minority in return received a Josephinian curacy. In 1742 Wołów was annexed by Prussia. The duchy was divided into two districts and the town became county seat of one of the districts. The structure of the town was, until 1700, defined by craft, especially clothiers. As the seat of a duchy and a district administrative function however became more and more important. The industrialization played only a minor role and mostly affected smaller companies of the timber industry. In 1781 the city suffered a fire. The town was part of Germany from 1871 to 1945. During World War II, the Germans operated a youth prison in the town, with multiple forced labour subcamps in the region, including one in the town itself. In 1943–1945, the Germans carried out mass executions of Allied prisoners of war in the forest in the present-day district of Gancarz. In January 1945 – just before town was taken by the Red Army – the Wehrmacht evacuated the German population westwards. After Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II, the town became again part of Poland. The totality of the town's previous population was expelled. In 1962, the town was site of the Wołów bank robbery, one of the largest bank robberies in Poland. Sports The local football team is MKP Wołów. It competes in the lower leagues. Notable people Jan II the Mad (1435–1504), Polish House of Silesian Piasts dynasty Duke of Żagań-Przewóz since 1439, died in Wołów and was buried in the local parish church Maria Cunitz (1610–1664), astronomer, the most notable female astronomer of the early modern era Oskar Müller (1896–1970), German politician Mirosław Hermaszewski (born 1941), first (and to this day remains the only) Polish national in space Twin towns – sister cities See twin towns of Gmina Wołów. References External links Official site of Wołów Wohlau (Wołów) and Polnischdorf (Polska Wieś) on an Austro-Hungarian military map (1:200 000) from c.1910 Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Wołów County Nazi war crimes in Poland