Dzierżoniów
city and urban gmina in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland
Dzierżoniów (Polish: [d͡ʑɛrˈʐɔɲuf] ; until 1946 Polish: Rychbach; German: Reichenbach im Eulengebirge [ˈʁaɪçn̩bax]) is a town located at the foot of the Owl Mountains in southwestern Poland, within the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the seat of Dzierżoniów County, and of Gmina Dzierżoniów (although it is not part of the territory of the latter, since the town forms a separate urban gmina).
Established in the 13th century, Dzierżoniów is a historical Lower Silesian town that covers an area of 20.1 square kilometres (7.8 sq mi), and as of December 2021 it has a population of 32,346. It is named after Polish priest and scientist Jan Dzierżon.
Unique and architecturally rich, Dzierżoniów features a central market square with elegant tenements and a town hall as well as few museums and restaurants. The Old Town is a venue for several annual events and fairs.
History
In its early history until 1945, the town was known as Reichenbach; composed of the German words reich (rich, strong) and Bach (stream), it refers to the current of the Piława River. The name was rendered in Polish as Rychbach. To differentiate between other places named Reichenbach, the Lower Silesian town became known in German as Reichenbach im Eulengebirge, or "Reichenbach in the Owl Mountains".
Middle Ages
In the early Middle Ages, the area was inhabited by the tribe of Silesians.
The public source identifies “Dzierżoniów” as city and urban gmina in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Dzierżoniów, city and urban.
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Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q778251. VIAF identifies the subject as 137267303. The Library of Congress control number is n85071592. Authority coordinates are 50.728, 16.651. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1946, 2021 and 1945.
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This entry incorporates text from “Dzierżoniów” 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.