Have you ever heard of a place called Ujazd? It’s a district in the city of Zgorzelec, located right on the border between Poland and Germany. Imagine a town with a rich history, a town that has seen the rise and fall of empires, a town that has been a part of both Poland and Germany. This is Ujazd.
Ujazd has a long and complicated past. First mentioned in 1309, it was originally a German village called Moys. Ujazd was often traded between Polish and German rulers until it finally became part of Prussia in 1815. During the Seven Years’ War, a historic battle took place on the nearby Holzberg hill. This battle was a turning point in the war and helped to secure a Prussian victory.
The 19th and 20th centuries saw Ujazd grow into a thriving industrial suburb. It was connected to the city by tram network in 1900 and had a railway station by 1876. But the rise of the railway also brought a dark chapter to the town’s story. In 1939, the Germans established the Stalag VIII-A prisoner-of-war camp in Ujazd. Many Polish prisoners of war were forced to build the barracks of the camp themselves.
In the last years of World War II, many prisoners were evacuated from the camp on a death march in February 1945. After Nazi Germany’s defeat, Ujazd became part of Poland again. In the following decades, the Polish military was stationed in the town, and Ujazd became a vital part of the regional economy.
You can still see evidence of Ujazd’s past in the town today. The Ujazdowski Park is a beautiful green space, and the Saint John the Baptist church stands as a testament to the town’s long history. The memorial to the victims of the Stalag VIII-A camp is a sobering reminder of the town’s dark past. And of course, there’s the railway station, a symbol of Ujazd’s industrial heritage.
Ujazd is a very special town and when you stand on the border between Poland and Germany and observe the people coming and going, you can truly feel the history of this unique place. You can see how the past has shaped the present and how the town has been a meeting point for different cultures for centuries.