Olesno

Olesno. The east side of the square. In the photo th. you will see the town hall with its pillared facade. TV. for the town hall is the pillar of Mary

Distance

75 km NV, 68 km SV, 36 km NV, 48 km SE, 35 km SV, 34 km S, 35 km NV, 23 km N, 52 km NE, 83 km NV, 80 km V, 52 km SE, 62 km NV, 41 km E, 20 km NV, 71 km SV, 32 km SE, 60 km NV, 91 km NV, 46 km SV, 49 km SV, 44 km N, 59 km NV, 129 km NV

Population

9.600 (2009)

Location and history

Olesno is located in the northeast of the Opole region.

The name of the town is reportedly referring to the wooded surroundings; “lock” = forest in Polish, “Lesny” = woody.
The first beginning of a town in this place is due to the tradition of Prince Henryk Brodaty of Wrocław, who in 1208 recommended to build a hunting castle just here. However, the settlement Olesno is first mentioned in the sources in 1226, namely in a founding document concerning the local church. It is known that from 1404 Olesno was surrounded by a city wall.
Officially, the city was founded in 1275 with the market town rights of Prince Władysław I of Wrocław. When the original founding documents later burned, in 1450, Prince Bernard of Niemodlin-Strzelce issued new mercantile rights confirming those previously issued.
During the 14th century. Olesno came under Czech rule. After 1532, the city and the area were ruled by the Austrian Habsburg family. Between 1645 and 1666 the town was the property of the Polish kings. The city's history also includes other private owners, both royal and noble.
Like other cities, Olesno suffered greatly during the Thirty Years' War (1618-48), both in the form of looting, fires, assaults and other. In 1708, the city was hit by a plague epidemic that almost wiped out the city's population. Only approx. one-tenth of the inhabitants survived.
As a result of the Silesian wars in the first half of the 18th century. Olesno entered the Prussian Kingdom. From 1816 the town became the district center. In the 19th century. several letterpresses arose in the city.
During World War I, several lazarets were created in Olesno, where wounded soldiers from the eastern front – of different nationalities – were hospitalized.
At the end of World War II, Olesno was captured by the Red Army on January 21, 1945. In March 1945, Polish authorities took over the administration of the city. At the Potsdam Conference in July-August 1945, the area was awarded to Poland, recognizing the Odra-Nysa line (Oder-Neisse line) as the western border of Poland.

Tourist attractions

Selected attractions:

City Hall (Ratusz)
The neoclassical-style town hall, located on the east side of the square, was built in 1820-21 at the site of the former town hall from 1640, which burned in 1722. In 1880, the facade was decorated with a pillar-bearing entrance with 6 columns bearing a triangular gable field. . The building, which was severely damaged by a fire in January 1945 but rebuilt after the war, now holds the municipality's Civil Protection Authority (National Register).

Maria column (Column Maryjna)
The Pillar of Mary was erected in 1697 by the town's citizens, who were at that time plagued by wars, natural disasters and diseases.

regional Gallery (Oleskie Muzeum Regionalne)
The regional museum is located in a listed Baroque building from the 18th century. by ul.Jaronia. Here is also the city's tourist information center.

Statue of Jan Nepomuk (Kannik, Catholic saint from Czech Republic; Czech name: Jan Nepomucký, German: Johann von Nepomuk, Polish: Jan Nepomucen)
In the square is a statue of St. Jan Nepomuk, paid for in 1753 by the Leopold Ignacy Labor priest as a thank-you gift for his achievement of the clergy at the local monastery.

plague column (Kolumna morowa)
A pillar called “plague column”, stands by the street Wielkie Przedmieście. The pillar is crowned by an ornamentation from the beginning of the 17th century. The pillar also served as a roadstone in the past, and as such, was located near a city gate that existed at this time. By the way, the name of the street means “Great Suburb”, which suggests a location outside the city wall.

