Złoty Stok [ˈzwɔtɨ ˈstɔk] ( Czech : Rychleby , German : Reichenstein , " Richstone ") is a town in Ząbkowice Śląskie County , Lower Silesian Voivodeship , in south-western Poland . It is situated on the border with the Czech Republic , adjoining the Czech village Bílá Voda .
23-515: The town is the seat of the administrative district ( gmina ) called Gmina Złoty Stok , and lies approximately 16 kilometres (10 mi) south of Ząbkowice Śląskie and 77 kilometres (48 mi) south of the regional capital Wrocław . The name Złoty Stok means "golden hillside" in Polish and is a reference to the fact that a gold deposit was mined here in the Middle Ages . Its Czech name
46-684: A mayor-council government . The legislative and oversight body of each gmina is the elected municipal council ( rada gminy ), in an urban-rural gmina called the town and gmina council ( rada miasta i gminy ), while in an urban gmina it is called the town/city council ( rada miasta ). Any local laws considered non-compliant with the national ones may be invalidated by the respective voivode , whose rulings may be appealed to an administrative court. Decisions in individual cases may in turn be appealed to quasi-judicial bodies named local government boards of appeal [ pl ] , their ruling subject to appeal to an administrative court. Executive power
69-400: A starosta , while the city council has the powers and duties of a powiat (county) council; both nevertheless being elected under the municipal election rules rather than those applicable to county elections. A recall referendum may be triggered either in respect to the wójt/town mayor/city mayor or to the municipal council through a petition supported by at least 1/10 of eligible voters, but
92-494: A city exercises also powers and duties of a powiat while not belonging to any; nevertheless, it may still be a seat of a regular powiat, albeit without belonging to it administratively (such powiat thus being often "doughnut-shaped"). In such cities, the roles of the powiat organs are fulfilled by the ones of the urban gmina. For a complete listing of all the gminy in Poland, see List of Polish gminas . Polish gminy operate under
115-473: A city mayor ( prezydent miasta ) instead of a town mayor (burmistrz), the status awarded automatically to all urban gminy over 100,000 inhabitants or those with a status of a city with powiat rights, with some others allowed to retain the earlier awarded title due to historical reasons. 66 among the 107 cities (including all voivodeship seats and all cities over 100,000 inhabitants) have the special status of city with powiat rights (miasto na prawach powiatu). Such
138-764: A subordinate administrative role. In rural areas these are called sołectwa , in towns they may be dzielnice or osiedla and in an urban-rural gmina, the town itself may be designated as an auxiliary unit. The only gmina which is statutorily obliged to have auxiliary units is Warsaw , which is divided since 2002 into 18 boroughs exercising some devolved powers, though not considered separate entities. Each gmina carries out two classes of tasks: The tasks can be also divided into another two categories: Own tasks include matters such as spatial harmony, real estate management, environmental protection and nature conservation, water management, country roads, public streets, bridges, squares and traffic systems, water supply systems and source,
161-521: Is applied to the neighbouring mountain range, the Rychleby Mountains ( Czech : Rychlebské hory ). The corresponding Polish name is Góry Złote (Golden Mountains). This range is part of the eastern Sudetes . The area became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century under first historic ruler Mieszko I of Poland of the Piast dynasty , and after the fragmentation of Poland it
184-421: Is held in the municipality by a directly elected official, called wójt in rural gminy, a town mayor ( burmistrz ) in urban-rural and most urban gminy which contain towns, or a city mayor ( prezydent miasta ) in the 107 urban gminy containing cities, the status awarded automatically to all urban gminy over 100,000 inhabitants or those with a status of a city with powiat rights, with some others allowed to retain
207-632: Is in Poland a designation denoting 66 of the 107 cities (the urban gminas which are governed by a city mayor or prezydent miasta ) which exercise also the powers and duties of a county ( Polish : powiat ), thus being an independent city . They have roughly the same status as former county boroughs in the United Kingdom . Sometimes, such a city will also be referred to in Polish as city county ( Polish : powiat grodzki ); this term however
230-481: Is not official (it was used during the interwar times of the Second Polish Republic ). The contemporary term city with powiat rights should not be used interchangeably with the interwar city county . Such cities are distinct from and independent of the 314 regular powiats (sometimes referred as 'land counties' ( Polish : powiaty ziemskie ), again a term that was used in the interwar period and
253-402: Is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland , similar to a municipality . As of 1 January 2019 , there were 2,477 gminy throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. Nine hundred and forty gminy include cities and towns, with 322 among them constituting an independent urban gmina ( Polish : gmina miejska ) consisting solely of a standalone town or one of
