houses, which surround the town square. The oldest of these buildings date back to around 1500, with the most visible being the so-called "House of the Executioner". Also, in the centre of Paczków, there is the town hall, with a tower. Another interesting monument of "Polish Carcassonne" is the Church of John the Evangelist, which is considered to be one of the most impressive fortified churches in Poland. Its construction began in 1350, and lasted for 30 years. The unique Gothic church, which is made of stone and bricks displays a renaissance attic, and its mighty structure has been incorporated into the town's fortifications. The church stands out because of its immense size, and inside there are sculptures attributed to Wit Stwosz. Next to the complex there is the so-called Tatar well. According to a legend, a Tatar warrior (see Mongol invasion of Poland) was thrown into the well, after he had captured the daughter of a wealthy inhabitant of Paczków. Economy The characteristics of the town of Paczków's economic dependence is similar to that of the Gmina Paczków and the whole of the Opole Voivodeship, agriculture. The gmina, under the local authority of the town has a total of 6193 ha used for agriculture (80% of its land), with the main crop being canola. To the west of Paczków, the Paczkowski Lake, while predominantly performing the role of protecting the locality from flooding, is also home to a small fishing industry. Apart from food production, Paczków is home to numerous heavy industry complexes, including the "EMSTEEL" steel plant by Robotnicza Street (ul. Robotnicza) and the "Pollena Paczków" chemicals manufacturing plant by Henryk Sienkiewicz Street (ul. Henryka Sienkiewicza). Withal, in 2015 the service industry (including manual labour) provided 31.6% (11.7 million złoty) to the city's budget. Notable people Joseph Schröter (1837–1894), German scientist Lucyna Matuszna (born 1961), Polish female field hockey player Izabela Zatorska (born 1962), Polish retired female mountain runner Paweł Kukiz (born 1963), Polish politician, singer and actor Krzysztof Maksel (born 1991), Polish male cyclist Twin towns – sister cities See twin towns of Gmina Paczków. Gallery References External links Official webpage of the town Photo gallery of Paczkow Jewish Community in Paczków on Virtual Shtetl Cities in Silesia Cities and towns in Opole Voivodeship Nysa County 13th-century establishments in Poland Populated places established in the 1250s Czech Republic–Poland border crossings