Send Gift Baskets to Jastrzebie-Zdroj, Poland

In 1305, the first written documents about this area were published (Liber foundations episcopates Vratislaviensis). In terms of administrative structure, the town comprises several old settlements dating back thousands of years. Jastrzemb was the original name of the city. According to the legend of the black knight, the term Black Knight originates from the word ‘hawk’ in Polish. The town was part of the Wodzislaw administration from the 16th to the 19th century. Throughout Jastrzbia Dolne, trial excavations of hard coal were carried out between 1858 and 1860. During these excavations, brine solutions containing iodine and bromine were discovered. The count of Königsdorff acquired the lands in 1860 and proposed constructing baths. The Bad Königsdorff-Jastrzemb health resort was established in 1862. As a result, the town soon joined the exclusive circle of Europe’s most prestigious health resorts.

A Polish doctor, Mikoaj Witczak, took over the natural health center in 1895 and spent the rest of his life serving the New Kingdom in Bad Königsdorff-Jastrzemb. Jastrzbie-Zdrój became a highly regarded and fashionable health resort in the German Empire and the interbellum era through his management skills and a wise investment. The result was the establishment of numerous health facilities.

Around 85% of the residents of Jastrzbie Zdrój voted for Poland in the Silesian referendum in 1921, and many of those people took part in the Silesian uprisings for Polish uniting. It was only in 1922 that Jastrzbie-Zdrój became part of Poland.

The health resort’s history as a health resort ended in the 1960s when all over the area began to exploit cooking coal reserves intensively. Over 12 years, five coal mines were built. Wodzisaw County was in charge of Jastrzbie between 1954 and 1975. It was here, during the period of political transformation in Poland, that ‘the Jastrzbskie Agreement’ was signed and entered into the annals of modern Polish history. Political, economic, and social changes in Poland began with the signing of the protocol.