Prudnik

Prudnik [ˈprudɲik] (Czech: Prudník, Silesian: Prōmnik, German: Neustadt) is a town in southern Poland, located in the southern part of Opole Voivodeship near the border with the Czech Republic. It is the administrative seat of Prudnik County and Gmina Prudnik. Its population numbers 21,368 inhabitants (2016). Since 2015, Prudnik is a member of the Cittaslow International. The town was founded in the 1250s, and was historically part of the Piast-ruled Duchy of Opole, and afterwards was located within the Habsburg monarchy, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Habsburg monarchy again, Prussia, the German Reich, and eventually Poland again. It was once an important industrial hub known for its shoe-making traditions and more recently towel making by the ZPB "Frotex" Company, one of the largest towel manufacturers in Europe. The town also possesses numerous architectural monuments and historic buildings such as the Main Town Hall and "Wok's Tower" (Wieża Woka) from the 13th century.