Złotoryja

Złotoryja (zwɔtɔˈrɨja; Goldberg, ˈɡɔltˌbɛʁk; Latin: Aureus Mons, Aurum) is a historic town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in southwestern Poland, the administrative seat of Złotoryja County, and of the smaller Gmina Złotoryja. Having been granted town privileges in 1211, Złotoryja is the oldest town in Poland. Since the Middle Ages, it was a centre of gold and copper mining. Złotoryja was also featured among the most beautiful towns in Poland due to its location and architectural heritage. The town is located in the historic Lower Silesia region on the right bank of the Kaczawa river, about southwest of Legnica. In the south, the Katzbach Mountains (Góry Kaczawskie) stretch up to the Krkonoše range of the Western Sudetes. Currently Złotoryja has approximately 16,000 inhabitants and is one of the important centres of basalt mining. During its long existence Złotoryja was referred to by various names. Since the Middle Ages it was referred to as either Aurum (Latin for "gold"), Aureus Mons ("Golden Mountain"), Goldberg (German for "Golden Mountain") or by its Polish name. Złotoryja in Polish literally means "gold-digging", referring to historic gold-panning sites on the Kaczawa river. The Coat of Arms features a black eagle of the Silesian Piast dynasty standing over three green hills, with the golden background. Its heraldic blazon is "Or, an eagle displayed sable on a base three-invected vert". It has been used since the 15th century. The Flag features both of the heraldic colours of the Coat of Arms. It consists of two stripes: golden (yellow) above green. In the early Middle Ages the region was inhabited by the tribe of Trzebowianie, one of the Polish tribes, and in the 10th century the area was included in the emerging Polish state. In the late 12th century and early 13th century a small settlement of gold miners was founded on the slopes of Mount St. Nicholas (Góra św. Mikołaja), located at the shores of the Kaczawa river.