Kłodzko

KłodzkoKłodzko, Pol.

Kłodzko, city, Dolnośląskie województwo (province), southwestern Poland, in the Sudety (Sudeten) mountains on both sides of the Nysa Kłodzka River. A Polish frontier settlement existed there from the 6th to the 10th century; a fortress was then built to protect the town from Bohemian forces. Kłodzko passed to Bohemia in 1327, then to Austria and Prussia, successively; it returned to Poland in 1945. The oldest relic of Polish literature, the famous 15th-century Florian Psalter, was written in Kłodzko.

The city is a communications hub for the surrounding area and a well-known tourist centre containing a stone bridge (1390) and several historic buildings. The main industries are lumber milling, metallurgical working, textile weaving, and food processing. Pop. (2011) 28,750.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.