Chocianów

Chocianów [xɔˈt͡ɕanuf] (German: Kotzenau) is a town in Polkowice County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Chocianów. The town lies approximately 14 kilometres (9 mi) south-west of Polkowice, and 85 kilometres (53 mi) west of the regional capital Wrocław. As of December 2021, it has a population of 7,869.^[1]

Chocianów
Historic townhouses at the Market Square
Flag Coat of arms
Chocianów
Coordinates: 51°25′N 15°55′E
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lower Silesian
County	Polkowice
Gmina	Chocianów
Established	13th century
Town rights	1894
Government
• Mayor	Tomasz Kulczyński
Area
• Total	7.31 km2 (2.82 sq mi)
Population  (31 December 2021[1])
• Total	7,689
• Density	1,100/km2 (2,700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	59-140
Area code	+48 76
Car plates	DPL
Climate	Dfb
Voivodeship roads
Website	http://www.chocianow.pl

History

Memorial plaque to Frenchmen killed by the Nazi Germans in 1945

The area, along with Lower Silesia, was part of Poland since the establishment of the state in the 10th century. As a result of the fragmentation of Poland, by the end of the 13th century the area was part of the Polish Duchy of Świdnica, ruled by a local branch of the Piast dynasty. The settlement developed from a castle called Chodzenow built in 1297 by Duke Bolko I the Strict of Świdnica, who had to secure his lands against the claims of Wenceslaus II of Bohemia.

From 1742 Chocianów was part of Prussia and from 1871 to 1945 it was part of Germany, known by its Germanized name of Kotzenau. It received its town privileges in 1894. During World War II, in 1942–1943, the Germans operated a forced labour camp for Jewish men in the town.^[2] The town had a population of 4,301 in 1939, but with war deaths and the expulsion of most Germans in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement after the war the population was down to 1,707 in 1946.^[3] After Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II the town became again part of Poland.

Demographics

Detailed data as of 31 December 2021:^[1]

Description	All		Women		Men
Unit	person	percentage	person	percentage	person	percentage
Population	7689	100	3954	51.4%	3735	48.6%
Population density	1051.8		540.9		511.9

Number of inhabitants by year

Year	Population	Source
1995	8332	[1]
2000	8354
2005	8227
2010	8310
2015	8073
2020	7773
2021	7689

Gallery

• 
  Saint Joseph church
• 
  Town hall
• 
  Palace Park
• 
  Palace ruins

References

1. "Local Data Bank". Statistics Poland. Retrieved 2022-06-03. Data for territorial unit 0216014.
2. "Zwangsarbeitslager für Juden Kotzenau". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved 11 November 2023.
3. Columbia-Lippincott Gazetteer. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952) p. 403