1526 Paczków, under the Germanized name Patschkau, together with the Duchy of Nysa, passed under the suzerainty of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty. The town blossomed, as a major centre of trade, with several manufacturers of textiles. The end of prosperity came during the Thirty Years' War, when warring armies destroyed Patschkau and adjacent areas. In 1742, after the Silesian Wars, Patschkau was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia, and it subsequently became part of the German Empire in 1871. It was secularized in 1810. The town was spared from serious destruction during World War I and II. During World War II, the Germans established five working parties (E158, E164, E274, E504, E534) of the Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner-of-war camp in the town. In the final stages of the war, the town was captured by the Soviet Red Army in May 1945. Its German population was largely evacuated or expelled. After the war, following the Potsdam Agreement, it became again part of Poland, and its Polish name was restored. The town was repopulated by Polish settlers from war-devastated Central Poland and expellees from former eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union, mostly from areas of Lwów, Tarnopol, and Volhynia (current western Ukraine). Monuments Unlike nearby Nysa, World War II spared Paczków, and most of its monuments have been preserved. Called "The Polish Carcassonne" (or, before the town was reintegrated with Poland, "the Silesian Carcassonne"), as early as in the 15th century, it was surrounded by double ring of defensive walls. Initially, the fortifications were made of dirt and wood, but later they were replaced by mightier stone walls. The first fortifications of Paczków were built in the mid-14th century upon the order of the Bishop of Wrocław, Przecław of Pogorzela. In the mid 15th century, Paczków had three gates - Wrocław Gate (Brama Wrocławska, eastern), Kłodzko Gate (Brama Kłodzka, western), and Zabkowice Slaskie Gate (Brama Ząbkowicka, southern). In the second half of the 16th century, the northern Nysa Gate (Brama Nyska) was added. Vertical, 9-metre walls made from stone still surround the historical centre of the town today. Altogether, the fortifications are around 1200 metres long, and apart from four gates, there originally were 24 wall towers, out of which 19 have been preserved. Along the defensive walls, there was a moat, which has been turned into a recreational park. Besides its fortifications, Paczków is famous for renaissance, baroque, and neoclassic tenement