The history of Legnickie Pole is inseparably connected with the battle in which the Silesian forces under the command of Duke Henry the Pious fought against the Tatar invaders on April 9, 1241. The scale of the battle remains uncertain, and the information about the involvement of approximately 80,000 soldiers on both sides is almost certainly exaggerated. However, the unquestionable fact was the death of the duke, and the battle became legendary as a key episode in halting the Tatar invasion of Europe.
The village was founded near the site of the battle in the 13th century. In the 14th century, it was on the edge of the gold mining area, but mining activities lasted only a few decades. In 1703, the Benedictines from Broumov took over the Legnickie Pole estate, and from 1723 to 1732, they built an abbey, an outstanding example of Baroque architecture. The central feature of the complex is the Church of St. Hedwig, a work by the prominent Baroque architect Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer. It is constructed on the plan of two intersecting ellipses forming the nave, which is extended by an oval, two-part presbytery. The church’s facade is richly decorated, with two towers topped by fanciful spires and an ornate portal.
The second historic landmark is the former Church of the Holy Trinity and the Virgin Mary, a Gothic structure from the 15th century. Inside, a small Museum of the Battle of Legnica (part of the Copper Museum in Legnica) is located. Here, among other things, is a copy of the sarcophagus of Duke Henry the Pious.
Description: Piotr Migoń