Góra

Góra (; ) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in western Poland. It is the administrative seat of both Góra County and of the smaller district (gmina) called Gmina Góra. The town is located within the historic Lower Silesia region. As of 2019, it had a population of 11,797.

==History== thumb|left|upright|Gothic architecture|Gothic Church of St. Catherine The area became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century. After Poland fragmented into smaller provincial duchies, the area initially belonged to Greater Poland before becoming part of Silesia. The settlement was first mentioned as Gora in an 1155 deed by Pope Adrian IV conveying the property to the Diocese of Wrocław. The name of the town means "hill" or "mountain" in Polish. In 1256 the bishop of Wrocław Tomasz I gave the village to the Polish knight Gosław. In 1288 it became part of the Duchy of Głogów and was granted Magdeburg town rights by the Piast duke Henry III. In 1300, Henry III sold the local mint to the city council of Góra. Henry III, as well as the succeeding dukes Henry IV the Faithful and Konrad I granted new privileges to the town in 1306 and 1310. Particularly, in 1310, 33 neighboring villages were assigned to the town to create an administrative district called Weichbild. From the 14th century onwards, the town developed into a centre of cloth manufacturing, and specific privileges were granted to the clothiers of Góra in 1304. The Germanized name Guhrau is first documented in 1336. In 1343, an annual fair was established. Also from that year comes the first mention of the existence of a parish school in Góra. The town remained under the rule of the Polish houses of Piast and Jagiellon as part of the duchies of Głogów, Ścinawa and Cieszyn until the 16th century. thumb|upright|Medieval castle tower