ages become a powerful
community, and numbered in 1617, in the city and suburbs, 738 houses
and at least 6500 inhabitants.[37] It rose stately, with its strong
walls, moats, and gate-towers, amidst woods and meadows; it had in
its centre, like almost all the German cities in Silesia, a large
market-place, called the 'Ring,' which included the council-house and
fourteen privileged inns and licensed houses of traffic; the houses
within the town were of stone, high gables projected over the streets,
and they were from four to five stories high. Originally the under
story had been built with trellised porches; these covered passages,
however, had been removed sixty years before; on the under floor the
houses had a large hall, and a strong vault, behind these a spacious
room, in which was the baking oven, and over this a wooden gallery
which occupied the back portion of the room, a staircase led up to it;
the forepart of the room was the sleeping-room of the family, and the
gallery was the eating-room. On the floor above was a good apartment
wainscoted with wood work, all the rest were chambers and lofts for
wares, superabundant furniture, corn and wool. For Loewenberg was a
celebrated cloth-manufacturing town; in the year 1617, three hundred
cloth factories fabricated 13,702 pieces of cloth, and traders carried
their strong work far into Bohemia and the Empire, but especially into
Poland. The city seal, a lion in the town gate, was of pure gold.

In 1629, the town had already suffered much from the war. The citizens,
demoralized and tortured, had lost the greater portion of their old
spirit. Lichtenstein's dragoon regiment--Imperialists--were quartered
in the neighbouring city, and supported the proselytizing Jesuits by
sword and pistol. The burgesses of the town of Loewenberg, dreading
their arrival, were obliged to dismiss their old pastors; they
separated from them with tears, the populace followed them weeping to
their dwellings, bearing with them their last parting gifts as an
expiation. The Jesuits succeeded them; the night before they came, a
horned owl took up its abode in the church tower, to the terror of the
citizens, and alarmed the town all night long by its hootings. The
Jesuits preached after their fashion daily, promising freedom from all
contributions, and from the infliction of billeting, and special favour
and privileges from the Emperor; but to the refractory temporal
destruction. They went so far, that