Chudoba, Prudnik County
Chudoba, additional name in German: Schekai, is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Głogówek, within Prudnik County, Opole Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It is situated in the historical region of Prudnik Land.
As of 31 December 2022, the village's population numbered 43 inhabitants. A significant portion of them belongs to the German minority in Poland.
Geography
The village is located in the southern part of Opole Voivodeship, close to the Czech Republic–Poland border. It is situated in the historical Prudnik Land region, as well as in Upper Silesia. It lies in the Silesian Lowlands. The National Register of Geographical Names for 2025 classified Chudoba as a hamlet of Nowe Kotkowice.Etymology
In the German times, the village's name was Schekai. It was derived from a Polish word czekaj, because, according to a local legend, the village was a place where bandits waited for traveling merchants to rob them. In 1936, Nazi administration of the German Reich changed the village's name to Klein Warten.Following the Second World War, the Polish name Czekaj was introduced by the Commission for the Determination of Place Names. However, the name was not adopted by the local population, who instead called the village Chudoba. In August 2001, Gmina Głogówek decided to formally change the village's name to Chudoba. The new name was accepted by the government in 2003. As Gmina Głogówek gained the bilingual status on 1 December 2009, the government introduced an additional German name for the village: Schekai.
History
Until 1742, the village was a part of in the Habsburg Empire. After the First Silesian War, it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia was incorporated into Prudnik County.32 farmers and 15 gardeners lived in the village. Horses, cows, and pigs were bred here. There were also four forges in Chudoba. In 1910, 62 people lived in Chudoba. Only a portion of Prudnik County participated in the 1921 Upper Silesia plebiscite, which was supposed to determine ownership of the Province of Upper Silesia between Germany and Poland. Chudoba found itself in the eastern part of the county, within the plebiscite area. In the end, the area of Prudnik, along with Chudoba, remained in Germany.
Following the Second World War, from March to May 1945, Prudnik County was controlled by the Soviet military commandant's office. On 11 May 1945, it was passed on to the Polish administration. Autochthonous inhabitants of But, who either spoke Silesian or knew Polish, were allowed to remain in the village.