Dobroszyce commune

INTERESTING FACTS FROM THE HISTORY OF DOBROSZYCE...

Dobroszyce was mentioned in documents as early as 1405, more precisely its oldest part, Treszkin (Treskin, Dreski, Dreske), located on the Dobra River in the Duchy of Oleśnica, belonging to the Crown of St. Wenceslas. Originally Treskin was the ancestral seat of the famous von Czirn knights (brothers Hayn and Opitz). In 1655 the village was bought from the von Hengels by the Duke of Olešnice, Sylvius Württemberg, from the Württemberg dynasty, who on 10 July 1663 founded a new settlement with town rights in the vicinity, planned around a square square market place. After the division of the Duchy of Oleśnica in 1673, both settlements were inherited by his son Juliusz Zygmunt Wirtemberski (Duke of Oleśnica), who two years later (1675) united them into one town, naming it Juliusburg after himself (27 January 1676), as well as the first depiction of the town's coat of arms (1676) (constituting the current coat of arms of Dobroszyce by virtue of a resolution of the Municipal Council of 6 May 2003). The unification strengthened Juliusburg's importance as a thriving centre of weaving and shoemaking in the 17th and 18th centuries, evidenced by the transformation of the Juliusburg castellum into a Baroque castle (1675-1676), the construction of the town hall (1693) and the foundation of the magnificent Evangelical church of the Holy Trinity in Baroque style (1693-1697). Until 1745, i.e. the death of Charles Württemberg (son of Julius Sigismund), Juliusburg was the residence of the dukes of Oleśnica. Following the Peace of Breslau (1742), Juliusburg became part of the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1792, after the end of the Württemberg dynasty, the rule of the duchy was taken over by the Brunswick Welf dynasty, and in 1884 part of the duchy including Juliusburg was taken over by the future King of Saxony, Frederick August III Wettin (in the possession of his descendants until 1945). As a result of the decline of the local cloth industry in the 19th century, which was clearly evidenced by the demolition of the town hall in 1826, the municipality's economy switched to the timber industry. Nevertheless, Juliusburg lost its municipal rights in 1928 as a result of the generally bad economic situation. During the Second World War, from 1940 to 1942, it was home to the prisoner of war camp "Oflag VIII C Juliusburg", where Belgian, French and Dutch officers were held. In 1945, the village was incorporated into Poland. Its former population was expelled to Germany and replaced by Polish settlers. After the war the village was briefly called ''Julianow'', but eventually the name ''Dobroszyce'' was adopted.