[3] The settlement of Gryfów arose from a castle built by the Piast Duke Bolesław I the Tall of Silesia near the border with Upper Lusatia.

Defensive town walls were built during the rule of Duke Bolko I the Strict in the 13th century.

[3] In 1354, Duke Bolko II the Small granted new privileges, established an annual fair,[3] and modelled the town rights after nearby Lwówek Śląski.

[4] The ruins of the medieval Gryf Castle, a possession of the House of Schaffgotsch from 1400 on, are still visible south of the town.

In 1865 the Greiffenberg station opened on the Silesian Mountain Railway line from Görlitz to Reibnitz (Rybnica).