- published: 03 Jun 2014
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Trzebnica (Polish pronunciation: [tʂɛbˈnit͡sa]) (German: Trebnitz) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in south-western Poland. It is the seat of Trzebnica County, and of the smaller administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Trzebnica. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany. (For more information about the history of the region, see Silesia.)
The town lies within the eastern Trzebnickie Hills in the historic Lower Silesia region, approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of the regional capital Wrocław. As at 2010, it has a population of 12,460.
In the 12th century, the area was among the possessions of the Premonstratensian St. Vincent monastery at Wrocław. Trzebnica itself was first mentioned in a 1138 deed, then held by the Polish voivode Peter Wlast and later seized by the Silesian duke Władysław II the Exile.
In 1202 Władysław's grandson Duke Henry I the Bearded of Silesia and his wife Hedwig of Andechs founded a Cistercian convent, present-day Sanctuary of St. Jadwiga in Trzebnica, the first in Poland. The couple signed the deed of donation on 23 June 1203 in the presence of Hedwig's brother Ekbert Bishop of Bamberg; the monastery was settled with German nuns descending from Bamberg in Franconia. In 1218 Hedwig's daughter Gertrude became abbess of Trzebnica, the first of many Piast princesses to hold this office. After Duke Henry died in 1238 and was buried in the church, his widow moved to the Cistercian convent which by now was led by her daughter. Hedwig died in October 1243 and was buried there also, while some of her relics are preserved at Andechs Abbey in Bavaria, she was canonized in 1267.
Trzebnica County (Polish: powiat trzebnicki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. The county covers an area of 1,025.5 square kilometres (395.9 sq mi). Its administrative seat is Trzebnica, and it also contains the towns of Oborniki Śląskie, Żmigród and Prusice.
As at 2006 the total population of the county is 77285, out of which the population of Trzebnica is 12,180, that of Oborniki Śląskie is 8,426, that of Żmigród is 6,573, that of Prusice is 2,203, and the rural population is 47,933.
Trzebnica County is bordered by Rawicz County and Milicz County to the north, Oleśnica County to the east, Wrocław County and the city of Wrocław to the south, Środa Śląska County and Wołów County to the west, and Góra County to the north-west.
The county is subdivided into six gminas (four urban-rural and two rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.