Żmigród i Zamczysko w Opatowie, woj. świętokrzyskie. Stan rozpoznania i problemy ochrony

The part of Opatów situated on the northern side of the Opatówka river is called Żmigród. This is the area of the oldest early medieval settlement. It is the location of e.g.: a pagan place of the Slavic dragon deity (Żmij), a hillfort from the 11th-13th centuries and the first municipal commune. Archaeological research has confirmed the existence of an early-municipal settlement here before the end of the 13th century. In 2016, at the so-called Burgstall, which is a part of Żmigród, a car park covering an area of 35 acres was illegally constructed, destroying part of historic substance of the archaeological site. In 2020, monument preservation services managed to force the owner of the site to close down the car park and caused the further use of the Burgstall area as a square, in a way which would not pose a threat to the archaeological monument.