SCHWEIDNITZ  , a

town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Silesia, picturesquely situated on the left bank of the Weistritz, 28 m . S.W. of Breslau by rail . Pop . (1905) 30,540 . The town has wide streets and contains several old churches, one of which, a Roman Catholic church, built in the 14th century, has a tower 330 ft. high . It has an old town hall, a theatre and several statues of eminent men . The surrounding country is fertile and highly cultivated, and the large quantities of flax and hemp there raised encourage an active weaving industry in the town . Beetroot for sugar, grain and fruit are also grown . The. manufacture of woollens, linens, hosiery, furniture, gloves, paper, machinery and tools, carriages, nuts and screws, needles and other hardware goods is carried on . The beer of Schweidnitz has long been famous under the name of " Schwarze Schops," and in the 16th century it was exported as far as Italy . Schweidnitz is the chief grain market of the district . Schweidnitz, dating from about the 11th century, received civic rights in 1250 .

About 1278 it became the

capital of a principality, with an area of about Iwo sq. m., which belonged to Bohemia from 1353 till 1741, when it passed into the possession of Prussia . The " Polerei of Schweidnitz " is the name given to the riotous revolt of, the town, in 1520-1522, against a royal edict depriving it of the right of coining its own money, One of the strongest towns in Silesia it was besieged several times during the 17th and 18th centuries . In 1807 it was captured by the French, who demolished the fortifications . Restored to Prussia in 1816 it was again fortified, but in 1862 the fortifications were converted into a public park . See F . J . Schmidt, Geschichte der Stadt Schweidnitz (2 vols., Schweidnitz, 1846-1848) .