Gogolin

Gogolin is a town in Upper Silesia, in the Opole Voivodeship. It is known to every Pole for being a town from “Poszła Karolinka do Gogolina” (English: Caroline went to Gogolin) folk song. The characters from the song, Karolinka and Karliczek, are even shown in the town’s coat of arms. Gogolin is not a typical holiday resort. It may, however, appear to be an interesting place for a weekend getaway for those tired of the big city’s hustle and bustle.

Gogolin TOURISM

Gogolin commune is well-situated in a close proximity to large industrial centres: Opole and Kedzierzyn Kozle. Such a location makes people choose Gogolin as a place to live in; this phenomenon is visible in a number of newly built houses.

Gogolin may boast of a few interesting monuments. Worthy a visit are especially the grave of Silesian insurgents listed on the heritage register as well as the Jewish cemetery from 1852. The cemetery lies in Wyzwolenia Street and adjoins the old Christian cemetery. The graves there have signs in Hebrew language or in both Hebrew and German languages; it proves that Gogolin used to be a multicultural town.

GEOGRAPHY

Gogolin lies in Upper Silesia, in the Opole Voivodeship, in Krapkowice County. The town is inhabited by approximately 6,500 people and has a total area of 20,35 km².

Gogolin is situated on the edge of the Silesian Upland, in the place where hills overlook the Oder valley. The town centre is situated at the altitude of 175 meters above the sea level. The highest mountain in this region is Zakrzowska Gora, called Szpica (256 meters above the sea level).

Gogolin commune is situated in the centre of the Opole Voivodeship, approximately 15 km from Opole. There is the A-4 motorway exit in the commune as well as voivodeship roads no. 409 (Strzelce Opolskie – Prudnik) and 423 (Opole – Kedzierzyn Kozle). Apart from that, the commune is conveniently located by the Oder sailing trail. A great advantage of the town is also Krakow – Wrocław – Szczecin railway running through Gogolin as well as now modernized airport in Kamien Slaski (approximately 9 km from Gogolin). From Gogolin you can easily reach the tourist attractions in Wroclaw, or the city of Polish kings – Krakow.

HISTORY

The first records about Gogolin are from 1223. From the first half of the 14th century the village was the property of the Czech Republic and from 1740s it belonged to Prussia. At that time it was a typical village, populated by 312 people.

In the half of the 19th century local economy was boosted, which was caused by the establishment of Wroclaw – Kedzierzyn Kozle railway connection. Gogolin was then inhabited by approximately 700 people. The number of dwellers was gradually increasing and in 1854 the town was populated by 1,363 and in 1910 by 3,297 people.

In the interwar period, during the Third Silesian Uprising, there were combats in this region. As a result of the referendum from March, 1921 Gogolin remained a part of Germany. During the Second World War, in January 1945, the town was taken by the Soviet army and joined to Poland. Gogolin obtained the town rights in 1967.