Kamień Śląski

Kamień Śląski
Groß Stein
Village
Palace
Kamień Śląski
Coordinates: 50°33′N 18°5′E / 50.550°N 18.083°E / 50.550; 18.083
Country Poland
VoivodeshipOpole
CountyKrapkowice
GminaGogolin
First mentioned12th century
Population
 • Total
1,500
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
47-325[1]
Vehicle registrationOKR
Websitehttp://www.kamienslaski.pl

Kamień Śląski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈkamjɛj̃ ˈɕlɔ̃skʲi], additional name in German: Groß Stein)[2] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Gogolin, within Krapkowice County, Opole Voivodeship, in southern Poland.[3]

The main landmarks of Kamień Śląski are the local palace, which houses a sanctuary dedicated to Saint Hyacinth of Poland, who was born in the village, and the Saint Hyacinth church.

History

The oldest known mention of the village comes from the early-12th-century Gesta principum Polonorum, the oldest Polish chronicle.[4] It was mentioned as a seat of Polish ruler Bolesław III Wrymouth, both under the Latinized Polish name Kamencz and under the translated Latin name Lapis.[4] The name is of Polish origin and means "stone". It was part of Piast-ruled Poland, and was owned by the Odrowąż family.[4] Later on, it was also part of Bohemia, Prussia and Germany.

After the restoration of independent Poland after World War I in 1918, the local Polish majority made efforts to reintegrate the village with Poland. In the local elections in 1919, Poles won 11 out of 12 seats.[5] During the Second Silesian Uprising, the village was easily captured by the Poles.[5] Despite the Upper Silesia plebiscite of 1921, in which 55,3% voted in favour of rejoining Poland, the village was assigned to Germany, and soon afterwards it was the place of bloody fights during the Third Silesian Uprising.[5] A German unit committed a crime and murdered five Polish civilians.[5] In May 1921 the village passed between the fighting sides several times, before it was eventually seized by the Germans, while Polish insurgents retained control of the local railway station.[5] Fights ended on May 31, 1921, when French troops entered the village and established a neutral zone.[5] In the final stages of World War II, in January 1945, Soviet troops entered the village and plundered the St. Hyacinth chapel, and afterwards the village was restored to Poland.[4]

In 2012, the St. Hyacinth church in Kamień Śląski received church bells from the closed and demolished former Polish and Redemptorist monastery in Bochum, Germany.[6][7][8]

Notable residents

References

  1. ^ "Oficjalny Spis Pocztowych Numerów Adresowych" (PDF). Poczta Polska (in Polish). Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  2. ^ Państwowy Rejestr Nazw Geograficznych – miejscowości – format XLSX, Place Names Register of Poland – PRNG, Head Office of Geodesy and Cartography, 24 August 2025, PRNG identifier: 49499
  3. ^ "Główny Urząd Statystyczny" [Central Statistical Office] (in Polish). To search: Select "Miejscowości (SIMC)" tab, select "fragment (min. 3 znaki)" (minimum 3 characters), enter town name in the field below, click "WYSZUKAJ" (Search).
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Kamień Śląski historia miejscowości". GWO24.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Kamień Śląski". Opolski Szlak Powstań (in Polish). Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Dzwony z Bochum biją w Kamieniu Śląskim". Nowa Trybuna Opolska (in Polish). Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Polnische Seelsorger im Ruhrgebiet" (in German). Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  8. ^ Sabine Vogt. "Der Kirchturm fällt nächste Woche". Der Westen (in German). Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.