Namysłów

Namysłów (pronounced , ; ) is a historic town in southern Poland, within Opole Voivodeship. Located along the Widawa River, it is the capital of Namysłów County. Its population was 16,551 in 2019.

==History== thumb|left|upright|Medieval Krakowska Gate The town began to develop during the 13th century, but was destroyed in 1241 during the first Mongol invasion of Poland. It was refounded by Polish Duke Bolesław II the Bald in 1249. During the medieval Ostsiedlung it was colonized by Germans, who used the Germanized name Namslau. According to German linguist Heinrich Adamy the town's name is derived from the Polish name namysł, which means "thinking". According to another theory, the name of the city comes from the old Polish name Namysł. In medieval manuscripts and documents such as the Liber fundationis episcopatus Vratislaviensis it appeared under the Latinized name Namislavia. Located within the fragmented Kingdom of Poland, until 1294 it was part of the Duchy of Wrocław, then the Duchy of Głogów, in years 1312–23 it was briefly the seat of the Duchy of Namysłów, then it was part of the Duchy of Brzeg until 1338, then the revamped Duchy of Namysłów again until 1341, and afterwards it came directly under the rule of King Casimir III of Poland until 1348. A castle, first documented in 1312, was a residence of Casimir III in 1341. The Treaty of Namysłów, in which Casimir renounced his claims to Silesia to King Charles IV of Bohemia, was signed in the town in 1348. The town was a center of brewing and clothmaking.