Wilamowice

History

According to historians, after the desolation of Polish lands by the Mongol invasion in 1241, the then Silesian Piast rulers of the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz decided to bring settlers from the West to the deserted and destroyed lands around the Silesian Foothills, to revive agriculture, industry and trade. The area was settled in the course of the German eastward colonization of Slavic lands. In this way, around 1250, a group of colonists from the area of former Flanders came to the region, specifically from Friesland, near Bruges and established the settlement Wilamowice. In 1529, the two place names were recorded respectively in medieval Latin as Vilamovice Nova and Antiqua Vylamovicze. From 1527, owners of the lordship mentioned include: the nobleman Jakob Saszowski of Gieraltowic and Wilamowic, and in 1533: the nobleman and chief judge of Oświęcim Nicolaus Saszowski of Gieraltowic (aka Gierałtowski), It was not, however, until 1564, at the General sejm, that King Sigismund II Augustus issued privileges of incorporation, recognizing the Duchy of Oświęcim as part of the Polish Crown into the Silesian County of the Kraków Voivodeship. Since the 15th century, the names used in official chronicles were the German versions Wilmeshau and Wilmesdorf for both the new and old Wilamowice respectively. In 1939, after the joint Invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union, the area was annexed by Germany (see Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany) in the Occupation of Poland. After the end of the Second World War, Polish territories seized by the Red Army as it advanced westward, were restored to the post-war Polish People's Republic. Due to endogamy and geographical isolation of the settlement in a Polish language region near the German linguistic enclave around…

Most-observed species

• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,182
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,274
• Mute Swan

  Cygnus olor (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  2,266
• Black-headed Gull

  Chroicocephalus ridibundus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,137
• Tufted Duck

  Aythya fuligula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,055
• Caspian Gull

  Larus cachinnans Pallas, 1811 · Aves
  2,003
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,877
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,857

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2026-04-09
  1 km WNW of Radlin, Poland
• M 2.9 — 2025-04-29
  4 km WSW of Bytom, Poland
• M 3.2 — 2025-01-27
  1 km NE of Radlin, Poland
• M 2.9 — 2024-07-11
  4 km N of Jejkowice, Poland
• M 3 — 2023-10-04
  2 km W of Murcki, Poland
• M 2.8 — 2023-01-12
  2 km ENE of Karviná, Czechia