Wleń

Wleń

View of the town

Coat of arms
Wleń
Coordinates: 51°1′0″N 15°40′14″E / 51.01667°N 15.67056°E / 51.01667; 15.67056
Country  Poland
Voivodeship Lower Silesian
County Lwówek Śląski
Gmina Wleń
Area
  Total 7.22 km2 (2.79 sq mi)
Population (2011)
  Total 1,855
  Density 260/km2 (670/sq mi)
Website http://www.wlen.pl

Wleń [vlɛɲ] (German: Lähn) is a town in Lwówek Śląski County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is located on the Bóbr river in the historic Lower Silesian region, approximately 13 kilometres (8 mi) south-east of Lwówek Śląski, and 97 kilometres (60 mi) west of the regional capital Wrocław.

The town is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Wleń. As of 2011, it has a population of 1,855.

Wleń was established in 1214 by the Silesian duke Henry I the Bearded and his wife Hedwig of Andechs. The ruins of Łupki Castle (German: Lehnhaus), until 1945 property of the Haugwitz noble family, lie off the town's center, it served to protect the nearby borders with Bohemia and Upper Lusatia and was devastated during the Thirty Years' War. A Baroque palace was rebuilt underneath it. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany. After World War II the region was placed under Polish administration and ethnically cleansed according to the post-war Potsdam Agreement. The native German populace was expelled and replaced with Poles.

Łupki castle, also known as Zamek Wleń, and its only remaining tower is visible from the town. The picture shows the view of Wleń from the top of the tower, which currently stands less than half its original height. In 2005, a western portion of one of the castle's outer walls crumbled, forcing the castle to be temporarily closed to tourists. The crumbled section of the outer wall was rebuilt over time using funds from the Polish government and the European Union and completed in 2009.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wleń.

Coordinates: 51°01′00″N 15°40′14″E / 51.01667°N 15.67056°E / 51.01667; 15.67056


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, March 09, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.