HIRSCHBERG, the chief town of a circle in Prussian Silesia, government district of Liegnitz, is beautifully situated at the confluence of the Bober and Zackon, and on the Silesian mountain railway, 30 miles S.W. of Lauban by rail. It is the seat of a circle court and of a chamber of commerce. A great portion of its old walls still remains, and. to the south of the town there are pleasant promenades. It possesses an Evangelical church, one of the six stipulated for in the agreement between Charles of Sweden and the emperor Joseph I. in 1707 ; four Catholic churches, one of which dates from the 14th century ; a synagogue, an Evangelical gymnasium, a school of the middle grade, a female school of the higher grade, an orphanage, and an asylum. The town is the principal emporium of commerce in the Silesian mountains, and its industries include the carding and spinning of wool, and the manufacture of linen and cotton fabrics, Brabant lace, veils, artificial flowers, paper, Portland cement, porcelain, sealing-wax, blacking, chemicals, machines, fire-engines, champagne, and cider. There is also a lively trade in corn and agricultural produce. The town is celebrated for its romantic surroundings, including the Cavalierberg, from which there is a splendid view, the Hausberg, the Helicon, crowned by a small Doric temple, the Kreuzberg, with walks commanding beautiful views, and the Sattler ravine, over which there is a railway viaduct. The population in 1S75 was 12,954.

Hirschberg was in existence in the 11th century, and obtained town rights in 1108 from Boleslaus III. of Poland. It withstood a siege by the Hussites in 1427, and an attack of the imperial troops in 1640. The foundation of its prosperity was laid in the 16th century by the introduction of the manufacture of linen and veils.