the seat of the administrative district ([[gmina]]) called [[Gmina Pieńsk]], and stands on the east bank of the [[Lusatian Neisse]] river, which forms the border between Poland and [[Germany]].
The town lies approximately {{convert|11|km|mi|0}} north of [[Zgorzelec]], and {{convert|140|km|mi|0}} west of the regional capital [[Wrocław]]. {{As of|2019}}, it has a population of 5,828. Historically considered as part of [[Upper Lusatia]], although more closely associated with [[Lower Silesia]] in the early 14th century and from 1815.
==History==
[[File:Pieńsk, kościół 03.jpg|thumb|left|Saint Francis of Assisi church]]
In the [[Early Middle Ages]], Pieńsk was a [[Gord (archaeology)|stronghold]] of the Bieżuńczanie tribe,<ref>{{cite book|last=Bena|first=Waldemar|year=2006|title=Szlakiem grodzisk słowiańskich i średniowiecznych zamków|language=Polish, German|location=Zgorzelec|pages=9–10}}</ref> one of the [[Polish tribes]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://encyklopedia.interia.pl/historia/news-plemiona-polskie,nId,2084506|title=Plemiona polskie|website=Encyklopedia Internautica|access-date=27 December 2020|language=Polish}}</ref> The oldest known mention of the settlement dates back to 965.<ref name=pie>{{cite web|url=http://www.piensk.com.pl/p,125,historia|title=Historia|website=Gmina Pieńsk|access-date=13 February 2020|language=Polish}}</ref> Its name is of [[West Slavs|Slavic]] origin, and comes from the word ''pień'', which means "[[Trunk (botany)|trunk]]".<ref name=pie/> It was included in the early Polish state by first Polish King [[Bolesław I the Brave]] and in the 11th century it passed to the [[Duchy of Bohemia]], which was elevated to a [[Kingdom of Bohemia|kingdom]] in 1198. The Upper Lusatian lords of Penzig (''von Penzig'') are first recorded in 1241. Besides Pieńsk the family held a number of other towns and territories on both banks of the [[Lusatian Neisse]] river. In 1250 a castle was built.<ref name=pie/> In 1321 local Polish Duke [[Henry I of Jawor]] confirmed the rights of the Penzig family to the settlement.<ref name=hk>{{cite book|last=Knothe|first=Hermann|title=Geschichte des Oberlausitzer Adels und seiner Güter|year=1879|language=de|publisher=Breitkopf & Härtel|location=Leipzig|page=568|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=frYnAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA568}}</ref> From the 14th century until 1815 at various times Pieńsk was under the rule of local Polish dukes of the [[Piast dynasty]],<ref name=pie/> kings of Bohemia, [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]], electors of [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxony]] and [[List of Polish monarchs|kings of Poland]]. In 1491 the city of [[Görlitz]] purchased the ''Penziger Heide'' (parts of the territory of Penzig) and combined it as ''Görlitzer Heide'' with its own communal territory.<ref name=hk/>
In 1815 it was annexed by [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], and, subsequently, in 1871 it became part of [[German Empire|Germany]]. In 1841 it suffered a fire.<ref name=pie/> During [[World War II]], there was a military hospital in the village, in which initially [[Polish people|Polish]], and later also [[French people|French]] and [[Yugoslavs|Yugoslavian]] [[prisoners of war]] were kept.<ref name=jlag>{{cite journal|last1=Lusek|first1=Joanna|last2=Goetze|first2=Albrecht|year=2011|title=Stalag VIII A Görlitz. Historia – teraźniejszość – przyszłość|journal=Łambinowicki rocznik muzealny|location=Opole|language=Polish|volume=34|page=29}}</ref> The first 493 wounded Polish prisoners of war arrived to the hospital on September 22, 1939, during the joint German-Soviet [[invasion of Poland]], which started the war.<ref name=jlag/> Meetings of Polish prisoners of war, joint singing and Polish church services took place in the hospital.<ref name=jlag/> Overall, 42 Polish prisoners of war died in the hospital,<ref name=pie/> and the bodies of the deceased were burned on the spot and buried at the local cemetery.<ref name=jlag/> There is a monument dedicated to them at the cemetery.<ref name=pie/><ref name=jlag/> The Germans also established the ''RAD-Lager 5/104'' [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] camp in the village. The [[Second Army (Poland)|Polish Second Army]] fought nearby on April 16–17, 1945, during the final stages of the war. After the defeat of [[Nazi Germany]] in 1945, Pieńsk became again part of Poland. In accordance to the [[Potsdam Agreement]], the German population was [[Flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland during and after World War II|expelled]] and the settlement was resettled by Poles, many of whom were displaced from [[Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union|former eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union]].
In 1962 Pieńsk was granted [[town rights]].<ref name=pie/> Since 1999 it is administratively part of the [[Lower Silesian Voivodeship]].
==Notable residents==
* [[Minna Reichert]] (1869–1946), German politician
* [[Władysław Filipkowski]] (1892–1950), Polish military commander
* [[Gerd Tacke]] (1906–1997), German businessman
* [[Anna Zwirydowska]] (born 1986), Polish female freestyle wrestler
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.piensk.com.pl/ Official town website]
*[http://www.piensk.info.4.pl/ Pieńsk information service] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928182301/http://www.piensk.info.4.pl/ |date=2011-09-28 }}
{{Gmina Pieńsk}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship]]
[[Category:Populated riverside places in Poland]]
[[Category:Zgorzelec County]]
[[Category:Cities in Silesia]]