The city's name was first recorded as Svidnica in 1070, when it was part of Piast-ruled Poland. Świdnica became a town in 1250, although no founding document has survived that would confirm this fact. The town belonged at the time to the Duchy of Wrocław, a province of Poland. By 1290, Świdnica had city walls and six gates, crafts and trade were blossoming. At the end of the 13th century, there were guilds of bakers, weavers, potters, shoemakers, furriers and tailors in Świdnica. The city was famous for its beer production. In the late 15th century, almost three hundred houses had the right to brew beer. In various cities of the region (Wrocław, Oleśnica, Brzeg) and Europe (Kraków, Toruń, Prague, Pisa) there were so-called "Świdnica Cellars" – restaurants serving beer from Świdnica. Wrocław's Piwnica Świdnicka exists to this day as the oldest restaurant in Poland and one of the oldest in Europe. There was also a mint in Świdnica. The Franciscans and Dominicans settled in the city in 1287 and 1291, respectively.