Nysa, Poland

Nysa (-Polish, German: Neisse or NeiÃŸe) is a town in southwestern Poland on the Nysa KÅ‚odzka river with 52,000 inhabitants (2004), situated in the Opole Voivodeship.

History

Nysa is one of the oldest towns in Silesia. It was probably founded in the 10th century and afterwards became the capital of a principality of its name, which around 1200 became part of the Bishopric of WrocÅ‚aw. The town's fortifications from 1350 served to defend against the Hussites in 1424. During the Thirty Years' War (1618â€"1648) it was besieged three times. The first Silesian War (1740/1741, War of the Austrian Succession) ended Austrian sovereignty over Silesia and left the town in the hands of King Frederick II of Prussia, who laid the foundations of its modern fortifications. On 25 August 1769 Nysa was the site of a meeting between Frederick II and Emperor Joseph II, co-regent in the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria. During the Napoleonic Wars Nysa was taken by the French in 1807. Nysa retained its mostly Catholic character within the predominantly Protestant province of Upper Silesia in the Kingdom of Prussia. Because of its many churches from the Gothic and Baroque periods the town was nicknamed "the Silesian Rome".

* NKS Nysa - men's volleyball team playing in Polish Volleyball League (Polska Liga SiatkÃ³wki, PLS), 7th place in 2003/04 season.

* Konrad Emil Bloch
* Martin Bloch, Jewish painter, born here
* Emanuel Oscar Menahem Deutsch, Jewish Christian Orientalist; born here
* Emin Pasha (Eduard Schnitzer), Jewish-Christian explorer; born here
* Andreas Hadik
* Ewald Christian von Kleist
* Edmund Lesser (1852-), Jewish physician; born here
* David Augustus Rosenthal, Jewish physician and author; born here
* Solomon Schindler, rabbi; born here
* Emanuel Steinfeld (1827-1893), Jewish Australian statesman; born here
* Wacker von Wackenfels
* Neisser pedigree