OświęcimOświęcim (ɔˈɕfjɛɲtɕim; Auschwitz ˈaʊʃvɪts; Oshpitzin) is a city in the Lesser Poland (Małopolska) province of southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (Wisła) and Soła rivers. The city is known internationally for being the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp (the camp is also known as KL or KZ Auschwitz Birkenau) during World War II, when Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany. The name of the city is of Polish/Slavic extraction, possibly derived from the owner of a Slavic gord which existed there in the Middle Ages.
Augustus III of PolandAugustus III (August III Sas, Augustas III; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire where he was known as Frederick Augustus II (Friedrich August II). He was the only legitimate son of Augustus II the Strong, and converted to Roman Catholicism in 1712 to secure his candidacy for the Polish throne. In 1719 he married Maria Josepha, daughter of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, and became Elector of Saxony following his father's death in 1733.
GłogówGłogów (AUDPl-Głogów.ogg'głoguf; Glogau, rarely Groß-Glogau, Hlohov, Głogōw) is a city in western Poland. It is the county seat of Głogów County, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999), and was previously in Legnica Voivodeship (1975–1998). Głogów is the sixth largest town in the Voivodeship; its population in 2021 was 65,400. The name of the town derives from głóg, the Polish name for hawthorn. Among the oldest towns in Poland, Głogów was founded in the 10th century as a Piast defensive settlement and obtained city rights in the 13th century from Duke Konrad I.
BrzegBrzeg (AUDPl-Brzeg.oggbżek; Latin: Alta Ripa, German: Brieg, Silesian German: Brigg, Brzeg, Brzyg, Břeh) is a town in southwestern Poland with 34,778 inhabitants (December 2021) and the capital of Brzeg County. It is situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on the left bank of the Oder river. The town of Brzeg was first mentioned as a trading and fishing settlement in the year 1234. In 1248, Silesian Duke Henry III the White granted the settlement Magdeburg town rights and by the late 13th century the city became fortified.
RybnikRybnik (Polish pronunciation: AUDPl-Rybnik.ogg'rybńik; Rybńik) is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, around 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Katowice, the region's capital, and around 19 km (11 miles) from the Czech border. It is one of the major cities of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area with a population of 5.3 million and the main city of the so-called Subregion Zachodni, previously also known as the Rybnik Coal Area. With a population of 135,994 as of January 1, 2022, it is the 25th most-populous city in Poland.
Battle of LegnicaThe Battle of Legnica (bitwa pod Legnicą), also known as the Battle of Liegnitz (Schlacht von Liegnitz) or Battle of Wahlstatt (Schlacht bei Wahlstatt), was a battle between the Mongol Empire and combined European forces that took place at the village of Legnickie Pole (Wahlstatt), approximately southeast of the city of Legnica in the Duchy of Silesia on 9 April 1241. A combined force of Poles and Moravians under the command of Duke Henry II the Pious of Silesia, supported by feudal nobility and a few knights from military orders sent by Pope Gregory IX, attempted to halt the Mongol invasion of Poland.
KwisaThe Kwisa 'kfJisa (Queis, Hwizdź) is a river in south-western Poland, a left tributary of the Bóbr, which itself is a left tributary of the Oder river. It rises in the Izera Mountains, part of the Western Sudetes range, where it runs along the border with the Czech Republic. At the slope of the Smrk massif it turns northwards, flowing along the towns of Świeradów-Zdrój, Mirsk, Gryfów Śląski, Leśna, where it is dammed at the Lake Leśnia reservoir, to Lubań, Nowogrodziec and Kliczków.
ZgorzelecZgorzelec (AUDPl-Zgorzelec.oggzgo'żelec, Görlitz, Gorlice, Upper Lusatian German dialect: Gerlz, Gerltz, and Gerltsch, Zhorjelc, Zgórjelc, Zhořelec) is a town in southwestern Poland with 30,374 inhabitants (2019). It lies in Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the seat of Zgorzelec County and of Gmina Zgorzelec (although it is not part of the territory of the latter, as the town is an urban gmina in its own right). Zgorzelec is located on the Lusatian Neisse river, on the Polish-German border adjoining the German town of Görlitz, of which it constituted the eastern part up to 1945.
CieszynCieszyn (ˈtʃɛʃɪn , ˈt͡ɕɛʂɨn; Těšín ˈcɛʃiːn; Teschen; Tessin; Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitants ( and lies opposite Český Těšín in the Czech Republic. Both towns belong to the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia, and formerly as one town composed the capital of the Duchy of Cieszyn. The town is situated on the Olza river, a tributary of the Oder River, which forms the border with the Czech Republic.
House of VasaThe House of Vasa or Wasa (Vasaätten, Wazowie, Vazos) was an early modern royal house founded in 1523 in Sweden. Its members ruled the Kingdom of Sweden from 1523 to 1654 and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1587 to 1668. Its agnatic line became extinct with the death of King John II Casimir of Poland in 1672. The House of Vasa descended from a Swedish 14th-century noble family, tracing agnatic kinship to Nils Kettilsson (Vasa) (died 1378), fogde of Tre Kronor Castle in Stockholm.