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#1732776314414276-400: The 107 cities, the latter governed by a city mayor ( prezydent miasta ). The gmina has been the basic unit of territorial division in Poland since 1974, when it replaced the smaller gromada (cluster). Three or more gminy make up a higher level unit called a powiat , except for those holding the status of a city with powiat rights . Each and every powiat has the seat in a city or town, in
299-527: The Czechs, began to flourish thanks to the mining and working of gold. The search for this precious ore continued until the closing of the mine in the late 1960s, even though it had not fully rendered all its wealth. In 1742 the town was annexed by Prussia and from 1871 to 1945 was located in Germany . Złoty Stok, then Reichenstein , was, for many prisoners of war , a stopping place on 'The Long March' during
322-410: The earlier awarded title due to historical reasons. A town or city mayor may be scrutinized or denied funding for his/her projects by the council, but is not politically responsible to it and does not require its confidence to remain in office; therefore, cohabitation is not uncommon. In a city with powiat rights , the city mayor additionally has the powers and duties of a powiat executive board and
345-798: The final months of the Second World War in Europe. About 30,000 Allied PoWs were force-marched westward across Poland, Czechoslovakia and Germany in appalling winter conditions, lasting about four months from January to April 1945. After World War II it became part of the Polish Recovered Territories . There are a number of historical monuments in the town, including a museum of gold mining and metallurgy ( Muzeum Górnictwa i Hutnictwa Złota w Złotym Stoku ). See twin towns of Gmina Złoty Stok . Gmina The gmina ( Polish: [ˈɡmina] , plural gminy [ˈɡminɨ] )
368-476: The latter case either an urban gmina or a part of an urban-rural one. There are three types of gmina: Some rural gminy have their seat in a town which itself is outside of the gmina's territory. For example, the rural Gmina Augustów is administered from the town of Augustów , but does not include the town, as Augustów is an urban type gmina in its own right. One hundred and seven urban gminy constitute cities, distinguished from towns through being governed by
391-480: The self-government initiatives and cooperation within the commune including with non-governmental organizations, interaction with regional communities from other countries, etc. Commissioned tasks cover the remaining public tasks resulting from legitimate needs of the state, commissioned by central government for the units of local government to implement. The tasks are handed over on the basis of statutory by-laws, charters and regulations, or by way of agreements between
414-775: The self-government units and central-government administration. Abbreviations used for voivodeships: LS: Lower Silesian Voivodeship, KP: Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, LBL: Lublin Voivodeship, LBS: Lubusz Voivodeship, ŁD: Łódź Voivodeship, LP: Lesser Poland Voivodeship, MS: Masovian Voivodeship, OP: Opole Voivodeship, SK: Subcarpathian Voivodeship, PD: Podlaskie Voivodeship, PM: Pomeranian Voivodeship, SL: Silesian Voivodeship, ŚWK: Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, WM: Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, GP: Greater Poland Voivodeship, WP: West Pomeranian Voivodeship. City with powiat rights A city with powiat rights ( Polish : miasto na prawach powiatu )
437-408: The sewage system, removal of urban waste, water treatment, maintenance of cleanliness and order, sanitary facilities, dumps and council waste, supply of electric and thermal energy and gas, public transport, health care, welfare, care homes, subsidised housing, public education, cultural facilities including public libraries and other cultural institutions, historic monuments conservation and protection,
460-453: The sports facilities and tourism including recreational grounds and devices, marketplaces and covered markets, green spaces and public parks, communal graveyards, public order and safety, fire and flood protection with equipment maintenance and storage, maintaining objects and devices of the public utility and administrative buildings, pro-family policy including social support for pregnant women, medical and legal care, supporting and popularising
483-475: The turnout in the recall referendum must be at least 3/5 of the number of people voting in the original election in order for the referendum to be valid and binding. In addition, elected bodies of any municipality may be suspended by the prime minister of Poland in case of persisting law transgressions or negligence , resulting in such case in the municipality being placed under receivership . A gmina may create auxiliary units ( jednostki pomocnicze ), which play
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#1732776314414506-574: Was located in the duchies of Silesia , Świdnica-Jawor , Ziębice and Świdnica-Jawor again, still ruled by the Piasts, until 1392. During this period, the settlement was first mentioned and town rights were granted. Afterwards it came under the suzerainty of the Bohemian (Czech) Kingdom . In 1428 it was destroyed by the Hussites . From 1469 to 1490 it was under Hungarian suzerainty and afterwards it
529-598: Was under Bohemian suzerainty again. The first evidence of mining in Złoty Stok dates from the first millennium AD. In 1491, Duke Henry I of the Czech Podiebrad family granted the town the coat of arms, banner and the title of a "Free Mining City". Many German and Czech miners settled there. At the beginning of the 16th century the town, called Reichenstein (literally "Richstone") by the Germans and Rychleby by
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