Rychtal
Rychtal ( German: Reichsthal until 1918 and from 1939 to 1945 Reichtal ) is a village and seat of the same rural community in the powiat Kępiński, Poland. The village has about 1300 inhabitants. The surrounding countryside is designated as Reichsthaler Ländchen and belonged until 1920 to the province of Silesia.
Geography
Rychtal located in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, close to the border with the Opole Voivodeship. The place is situated on the road from Namyslów after Kępno, about 26 kilometers northeast of Namyslów, and is crossed by the river Studnice. To the north lies the forest reserve Lasy Rychtalskie. This approximately 470 km ² area in the form of a triangle is bounded by the corner points Ostrow Wielkopolski, Oleśnica and Kluczbork.
History
The previous settlement of Reichsthal was a place called Będłowice / Bandlovici. The area was in 1222 in possession of the Teutonic Order. Henry I, Duke of Breslau, the area opened in a contract dated June 19, 1233 for the German eastern settlement, and thus also for people from the Walloon Region and France. These colonized the large number of villages and founded cities. Gradually they went on in the Slavic population. Although repeatedly treat injuries sustained German, Slavic origins, however, have been preserved.
The first city was founded 1294th This was very successful. 1386 was a re- creation. In the Middle Ages the population participated in the Polish language. By 1810, the town was owned by the bishops of Wroclaw. There was a village church, several chapels, a Catholic school and a brewery.
In 1885 the city had 1317 inhabitants, most of whom were Catholic, but there was also attended by over 200 Protestants in Reichsthal. The shoemaker was named as the most important source of income, besides one went for the agricultural sector. Most residents had Polish surnames, they spoke German and Polish. In the 19th century it attracted more and more people of Reichsthal into what was then abroad, some into the Kingdom of Saxony, others to the Ruhr.
By 1920 Reichsthal belonged to the district Namslau. With the re- establishment of the Polish state after the First World War, the Reichsthaler Ländchen Poland has been assigned. Since then, the community is part of the powiat Kępiński.
The city Rychtal was now in a boundary layer. The non-local functions become less important. The population dwindled to less than 1,000. This led on 23 March 1934 loss of the town charter.
The legal form of the place was maintained even during the German occupation from 1939 to 1945. Attempts Reichsthal again to annex the county Namslau failed. Many people have been harassed for campaigning for the preservation of the Polish language. They had to endure by the Gestapo interrogations themselves. On January 19, 1945 Reichsthal was freed fight for the place of the First Ukrainian Front after about one and a half days. In the course of these struggles 25 civilians died, but also German and Soviet soldiers. Station, school buildings and private houses were heavily damaged.
After the Second World War, Reichsthal was in the communist Eastern Bloc. Contacts abroad were no longer possible without hurdles. Familial, German -language relations broke. Even the memory of the Silesian origin was lost in some.
Culture and sights
- Baroque Church from 1785
- Town Hall from the 19th century
- Episcopal Baroque palace of 1770 in Skoroszów
- Wooden church of 1711 in Proszów
- Church of 1751 in Krzyżowniki with Gothic sculpture of the Virgin Mary
Community
The rural community Rychtal today covers an area of 97 km ² and has about 4000 inhabitants. It consists of the villages: