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Szprotawa () is a town in western Poland, in Żagań County, Lubusz Voivodeship. It has 11,820 inhabitants (2019).
Szprotawa was granted town rights around 1260 by Piast Duke Konrad I of Głogów, who also erected new town walls. In the 13th century, Szprotawa was settled by Germans as part of the Ostsiedlung. In 1304, Szprotawa gained full city rights and privileges, including the internal organization of the City Council "Concilium Magistratus". In 1331, together with the Duchy of Głogów, Szprotawa, although ruled by the Polish Piast dynasty, became a fief of the Bohemian (Czech) Crown. In 1506 it was incorporated into the Bohemian Kingdom, although Polish King Sigismund I the Old continued to claim the duchy and the town until 1508. It was since ruled directly by the Bohemian Jagiellons until 1526 and afterwards it was held by the House of Habsburg.
Since the Middle Ages, the town's wealth was primarily attributable to trade, mainly in cattle, salt and grain, from Silesia and Greater Poland to German states. From the 14th century were also located there.
After the First Silesian War in 1742 Szprotawa, under the Germanized name Sprottau, fell to Prussia, like almost all Silesia. After the reorganization of Prussia in 1815, Sprottau became part of the province of Silesia, and from 1816, was the seat of the district of Sprottau, part of the government district of Liegnitz. With the Unification of Germany in 1871, Sprottau was incorporated into the German Empire.
In the first half of the 20th century, the city had an economic boom in the iron, textile and wax goods industry. The Wilhelmshütte iron and enamel companies of Aktiengesellschaft furnace employed more than 400 people. In 1939, the town had 12,578 inhabitants.
During World War II the Germans established two forced labour units of the prisoner-of-war camp in Żagań (then Sagan), intended for Italian and Soviet POWs. During the final stages of the war, 90 percent of the town was destroyed. After the local Nazi representatives had fled, the town was evacuated January 2, 1945. The city was occupied by the Red Army in the spring of 1945. After the war, the redrawn in the Potsdam Agreement placed the town, once again, inside Poland. The town's German population was expelled and the town was resettled by Poles.
From 1950 to 1975, the town served as a capital of a poviat.
In 2024, the town was affected by the 2024 Central European floods with parts of the town being evacuated.
==Gallery==
Sights
Nature
Notable people
Twin towns – sister cities
See twin towns of Gmina Szprotawa.
See also
External links
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