Legnickie Pole
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Wahlstatt.jpg
Legnickie Pole (German: Wahlstatt) is a small village near Legnica in Lower Silesia, Poland. It was the site of the decisive Battle of Legnica (Battle of Liegnitz) on 9 April 1241 between the Mongols of the Golden Horde and a Polish-German army which marked the westernmost expansion of the Mongols into central Europe. The Mongol forces were led by Kaidu, a commander for Subotai and Batu Khan, while the western knights were led by Duke Henry II the Pious of the Piast dynasty. Although the Mongols annihilated their opponents, they turned back to attend to the election of a new Khagan, or Grand Khan.
The Prussian general Count Blücher defeated a French army under Marshal MacDonald at the Kaczawa, a small river running through Legnickie Pole and Legnica, during the Battle of Katzbach, fought during the Napoleonic Wars on 18 August 1813. Blücher received the title Prince of Wahlstatt in honor of his victory on 3 June 1814.
A Baroque abbey built at Legnickie Pole in 1727 through 1733 became a Prussian training institute for cadets in 1840. Among others, Paul von Hindenburg studied here in 1859 - 1863. Following Treaty of Versailles, which limited the size of German military, it was turned into a boarding school for boys in 1920. During the Nazi era, it was first a political school and later concentration camp "Oflag VIII f". Following the transfer of Silesia to Poland in the aftermath of World War II, a hospital for emotionally disturbed women was set up here in 1957. The baroque church presently houses a museum of Battle of Legnica.
http://www.legnickiepole.pl Official web page (source for this article)de:Legnickie Pole nl:Legnickie Pole pl:Legnickie Pole