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Głogów

Głogów (, rarely Groß-Glogau, ) is a town in southwestern Poland. It is the county seat of Głogów County, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (as of 1999), and was previously in Legnica Voivodeship (1975-1998). It is also the administrative seat of Gmina Głogów, although it is not part of its territory (the town forms a separate urban gmina). Głogów is the sixth largest town in the voivodeship; according to the 2004 census estimate the town had a total population of 71,686. The name of the town derives from głóg, the Polish name for hawthorn.

Głogów consists of the following residential districts: Brzostów, Chrobry, Hutnik, Kopernik (Copernicus), Kościuszki, Ostrów Tumski (Church Island), Paulinów, Piastów Śląskich, Sportowe, Przemysłowe, Słoneczne, Stare Miasto (Old Town), Śródmieście, Żarków. Two villages, Biechów and Wróblin Głogówski, are also within Głogów's administrative borders.

History

thumb|left|The Castle of the Dukes of Głogów
Głogów is one of the oldest towns in Poland. It was founded as a gród by a Slavic tribe called the Dziadoszans. The first known historic record of Głogów was in 1010 in Thietmar of Merseburg's chronicles, after the troops of King Henry II of Germany had attacked Duke Bolesław I and again besieged Głogów on August 9, 1017.

In 1109, the German King Henry V besieged Głogów, but was repelled by Polish forces under Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth in the Battle of Głogów. Głogów finally fell to the forces of Emperor Frederick I in 1157.

In 1180, under the rule of Konrad I, the son of Wladislaus II the Exile of Poland, the rebuilt Głogów became a capital of the principality (Duchy of Głogów), and in 1253 it was given Magdeburg city rights. The city also fell in 1329 under the overlordship of John of Bohemia.

In the 16th century, the Głogów line of the Piast dynasty died out with the death of John II the Mad. From 1491-1506 Głogów was ruled by John Albert and Sigmund the Old, future kings of Poland. The town was inherited, as part of the Crown of Bohemia, by the Habsburg dynasty of Austria in 1526.

During the Thirty Years' War, Głogów was turned into a stronghold in 1630. It was conquered by Protestants in 1632, reconquered by the Habsburg Monarchy in 1633, fell to Sweden in 1642, and finally reverted to the Habsburgs in 1648.

Głogów remained part of the Austrian Crown of Bohemia until the Silesian Wars. In March 1741 it was captured in a brilliant night attack by the Prussian army under Leopold II of Anhalt-Dessau, and like the majority of Silesia became part of Frederick II of Prussia's Kingdom of Prussia. The city became known by the Germanized name of Glogau and was sometimes referred to as Groß-Glogau ("Greater Glogau") to differentiate it from the town of Oberglogau ("Upper Glogau", Głogówek) in Upper Silesia.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the Polish forces of Jan Henryk Dąbrowski were stationed in Glogau, and the city was also visited three times by Napoleon Bonaparte. Glogau was captured by French forces after the Battle of Jena in 1806. The town, with a garrison of 9,000 French troops, was besieged in 1813-14 by the Sixth Coalition; by the time the defenders surrendered on 10 April 1814, only 1,800 defenders remained.

Because the stronghold status had slowed down the city's development for many years, the citizens tried to abolish the stronghold status in the 19th century; the fortifications were only moved to the east in 1873, and finally taken down in 1902, which allowed the city to develop. In 1939 Glogau had 33,000 mostly German inhabitants.
thumb|left|Ruins of St. Nicholas Church
The town was made into a stronghold by the Nazi government in 1945 during World War II. Glogau was besieged for six weeks by the Soviet Red Army and was 95% destroyed. After the Yalta Conference, the city, like the majority of Lower Silesia, was given to Poland and German-speaking inhabitants were expelled. In May 1945 the first Polish settlers came to the renamed city of Głogów to find only ruins; the town has not been fully rebuilt to this day. The town started to develop again only in 1967, after a copper foundry was built there. It is still the largest industrial company in the town.

From 1945-1950, Głogów was part of Wrocław Voivodeship and in 1950 became part of the newly created Zielona Góra Voivodeship. From 1975-1998 it belonged to Legnica Voivodeship, and after the administrative reform of 1999 it became part of Lower Silesian Voivodeship.