O?awa : Poland
O?awa (German Ohlau, Czech Olava) is a town in southwestern Poland with 31,800 inhabitants (1995).
Situated in the Lower Silesian Voivodship (since 1999), previously in Wroclaw Voivodship (1975-1998).
O?awa began to develop during the early 12th century at a site that was protected by the rivers Odra and O?awa. It was first mentioned as Oloua in a document of 1149 confirming its donation to the abbey of St. Vincent in Wroc?aw. In 1206 O?awa became one of the residence towns of the dukes of the Piast dynasty, who also granted O?awa the status of a town in 1234. During its history O?awa was destroyed completely three times. In 1241 it was destroyed by the Tatars, in 1448 by the Hussites, and again in 1634 during the Thirty Years’ War. After the Polish King Casimir III had renounced his rights on Silesia with the contract of Tren?n in 1335, Silesia became a Bohemian fief. In 1526, when the Habsburgs gained the Bohemian crown, Silesia came under Austrian sovereignty.
After the death of the last Piast duke in 1675, O?awa ceased to be a residence town. Together with most of Silesia, the town became part of Prussia in 1741. The 18th and 19th centuries were a period of economic growth and O?awa became well-known as a centre of tobacco-growing. In 1842 the railroad between O?awa and Wroc?aw, the first one in Silesia (and of modern Poland), was opened. The historic town of O?awa did not suffer much damages during World War I, but in World War II about 60% of the town were destroyed. O?awa became part of Poland in 1945 and its German-speaking population was expelled. After the war, O?awa became a garrison town of the Soviet Army and remained so until 1992.
