Przedbórz

Przedbórz stands on the Pilica at the northwestern edge of Lesser Poland, amid country once surrounded by extensive forests. Casimir the Great granted it town rights in 1370 and built a castle, visiting often on hunting expeditions. The royal town had a school and a large brewery by 1512, but fire in 1638 and the Swedish invasion of 1655 brought destruction. In 1795 the Pilica briefly became the border between Austrian and Prussian territories; a cloth factory opened in Przedbórz in 1823.