Lubiąż (; ) is a village (former city) on the east bank of the Odra (Oder) River, in the administrative district of Gmina Wołów, within Wołów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Wołów, and west of the regional capital Wrocław. The village has a population of 2,300. The village is mainly known for its large abbey. The Abbey was built by the Benedictines in 1150, and occupied by Cistercians in 1163 until 1810. Built over centuries, the abbey – the largest Cistercian abbey in the world – is rated in the highest class ("0") of landmarks of world's cultural heritage. Lubiąż is also known in Poland for its regional psychiatric hospital. History The village is located on one of the oldest river crossings in Silesia. This crossing was protected by a castle, which was probably destroyed in 1108, and populated by Poles, who lived in a market named Lubies, which was documented in 1175. According to legend, the settlement was founded in 1053 by Polish monarch Casimir I the Restorer. Since its establishment, the settlement along with the region, was part of Piast-ruled Poland, and following Poland's fragmentation it belonged to various Silesian duchies of Poland, ruled by dukes of the Silesian branch of the Piast dynasty. The name of the settlement is of Polish origin, although there are different interpretations of its exact meaning. In the middle of the 12th century an abbey was founded on the place of the former castle. Sources disagree on the exact date and nature of the foundation. While some sources claim the monastery was founded around 1150 by Benedictines and soon after passed to the Cistercians, other sources argue the monastery was founded by Cistercians around 1163. The deed of foundation was ratified in 1175 by Bolesław I the Tall, who chose the abbey as the burial place for him and his dynasty. The monastery was settled with Cistercian monks from Pforta in the Margraviate of Meissen, Bolesław refuge during his stay in Germany. In the same document the duke allowed the monastery to settle their territory with Germans and to exclude them from Polish law, making it the first place of the Ostsiedlung in Silesia. The small town Leubus was founded on the place of the former Polish market, the place Germanized, and received Środa town rights (town rights modeled on the town of Środa Śląska)