Olsztyn, Silesian Voivodeship
| Olsztyn | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
Ruins of castle in Olsztyn
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 Olsztyn
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| Coordinates: 50°45′7″N 19°16′4″E / 50.75194°N 19.26778°E | |
| Country |
 Poland
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| Voivodeship | Silesian |
| County | |
| Gmina | Olsztyn |
| Population | 2,331 |
Olsztyn [ˈɔlʂtɨn] is a village in , Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Olsztyn. It lies in historic Lesser Poland, approximately 12 kilometres (7 mi) south-east of and 59 km (37 mi) north of the voivodeship capital Katowice. The village has a population of 2,331. It contains the ruins of a 14th-century castle, which was located on a hill above the village.
Olsztyn belongs to Lesser Poland, and lies on the Trail of the Eagles' Nests, a popular tourist trail, which was named after a chain of 25 medieval castles which the trail passes by, between Częstochowa and Kraków. Its original name was Holsztyn, which is a Polonized version of a German word Holstein (or Hohlenstein); the name refers to German settlers, who founded the village in the Middle Ages (see Ostsiedlung, Walddeutsche).
First mentions of Olsztyn come from the beginning of the 14th century. At that time, it was a settlement, founded by the castle. In 1448, King Kazimierz Jagiellończyk granted it Magdeburg rights town charter, together with a privilege to organize fairs, which spurred Olsztyn’s development. The town was located in western Lesser Poland, near the border with Silesia, and was destroyed in 1587, during the War of the Polish Succession. Further destruction was brought by the Swedish invasion of Poland (1655 - 1660). Finally, the town completely burned in 1719, and Olsztyn, despite officially keeping its town charter, turned into a rural settlement. After the Partitions of Poland, Olsztyn since 1815 belonged to Russian-controlled Congress Poland, and the Russians reduced it to the status of a village in 1870.
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