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1. Following medieval builders and gold miners 
The picture of the town as of today is still dominated by works of medieval builders. This includes the Town Hall, the ramparts and the Holy Assumption/St. Nicholas church. All those were works of groups of stonemasons and bricklayers that used to migrate across Silesia. An unusual technical solution on the European scale was the Bolesławiec Aqueduct that delivered water to the town and disposed of the sewage to the Bober river. It was fed by the Spring - Queckbrunnen, whose water was supposed to hold miraculous qualities. Another group important at the time of the town’s twilight were gold miners. Gold mining was probably so profitable at the times that it led prince Bolesław Wysoki (Boleslaw the Tall) to set up the Bolesławia settlement in 1190. The settlement, later to give rise to the urban development, evolved at the place where the legendary Three Inns stood before, providing shelter to travellers due to cross the Bober. 2. In the footsteps of renaissance poets
In the second half of the 16th century and in early 17th, a group of outstanding Boleslavians formed an intellectual elite which made a mark in the history of European culture. The school was the first place of schooling for several men of letters, forming part of what’s known as the first Silesian school of poetry - Martin Opitz, Andreas Tscherning, Christoph Colerus, Andreas Scultetus, Kaspar Kirchner and the well known bishop, Martin Gerstmann of Wrocław, as well as astronomers Christoph Neubarth and Kaspar Knoll, the graphic artist of European fame David Tscherning, or Ephraim Ignaz Naso von Löwenfels. That extraordinary phenomenon of the post-medieval Bolesławiec earned the town a label of the “cradle and paradise garden of Silesian poetry”, as well as of art and science.
3. Walking with Napoleon Bonaparte 
The Napoleonic Era made its mark very strongly in the history of Bolesławiec. The French emperor was a five-times visitor to the town. Other important actors in the Napoleonic war also took rest locally: the chief commander of the Russian army, field-marshal Kutuzov, general Blücher, heading the Silesian Army of Prussia, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm III. This is where the famous story of Rosalie von Bonin happened, who took a French general as a prisoner. The city participated in the theatre of war, which was to have a serious impact on its future shape. 4. Architects and their patrons 
The whole 19th and early 20th century went down in the city’s history with many interesting architectural works. The buildings created at those times exemplify co-operation between the city’s institutions and residents who often sponsored the investments. 5. Naturalists and landscape gardeners 
The 19th century was also important for natural science - Bolesławiec was the birthplace of K.F. Appun - and ‘green architecture’ - the town still preserves three parks started by a famous landscape gardener E. Petzold. 6.The path of ceramic artists and sculptors 
Centuries-long ceramic traditions may be traced in the collections of the Museum of Ceramics, and in the footsteps of famous potters and ceramic artists - J.G. Joppe, W. Pukall and A. Hennig. The town also has a few outstanding sculptures by famous artists, such as J.L. Weber, K.F. Schinkel, P. Breuer and the Bolesławiec-based sculptress, J. Bary-Doussin. 7. Traces of ancient monks and annalists 
In the history of Bolesławiec, the 13th century was marked by some important events involving monastic orders - Dominicans were brought to the town then, as was the order of Knights of the Cross with red star. Both convents made a lasting impact on local affairs - if only for founding the hospital and sizeable libraries. The orders active today in Bolesławiec - the Sisters of St. Elisabeth and the Order of Sisters-Adorers of Christ’s Holy Blood - also play meaningful roles in the citizens’ lives. Other clergymen important for the town were the first chroniclers, describing local history. Probably the most precious source for researchers, and surely the oldest city chronicle, is the one penned by pastor F. Holstein, currently preserved at the Department of the History of Bolesławiec at the local Museum of Ceramics. |
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The large group of architects active in Bolesławiec at those times included two clearly distinguished individuals: E. Gansel - builder of the viaduct and of the spire at today’s St Mary’s Unceasing Support church; and Friedrich Schiller - creator of the Neurological and Psychiatric Hospital building. On the other hand, one of the most beautiful examples of British-style architecture is Willowa St and the surroundings, influenced by a major authority in that period’s architecture - Hermann Muthesius.
