Środa Śląska () is a town in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of Środa Śląska County, and of the smaller administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Środa Śląska. The town lies approximately west of the regional capital Wrocław, on the Średzka Woda creek. As of 2019, the town has a population of 9,516. It is part of the Wrocław metropolitan area. History Środa Śląska is situated in the central part of the Lower Silesia region at the main transport routes joining the east and west of Europe. The name Środa means "Wednesday", as that was the day on which the weekly market took place. Transforming it from a small commercial settlement into a center of urban character was carried out by the Polish Duke Henry the Bearded (1202–1238) whose idea was to enhance the economic and political significance of the Silesia region as a means to re-unify the Polish Kingdom. He vested it with town rights before 1233. At around 1235, he granted it a special law, based on the Magdeburg law, but adapted to the local conditions (Środa law). It was a model on which many other Polish towns were later founded (including Opole, Kalisz, Wieliczka, Radom). The town was fortified with ramparts and a moat. The St. Andrew's Church was most likely built before Środa was granted town rights, although the oldest known mention dates back to 1233, whereas the castle was first mentioned in 1266, however, it also may have been built much earlier. It was a residence of the local dukes from the Piast dynasty and the seat of the Środa castellany. Between 1220 and 1234 a hospital was established either by Duke Henry the Bearded or Bishop of Wrocław Wawrzyniec, and by the late 13th century, there was also a parish school (at St. Andrew's Church). Possibly in 1253, the Franciscans arrived and established the town's first monastery, although the oldest known mention comes from 1318. A second hospital was founded in the late 14th century. In the 13th century the town was a regional center of salt trade. A Merchants' House was established in 1283, a slaughterhouse operated in the town by 1307, and after 1348 merchant shops were built. Crafts and trade, including weaving, developed in the town. Since the 15th century, vines were grown, as a result of which winemaking as well as brewing developed. In 1428–31