The settlement of "Richnow" (modern German: "Reichenau", i.e. 'rich vale') in the historical region of Upper Lusatia was first mentioned in a 1262 deed, then a possession of Cistercian St. Marienthal Abbey near Ostritz. It prospered from its location on an important trade route connecting Dresden, residence of the Meissen margraves, with Świdnica in Silesia. Initially a possession of the Kingdom of Bohemia, it passed to the Duchy of Jawor of fragmented Poland in 1319, again to Bohemia in 1346, to the Kingdom of Hungary in 1469, again to Bohemia in 1490, and to the Saxon Electorate by the 1635 Peace of Prague. From 1697 to 1763 it was also ruled by Kings of Poland in personal union.