Świerklaniec

Świerklaniec
Village
Main street in Świerklaniec
Świerklaniec
Coordinates: 50°26′N 18°57′E / 50.433°N 18.950°E / 50.433; 18.950
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Silesian
Powiat	Tarnowskie Góry County
Gmina	Świerklaniec
Area	44.3 km2 (17.1 sq mi)
Population (2006)	3,600
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	42-622
Area code(s)	032
Car Plates	STA

Świerklaniec [ɕfʲɛrˈklaɲɛt͡s] (German: Neudeck) is a village in Tarnowskie Góry County, in the Silesian Voivodeship of southwestern Poland. Formerly, from 1975—1998, Świerklaniec was a part of the Katowice Voivodeship.

Świerklaniec lies approximately 7 kilometres (4 mi) east of Tarnowskie Góry and 21 km (13 mi) north of the regional capital Katowice, in the historic Upper Silesia region. In the east of the municipal area, the Brynica River, a tributary of the Black Przemsza, marks the border of Silesia with Lesser Poland.

43% of the Świerklaniec gmina in which the village is located is covered with forests.

Świerklaniec was famous for its palace (Polish: Zamek w Świerklańcu, German: Schloss Neudeck), a former residence of the Henckel von Donnersmarck noble family, when the vast and brilliantly designed castle complex was commonly known as Upper Silesian Versailles. Both the Old and the New Castle of Świerklaniec were set ablaze by the Red Army in 1945 and demolished in 1961. The extended castle grounds, the Cavalier Palace guest house, the Donnersmarck funerary chapel and several auxiliary buildings are preserved.

A first fortress near the strategically important Brynica River on the road from Bytom to was erected in the 11th century at the behest of the Polish king Bolesław I Chrobry. In 1179 High Duke Casimir II the Just gave it to the Racibórz duke Mieszko IV Tanglefoot. After the Racibórz line of the Silesian Piasts had become extinct in 1336, Świerklaniec passed to the Dukes of Teschen and the castle was largely rebuilt under the rule of Duke Konrad II the Gray of Oels.