POLSKA	POLAND
województwo: Dolnośląskie	voivodship: Lower Silesia
powiat: Kłodzko	county: Kłodzko

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Bystrzyca Kłodzka (formerly in German: Habelschwerdt) is situated at an elevation of 330 m in the Kłodzko Valley near the confluence of the Nysa Kłodzka and Bystrzyca Łomnicka rivers, at the feet of the Bystrzyckie Mountains, a range of the Central Sudetes. Part of the Kłodzko Land historical region, it is located about 16&nbsl;km south of the district town Kłodzko and about 94 km southwest of the regional capital Wrocław. The municipality has a population of about 9,900 (2020) and is also the administrative seat of the Gmina (urban-rural district) Bystrzyca Kłodzka with a population of 18,600 (2020). Thanks to its historical landmarks as well as virgin landscapes, Bystrzyca Kłodzka is one of the most popular centers for tourism and winter sports in Lower Silesia.

The area of today's Bystrzyca Kłlodzka has been inhabited at least for six millennia. During the times of the Roman Empire the Celts established numerous permanent settlements in the area of Kłodzko along the ancient Amber Road. The town of Habelschwerdt was founded in the mid-13th century by German colonists on estates held by the Bohemian noble Havel of Markvartice, husband of Saint Zdislava Berka. They settled next to the older Slavic village of Bystřice, located on the important trade route leading along the Neisse river from Wrocław in Silesia through the Sudetes to Prague. The citizens were granted town privileges according to the so-called Western Law (a variant of Magdeburg rights). In 1319, the settlement was granted autonomy the vast of an immediate royal city and the right to construct city walls. Until the mid-14th century the town changed its affiliation several times, passing with the Kłodzko Land between Polish and Bohemian rulers. The city rights were confirmed in 1348 along with several new privileges, among them the right to trade with salt, spices and fabric. The town was incorporated into the County of Kladsko in 1459, an immediate fief of the Bohemian Crown and shared the fate of the nearby city of Kłodzko (Kladsko, Glatz). It developed rapidly until the advent of the Hussite Wars in the early 15th century. After the lands of the Bohemian Crown had passed to the Habsburg monarchy, the area became a fief of the ruling Habsburg dynasty in 1567, though the local counts retained their powers. It was not until the 16th century when the local economy went back on tracks. Because of major Lutheran influences it became one of the regional centres of Protestantism. However, the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and stern measures of the Counter-Reformation ended the period of prosperity. After the Silesian Wars, Habelschwerdt, together with the County of Kladsko and most of Silesia, came under Prussian rule according to the 1763 Treaty of Hubertusburg. By 1818 the County of Kladsko was formally dissolved and Habelschwerdt was incorporated into the Prussian Province of Silesia. It was not until the mid-19th century when the town fully recovered. After 1877, Habelschwerdt was connected to Glatz (Kłodzko) and Breslau (Wrocław) by a railroad. The end of the 19th century saw the whole Kłodzko Valley turned into one of the most popular tourist regions. Countless hotels, sanatoria and spa were opened to the public in the nearby towns of Glatz, Bad Altheide (Polanica-Zdrój), Bad Cudowa (Kudowa-Zdrój), Bad Landeck (Lądek-Zdrój) and Bad Reinerz (Duszniki-Zdrój), as well as in the town itself. During World War II the town was spared the fate of many other towns and did not suffer great damage. After the war the town once again became part of Poland following the Potsdam Agreement. It was renamed to its historic Polish name Bystrzyca, and the adjective Kłodzka was added to distinguish it from other Polish settlements of the same name. In 1972 the Catholic parishes of Bystrzyca Kłodzka were reassigned from the traditional Hradec Králové diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bohemia to the Archbishopric Wrocław. Between 1975 and 1998 Bystrzyca belonged to the Wałbrzych Voivodeship, which was then merged into the larger present-day Lower-Silesia Voivodeship.

The pictures on glass no. 4387 [left] are labeled in German and show several views of the town:

Top: panoramic view,

Left: the Lehrer-Seminar (Teachers' Seminary), which as an institution for the training of teachers was founded in 1766. After a reorganization of teacher training in Germany, the seminary was closed. The dismantling lasted from 1922 to 1925.

Right: a view of the intersection of Oberring (today plac Wolności (?)) and Kirchstraße (today ul. Kośielna).

Bottom: the Stadtberg-Turm (Brama Wodna, 'City 'Mountain Tower' or 'Water Gate') is part of the still existing historic town's fortifications, which started to be built in the early 14th century. Parts of the fortifications were torn down in the late 18th century but most of the walls remained. The Water Gate is one of the best-preserved parts of the fortifications. It was erected on a squre floor plan of 7 by 7 metres and has crenellations and a pyramidal hat. In 1922 a local museum was set up in the tower.

[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystrzyca_K%C5%82odzka, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystrzyca_K%C5%82odzka; http://www.grafschaft-glatz.de/kultur/kultur03.htm; https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stadtbefestigung_von_Habelschwerdt]