Łęki is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the administrative district of

Gmina Kęty __NOTOC__ Gmina Kęty is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Oświęcim County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. Its seat is the town of Kęty, which lies approximately south of Oświęcim and west of the regional capi ...

, within

Oświęcim County __NOTOC__ Oświęcim County ( pl, powiat oświęcimski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local gove ...

Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship or Lesser Poland Province (in pl, województwo małopolskie ), also known as Małopolska, is a voivodeship (province), in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). It was created on 1 ...

, in southern Poland. It lies approximately north of

Kęty Kęty is a town in Oświęcim County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland with 18,955 inhabitants (2012). The town located in Silesian Foothills dates its earliest document from 1277 when Polish prince of Opole Władysław confirmed sale of the ...

, south of

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; german: Auschwitz ; yi, אָשפּיצין, Oshpitzin) is a city in the Lesser Poland ( pl, Małopolska) province of southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rive ...

, and west of the regional capital

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. The village has a population of 1,300.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1404. It belonged then to the

Duchy of Oświęcim The Duchy of Oświęcim ( pl, Księstwo Oświęcimskie), or the Duchy of Auschwitz (german: Herzogtum Auschwitz), was one of many Duchies of Silesia, formed in the aftermath of the fragmentation of Poland. It was established about 1315 on the Le ...

, a fee of the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

. In the document of

Jan IV of Oświęcim Jan IV of Oświęcim ( pl, Jan IV oświęcimski; 1426/1430 – by 21 February 1497), was a Duke of Oświęcim during 1434–1456 (until 1445 with his brothers as co-rulers) and Duke of Gliwice from 1465 to 1482. He was the third son of Duke Casim ...

issued on 21 January 1457 in which the duke agreed to sell the

to the

Crown of the Kingdom of Poland The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, includ ...

the village was mentioned as ''Lanky''. The territory of the Duchy of Oświęcim was eventually incorporated into Poland in 1564 and formed

Silesian County The Silesian County (Polish: ''powiat śląski'') was a county of the Kraków Voivodeship, within the Kingdom of Poland, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Its seats of government were located in the towns of Zator and Oświęcim. It existed from ...

Kraków Voivodeship Kraków Voivodeship may also refer to: *Kraków Voivodeship (14th century – 1795) * Kraków Voivodeship (1816–1837) *Kraków Voivodeship (1919–1939) *Kraków Voivodeship (1945–1975) *Kraków Voivodeship (1975–1998) The Kraków Voivodeshi ...

. Upon the First Partition of Poland in 1772 it became part of the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

Kingdom of Galicia. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and fall of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

it became part of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. It was annexed by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

at the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and afterwards it was restored to Poland.

References

Villages in Oświęcim County {{Oświęcim-geo-stub