Prędocice

"Toporów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship" redirects here. For other places with the same name, see Toporów.
Prędocice (Toporów)
Tormersdorf (German)
Tormarjecy (Upper Sorbian)
Memorial for the Second Polish Army and victims of World War II
Prędocice (Toporów)
Coordinates: 51°20′13.8″N 14°59′04.2″E / 51.337167°N 14.984500°E / 51.337167; 14.984500
Country Poland
VoivodeshipLower Silesian
CountyZgorzelec
GminaPieńsk
Population
0[a]
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)

Prędocice (Toporów,[b] German: Tormersdorf;[2] Upper Sorbian: Tormarjecy[3]) is an abandoned village[a][c] in the Lower Silesian Forest, located in the administrative district of Gmina Pieńsk, within Zgorzelec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland.[4] It lies on the east bank of the Lusatian Neisse, directly opposite Rothenburg.

History

Pre World War II

The village dates back to before 1403, as a Sorbian settlement by the name of Tornow. The name Tormersdorff appeared in written records from 1490. On 6 October, 1518 a fire completely destroyed a manor house. During the fire, a strong easterly wind blew, and spread the fire west into Rothenburg.[5] In 1840, a faience factory opened, on the site of the manor house. The factory was closed in 1860.[6]

World War II

In 1941, a Jewish Ghetto was established by Nazi Germany which at one time housed over 700 Jews, mainly from Görlitz and Wrocław.[7][8] They were forced to work here as laborers in local companies.[9] On 20 February 1945, the Wehrmacht blew up the Tormersdorf bridge over the Lusatian Neisse to Rothenburg.[10] On 16 April 1945, the Lusatian Operation began. The village was given the codename Toporów, with a command post of the Second Polish Army being located here. The Second Polish Army crossed the Lusatian Neisse, and captured Rothenburg.[11] By the end of the war, the village was almost completely destroyed, and now remains abandoned.

Post World War II

There is a memorial which commemorates the Second Polish Army and the victims of World War II. From 5 September 1949, Polish Border Protection Forces were stationed here until shortly before 1983. Since the end of World War II, the village has been uninhabited.

Demographics (pre World War II)

Year Population
1840 431[12]
1910 563[13]
1919 474[14]
1933 676[15]
1939 696[15]
  • Main memorial of the Second Polish Army
  • Another memorial in memory of the Second Polish Army
  • Abandoned building once used by the Polish Border Protection Forces
  • Mosaic pattern of a Polish border unit
  • Polish border boundary marker no. 179. This marker is located where the bridge once stood
  • Abandoned German cemetery
  • Location where the bridge once stood

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Since the end of World War II, the village has been uninhabited.
  2. ^ The name Toporów is still used by locals from nearby towns and villages, and maps,[1] and local signage.
  3. ^ The village was never officially a town, however, is sometimes considered a ghost town as opposed to an abandoned village

References

  1. ^ "Prędocice - Toporów - Tormersdorf". glogow.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  2. ^ Choroś, Monika; Jarczak, Łucja (1995). Słownik nazw miejscowych Dolnego Śląska [Dictionary of place names of Lower Silesia] (in Polish and German). Państwowy Instytut Naukowy--Instytut Śląski w Opolu. p. 213. ISBN 9788371260636.
  3. ^ Mucke, Ernst (1927). Serbski zemjepisny słowničk (in Upper Sorbian and German). Bautzen. p. 55. Archived from the original on 23 January 2025. Retrieved 21 September 2025.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ "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).
  5. ^ Wojciech Różycki, Bogusław (2011). Zachodnie kresy Rzeczpospolitej [Western Borderlands of Poland] (in Polish). Oficyna Wydawnicza "Rewasz". p. 78. ISBN 9788362460113.
  6. ^ Szczurowski, Jacek; Konczewski, Paweł (2019). Tormersdorf - Toporów - Prędocice. Środowisko, mieszkańcy i kultura zanikłej wsi łużyckiej (in Polish). Wrocław: University of Environmental and Life Sciences. ISBN 978-83-7717-320-6.
  7. ^ "Tormersdorf, Germany". Yad Vashem. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  8. ^ Friedla, Katharina (2015). Juden in Breslau/Wrocław 1933–1949 [Jews in Wrocław 1933–1949] (in German). Böhlau Verlag Köln. p. 273. ISBN 9783412223939.
  9. ^ "Judenarbeitslager Tormersdorf". Zeitensprünge Projekt (in German). Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  10. ^ "Prędocice (Toporów), dawniej Tormersdorf". Meetingpoint Memory Messiaen (in Polish). Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  11. ^ Ganzel, Karol (1955). "Wyzwolenie Śląska". Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka (in Polish). Vol. 10, no. 1–2. Wrocław: Ossolineum. p. 77.
  12. ^ "Darstellung der statistischen Verhältnisse des Rothenburger Kreises (Liegnitzer Regierungs-Bezirks)". digital.slub-dresden.de (in German). 1842. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Gemeindeverzeichnis Deutschland 1900". gemeindeverzeichnis.de (in German). 1 December 1910. Archived from the original on 20 February 2025. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  14. ^ Pohl, Robert (1924). Heimatbuch des Kreises Rothenburg O.-L. für Schule und Haus (in German). Weißwasser: Buchdruckerei Emil Hampel. p. 84.
  15. ^ a b "Landkreis Rothenburg (Oberlausitz)" [District of Rothenburg O.L (Upper Lusatia)]. eirenicon.com (in German). Archived from the original on 14 August 2025. Retrieved 21 September 2025.

Bibliography

  • Szczurowski, Jacek; Konczewski, Paweł (2019). Tormersdorf - Toporów - Prędocice. Środowisko, mieszkańcy i kultura zanikłej wsi łużyckiej [Tormersdorf - Toporów - Prędocice: The Environment, Inhabitants, and Culture of a Vanished Lusatian Town] (in Polish). Wrocław: University of Environmental and Life Sciences. ISBN 978-83-7717-320-6.
  • Konieczny, Alfred (1997). Tormersdorf Grüssau Riebnig. Obozy przejściowe dla Żydów Dolnego Śląska z lat 1941–1943 [Tormersdorf Grüssau Riebnig. Transit camps for Jews of Lower Silesia (1941–1943)] (in Polish). Wrocław: Wydawn. Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego. ISBN 8322917139.
  • Pohl, Robert (1924). Heimatbuch des Kreises Rothenburg O.-L. für Schule und Haus (in German). Weißwasser: Buchdruckerei Emil Hampel. p. 269.
  • Media related to Prędocice (Toporów) at Wikimedia Commons
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