Jawor

Jawor lies on the Nysa Szalona in Lower Silesia. Once a fortified settlement, it became the capital of a Piast duchy in 1274 and grew into an important centre of weaving. Stone walls enclosed the town, while merchants, clothiers, tailors and furriers formed guilds. Duke Henry I granted it a staple right in 1329, strengthening its position in trade.

The duchy was united with Świdnica in 1346 and remained under Piast rule until 1392. Jawor suffered repeated occupation, plunder and disease during the Thirty Years' War. After the Peace of Westphalia, its Protestant community was permitted to build a Church of Peace, despite the restrictions imposed by the Habsburg authorities. The town later passed to Prussia, which turned the old Piast castle into a prison.