Ząbkowice Śląskie

Ząbkowice Śląskie
The "leaning tower" in Ząbkowice Śląskie
Coat of arms
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Coordinates: 50°35′N 16°49′E / 50.583, 16.817
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lower Silesian
Powiat	Ząbkowice Śląskie County
Gmina	Ząbkowice Śląskie
Government
- Mayor	Krzysztof Kotowicz
Area
- Total	13.63 km² (5.3 sq mi)
Population (2007)
- Total	14.986
- Density	1,197.8/km² (3,102.3/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	57-200 do 57-201
Car Plates	DZA
Website: http://www.zabkowiceslaskie.pl

Ząbkowice Śląskie (German: Frankenstein in Schlesien) is a town with 14,986 inhabitants (as of 2007), in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, and the capital of Ząbkowice Śląskie County.

History

The town was established as Frankenstein in the early 13th, following the Mongol invasion and received city rights about the year 1280. Since 1335 it belonged to Bohemia and since 1742 to Prussia. In the early 1600s the pest killed about one third of the population and actual events at that time gave rise to the Frankenstein legend. In 1858, the town burned down and had to be rebuilt. On this occasion, the upper part of the 15th century leaning tower was reconstructed in a straight manner. From 1816 to 1945, the town was seat of a county. After World War II the town was renamed to Ząbkowice Śląskie in 1946 after the German population fled or was expelled.

External links

• (Polish) Ząbkowice Śląskie Municipal Website
• Frankenstein.pl 1606 events involving undertakers which might have inspired the 1818 novel by Mary Shelley
• "Annales Francostenen" of 1655
• (German) Frankenstein-Schlesien.de

Coordinates: 50°35′N, 16°48′E