Country Poland Gmina Strzeleczki Area 4.74 km² Local time Wednesday 7:48 PM | County Krapkowice Population 450 Voivodeship Opole Voivodeship | |
 | ||
Weather 4°C, Wind SE at 10 km/h, 76% Humidity | ||
Dziedzice [d͡ʑɛˈd͡ʑit͡sɛ], German Sedschütz is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Strzeleczki (Gemeinde Klein Strehlitz), within Krapkowice County, Opole Voivodeship, in south-western Polish region of Upper Silesia. It lies approximately 7 kilometres (4 mi) west of Strzeleczki, 14 km (9 mi) west of Krapkowice, and 23 km (14 mi) south-west of the regional capital Opole.
Contents
Map of Dziedzice, Poland
Before 1945 the area was part of Germany (see Territorial changes of Poland after World War II). Since 2006 the village, like the rest of the commune, has been bilingual in German and Polish.
The village has a population of 450 people.
History
The origins of the village are not known. It was first mentioned in 1531, and its name is believed to derive from the name of its founder. In 1783 the town was bought by King Frederick the Great of Prussia.
In the Upper Silesia plebiscite of 20 March 1921, 541 villagers voted to remain with Germany and 321 voted to join the newly created state of Poland. As a result, Sedschütz remained in Germany. In 1933 the village had 1092 inhabitants, and by 1939 it had grown to a population of 1156. Before 1945 it belonged to the district of Landkreis Neustadt O.S..
In 1945 Silesia was given to Poland and the German population of Sedschütz was largely expelled. The town was renamed Dziedzice and annexed to the newly created Silesian Voivodeship. In 1950 it was reassigned to Opole Voivodeship, and in 1999 reassigned from Prudnik County (formerly Neustadt O.S.) to Krapkowice County. On 17 May 2006 the entire commune of Strzelecki/Klein Strehlitz was declared bilingual in German and Polish, and on 24 November 2008 the old name German name Sedschütz was also made official.
In the center of the town is a memorial to the German soldiers from Sedschütz killed in World War I and II; among these, 38 were killed in World War I and 47 in World War II.