Pielgrzymów

Place in Opole Voivodeship, Poland

50°10′35″N 17°39′39″E / 50.17639°N 17.66083°E / 50.17639; 17.66083Country

PolandVoivodeship

Opole VoivodeshipCountyGłubczyce CountyGminaGmina GłubczyceTime zoneUTC+1 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)Area code+48 77Car platesOGL

Pielgrzymów [pjɛlˈɡʐɨmuf] is a village located in southwestern Poland, within Głubczyce County, Opole Voivodeship, near the border with the Czech Republic.^[1] It lies approximately 13 kilometres (8 mi) west of Głubczyce and 58 km (36 mi) south of the regional capital Opole.

History

The present-day Polish village Pielgrzymów and the present-day Czech former village Pelhřimovy, directly across the Czech side of the border, were once a single village. After the Silesian Wars, the newly drawn border divided the village in two. The division continued through the Communist era of 1945–1989, and the border was not easily crossed until the two countries joined the Schengen Area in 2007.^[2]

This village partition led to an incident in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Polish Army entered some parts of the Czech village^[3]^[4] as a result of a misunderstanding.^[5] They "occupied" parts of the village for two weeks.^[6] During this time, several Czech citizens were unable to access the area, and the dilapidated chapel located some 30 meters behind the border.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pielgrzymów.

^ "Central Statistical Office (GUS) – TERYT (National Register of Territorial Land Apportionment Journal)" (in Polish). 2008-06-01.
^ "Special Locations". The Weekly Leaf (in German). 2019-03-27.
^ Kuba, František (6 June 2020). "Nečekané komplikace. Polská armáda zakázala přístup k české kapličce". Deník.cz.
^ "Wyborcza.pl".
^ "Czesi: Polskie wojsko zablokowało dostęp do kapliczki. MON: Lokalizacja posterunku była wynikiem nieporozumienia".
^ Cameron, Rob (2020-06-13). "Poland 'invades' Czech Republic by accident". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-06-14.