Korfantów
city of Poland
Korfantów [kɔrˈfantuf] (German: Friedland in Oberschlesien, Silesian: Fyrlōnd), formerly known in Polish as Fryląd, is a town in the Opole Voivodeship of southwestern Poland, with 1,808 inhabitants (2019). In 1946 the town was renamed in honour of politician and activist Wojciech Korfanty, however, the previous name Fryląd is still in use.
Geography
Korfantów is located in the Niemodlin Plain (Równina Niemodlińska), in the historical region of Silesia. The total area inside the town's boundary is 10.23 km2 (3.95 sq mi).
Etymology
The former name of the settlement was Hurtlanth or Hurthland. Other documents refer to the town as: Fredland, Fredelant, Fredlandt, Fridland, Freijland, and Friedland. The locality's Polish name was based on the German name, and had various forms: Ferląd, Ferlondt, Frydląd, Fyrląd, and Fryląd, officially adopted in 1945. In 1946, in the aftermath of World War II, due to the German origin of the name, the town was renamed after Wojciech Korfanty.
History
Until 1532 the area was in the possession of Polish princes of the Silesian Piast Dynasty. Simultaneously, an influx of German settlers caused the town to develop; it became the property of wealthy German and Silesian nobles.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Korfantów” is city of Poland. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Korfantów, city and Poland, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “city of Poland” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1005503. VIAF identifies the subject as 133805075. The Library of Congress control number is n88266303. Authority coordinates are 50.489, 17.597. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2019, 1946, 1945 and 1532.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Korfantów”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Korfantów primary sources, Korfantów archive and Korfantów research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Korfantów”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Korfantów” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.