|
The oldest historical records of the city date back to the 12th
Century. Between the 12th and 14th Centuries, during the rule of the
Piast princes from the Świdnica-Jawor lineage, the Książ Castle
and the Nowy Dwór fortress were built. Wałbrzych was chartered in
the 15th century. After the Piast family died out, Wałbrzych became
the property of the Silesian knightly families, initially the
Schaffgotsches, later the Czettritzes, and from 1738, of the
Hochberg family, owners of the Książ Castle.
Coal mining in the area was first mentioned in 1536. Wałbrzych
was transformed into an industrial centre at the turn of the 19th
century, when coal mining and weaving flourished. In the early 20th
century a glass works and a large china tableware manufacturing
plant, which are still in operation today, were built. After World
War Two, which fortunately spared the city, as a result of combining
the nearby administrative districts with the town and the
construction of new housing estates, Wałbrzych expanded
geographically. At the beginning of the 1990s, because of new social
and economic conditions, a decision was made to close down the
town's coal mines. In 1995, a Museum of Industry and Technology was
set up on the facilities of the oldest coal mine in the area, KWK
THOREZ.
|
