| Leśnica | |
| Other Name: | Leschnitz |
| Pushpin Map: | Poland#Poland Opole Voivodeship |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Voivodeship |
| Subdivision Name1: | Opole |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Strzelce |
| Subdivision Type3: | Gmina |
| Subdivision Name3: | Leśnica |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Łukasz Jastrzembski |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 13th century |
| Established Title3: | Town rights |
| Established Date3: | 1217 |
| Area Total Km2: | 14.45 |
| Population As Of: | 2019-06-30[1] |
| Population Total: | 2556 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Coordinates: | 50.4292°N 18.1811°W |
| Elevation M: | 205 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 47-150 |
| Area Code: | +48 77 |
| Blank Name: | Car plates |
| Blank Info: | OST |
Leśnica (German: Leschnitz, 1936-1945: Bergstadt) is a town in Poland, located in Strzelce County, Opole Voivodship.
The oldest known mention of Leśnica comes from a 1217 document of Duke Casimir I of Opole. Its name is derived from the Polish word las ("forest").[2] The town was part of the Duchy of Opole of fragmented Poland, and remained ruled by the Piast dynasty until 1532. The town was destroyed in 1429 during the Hussite Wars. In 1532 incorporated into the Bohemian Crown Lands, in 1645 it passed to the Poles again under the House of Vasa, and in 1666 it fell back to Bohemia.
Under the Germanized name Leschnitz, it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1742 during the First Silesian War. In the 18th century, Leschnitz belonged to the tax inspection region of Neustadt.[3] The town was included in Landkreis Groß Strehlitz within the Prussian Province of Silesia in 1816. Leschnitz became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the unification of Germany. In the 1921 Upper Silesia plebiscite, 89.6% of votes in the town were cast in favour of remaining in Germany.[4]
During the Nazi campaign of renaming of placenames, in 1936 while part of the Province of Upper Silesia, it was renamed Bergstadt ("mountain town") to remove traces of Polish origin. In 1945, it became again part of Poland according to the Potsdam Agreement and the historic name Leśnica was restored. Due to fact that no less than 20% of its population belongs to the German minority in Poland,[5] the town uses bilingual Polish and German signs and language – Polish remains official, German is the language of "assistance".[6]
See twin towns of Gmina Leśnica.