Bąków, Kluczbork County

For other places with the same name, see Bąków.

Bąków
Village
Church of the Assumption in Bąków
Bąków
Coordinates: 50°58′N 18°19′E
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Opole
County	Kluczbork
Gmina	Kluczbork
First mentioned	1258
Population	1,400
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Vehicle registration	OKL
National roads
Website	www.bakow.pl

Bąków ([ˈbɔnkuf]) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kluczbork, within Kluczbork County, Opole Voivodeship, in southern Poland.[1] It lies approximately 8 kilometres (5 mi) east of Kluczbork and 43 km (27 mi) north-east of the regional capital Opole.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1258, when it was part of fragmented Piast-ruled Poland. In the past, it was also known in Polish as Bęk.[2]

During World War II, in 1944, the Germans relocated the Stalag Luft 7 prisoner-of-war camp from Morzyczyn to Bąków.[3][4] It housed Allied POWs of various nationalities, including British, Canadian, American, Polish, Australian, New Zealander, South African, French and Dutch.[3][4] On 19 January 1945, the Germans evacuated the camp in a death march, which reached the Stalag III-A camp in Luckenwalde on February 8.[3][5] Following Germany's defeat in the war, the village became again part of Poland.

Sights

Heritage sites of Bąków include the old wooden Church of the Assumption and a historic palace.

Transport

There is a train station in Bąków. The Polish National road 11 passes through the village.

Notable residents

• Walter Scheunemann (1909–1949), German Wehrmacht officer
• Otto Hoffmann von Waldau (1898–1943), German Luftwaffe general

References

1. "Central Statistical Office (GUS) - TERYT (National Register of Territorial Land Apportionment Journal)" (in Polish). 2008-06-01.
2. Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom I (in Polish). Warsaw. 1880. p. 167.
3. Megargee, Geoffrey P.; Overmans, Rüdiger; Vogt, Wolfgang (2022). The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. p. 510. ISBN 978-0-253-06089-1.
4. Stanek, Piotr (2015). "Stalag Luft 7 Bankau i jego ewakuacja na Zachód w styczniu 1945 r.". Łambinowicki rocznik muzealny (in Polish). 38. Opole: 53. ISSN 0137-5199.
5. Stanek, p. 64