Prędocice
Prędocice is an abandoned village in the Lower Silesian Forest, located in the administrative district of Gmina Pieńsk, within Zgorzelec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies on the east bank of the Lusatian Neisse, directly opposite Rothenburg.
History
The village dates back to before 1403, as a Sorbian settlement by the name of Tornow. The name Tormersdorff appeared in written records from 1490. On 6 October, 1518 a fire completely destroyed a manor house. During the fire, a strong easterly wind blew, and spread the fire west into Rothenburg. In 1840, a faience factory opened, on the site of the manor house. The factory was closed in 1860.
In 1941, a Jewish Ghetto was established by Nazi Germany which at one time housed over 700 Jews, mainly from Görlitz and Wrocław. They were forced to work here as laborers in local companies. On 20 February 1945, the Wehrmacht blew up the Tormersdorf bridge over the Lusatian Neisse to Rothenburg. On 16 April 1945, the Lusatian Operation began. The village was given the codename Toporów, with a command post of the Second Polish Army being located here. The Second Polish Army crossed the Lusatian Neisse, and captured Rothenburg. By the end of the war, the village was almost completely destroyed, and now remains abandoned.
There is a memorial which commemorates the Second Polish Army and the victims of World War II. From 5 September 1949, Polish Border Protection Forces were stationed here until shortly before 1983. Since the end of World War II, the village has been uninhabited.