Kamienna Góra

Kamienna Góra stands on the Bóbr between the mountains of Lower Silesia, beside the old road to Prague. Duke Bolko I fortified the settlement against Bohemia and granted it town rights in 1292. Its German name, Landeshut, recalls its role in guarding the border. Its position on the approach from Silesia into Bohemia made the fortified town a frequent object of military attention.

Bohemian forces captured the fortified town in 1345, and it was recovered three years later. The Hussites burned it in 1426; during the Thirty Years' War Austrian and Swedish troops plundered it in turn. Landeshut saw further fighting in the Silesian Wars: Prussia won a battle here in 1745, while Austria defeated a Prussian corps in 1760. In 1793 local weavers joined an uprising that was suppressed by Prussian troops.