St. Michael's Church (Kościół pw św. Michała)
This oldest church in Olesno stands in the center of the city and is dedicated to St. Michael. The first church building was made of wood. The church was inaugurated in 1226 and is mentioned in the oldest document about Olesno. In 1856 a tower was built. The Gothic portal from the 14th century. is preserved. Inside the church one can admire the early Baroque style altar with a picture of Saint Michael. Near the church is the vicarage of 1659, erected on the site of the former castle, or rather hunting castle. This castle, erected circa 1208, was completely destroyed during the Thirty Years War.

The Seven Sources (Siedem Źródeł)
Forest dam, located at Olesno’s northwestern city boundary, where there is an underlying source whose water is said to have healing properties.

The local government (Urząd Miejski)
This 1909 building at the intersection of the streets ul.Dworcowa and ul.Powstańców Śląskich now houses the municipal administration and the district administration.

Bymuren (Mury sources)
The medieval city wall dating from the 14th-15th century was essentially demolished in the 17th century. The largest preserved parts of the wall are found on the street ul. J.Lompy.

The Jewish cemetery
The term in Poland for a Jewish cemetery is “kirkut”. It was founded in the early 19th century, fenced by a brick wall (formerly of fieldstone), and is located at ul.Młyńska. There is a chapel in the cemetery. The headstones are preferably made of sandstone, but granite and marble also occur. The inscriptions are in Hebrew and German.

St. Anna's Church
is a tree-built pilgrimage church from 1518, located 1.5 km north of the city center. The actual church replaces an original chapel from 1444. Around 1670, five chapels were added, so that the whole formed a star shape. The roof is covered with thatch. A sacristy was built in 1707. In the cemetery there are tombs from the 17th century. and a neo-Gothic chapel building.

Church of the Body of Christ (Kościół Bożego Ciała)
This Catholic parish church from 1913 was erected on the site of a former, tree-built, Church of the Body of Christ. The older church was built in the middle of the 15th century, funded by a circle of citizens, as a protest against the immoral way of life of the local Augustinian monks.

Olesno. A nice oasis in the city center. Above the roofs is the tower of the Church of the Body of Christ

Public Library of Olesno (Oleska Biblioteka Publiczna)
at the address ul.Aleksandra 5, works in its current form since 1945. The library publishes the website since 2000: Oleska Biblioteka Publiczna , which informs about the library's offerings and contains other exciting information from the books world.

amphitheater
In the city's amphitheater there is a outdoor cinema during the summer season as well as other outdoor events, including “The days of the city” mm

Surrounding Area

The forests around Olesno belong to the Stobrawa forest complex (Bory Stobrawskie), named after the Stobrawa River. The relatively poor soil in the municipality provides predominantly growth opportunities for conifers.
The river Stobrawa, a right tributary to Odra, originates in Olesno municipality and passes Olesno town (as well as the city of Kluczbork to the northwest). The Stobrawa outlet in Odra occurs a few kilometers east of Brzeg, and the river thus flows largely in an east-west direction. It is not a big river, but it is one of the three major streams in the area west of Olesno. The other rivers are Bogacica and Budkowiczanka, both of which – like Stobrawa – originate in the municipality of Olesno. All three rivers run through the Stobrawa Landscape Park, located west of Olesno, east of Brzeg and north of Opole. In the area east of Olesno, Liswarta is the main river. The municipality has two reservoirs of water: Stare Olesno (northwest of Olesno) and Kucoby (east of Olesno).

Powiat Oleski (District official page)

Accommodation

Booking.com
Olesno (The official site of the city – in Polish, English, German, Czech, Hungarian). Here also practical information for tourists

Powiat Oleski (District official page) Here also practical information for tourists

Other Internet sites and sources

Olesno (The official site of the city – in Polish, English, German, Czech, Hungarian)

Translated into English by Google Translate. Spangshus.dk accept no liability for any errors or omissions in translation.

Amphitheatres

churches

Forests

Health sources

Jewish cemeteries

Memorial columns

Regional museums

Statues of saints

Town halls

Town walls