Olesno

Olesno is a town in Opole Voivodship, in southern Poland, about north-east of the city of Opole. It is the capital of Olesno County and seat of the Gmina Olesno.

==History== thumb|left|upright|Church of Saint Michael Archangel in 1949 The area near the ancient Amber Road had been settled since the Neolithic era. Olesno was first mentioned in a 1226 deed by Bishop Wawrzyniec of Wrocław though it may refer to the neighbouring village of Stare Olesno (Old Olesno). It was part of the duchies of Opole, Silesia and again Opole of fragmented Piast-ruled Poland. In 1229 it was acquired by Duke Henry I the Bearded of Wrocław. Olesno became seat of a castellan and received town rights in 1275 from Duke Władysław Opolski. A mint was also located in the town. It then was a part of the Duchy of Opole which became a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1327 and was finally incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire by Charles IV in 1355, however, it remained under the rule of local Polish dukes within the Duchy of Opole until its dissolution in 1532. The town suffered during the Thirty Years' War, and in 1645 it returned to Poland under the House of Vasa until 1666, when it fell again to Bohemia.