Błażowa ( yi, בלאזשאוו ''Blazhov'') is a town in Rzeszów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 2,149 as of December 2021.

History

The area of the

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' , from German ''Gemeinde'' meaning ''commune'') is the principal unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,477 gminas throughout the country, encompassing over 4 ...

of Błażowa in the past was located along the border of Red Ruthenia and Lesser Poland. In the early 14th century, it was part of the

Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia , conventional_long_name = Principality of Galicia–VolhyniaKingdom of Galicia–Volhynia , common_name = Galicia–Volhynia , status = Vassal state of the Golden Horde (from 1246) , era = Middle Ages , year_start = 1199 , year_end = 1349 , ...

. In 1340 Błażowa was annexed by Polish King Kazimierz Wielki, who created the Sanok Land (1366) and

Przemyśl Land Przemyśl Land ( pl, Ziemia przemyska) was an administrative unit of Kyivan Rus, Kingdom of Poland and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It existed since the integration of Principality of Peremyshl into Kingdom of Ruthenia and until 1772, and w ...

, and established several towns in the area ( Rzeszów 1354, Brzozow 1359, Tyczyn 1368). Błażowa remained a village located in Sanok Land. In 1624 the whole area was raided by the Crimean Tatars and another devastating Tatar raid took place in 1672. In 1655 – 56, during the

Swedish invasion of Poland The Deluge ( pl, potop szwedzki, lt, švedų tvanas) was a series of mid-17th-century military campaigns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648 and the Truce ...

, Błażowa was burned down by Swedish and then Transilvanian-Cossack soldiers. Further destruction was brought by the Great Northern War. It is not known when exactly Błażowa received town charter, probably some time between 1770 and 1776. In 1772, after the first partition of Poland, the whole Sanok Land was annexed by the Habsburg Empire, and became part of Austrian

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

in which it remained until late 1918. In May 1907 a fire broke out in the village which over many hours destroyed its wooden buildings. After this disaster the village was rebuilt in a more modern style, new space was recovered in the centre and a new school built. A neo-Gothic church in honour of St Nicholas Martin was built and two new synagogues. In 1909, Błażowa received regular bus connection with Rzeszów, and in 1910, a monument of King Władysław Jagiełło was unveiled, on the 400th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald. In the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

(1918–1939), Błażowa belonged to Lwów Voivodeship, and was one of centers of the

1937 peasant strike in Poland 1937 peasant strike in Poland, also known in some Polish sources as the Great Peasant Uprising ( pl, Wielki Strajk Chłopski) was a mass strike and demonstration of peasants organized by the People's Party and aimed at the ruling ''sanacja'' gover ...

. During World War II the village was occupied by the German army. The Home Army was active in the area of Błażowa. BoysInBluzhev

Jews in Błażowa

Błażowa was a shtetl. On 26 June 1941 the Jews of Błażowa, numbering about 930, were forcibly moved to the Rzeszów Ghetto. They joined Jews from nearby villages and shared their fate. Some were shot on the streets of Rzeszów, others deported to forced-labour camps or shot in Głogów Forest or transported Belzec extermination camp (between 7 and 18 July 1942) where they were gassed on arrival. ;Hasidic dynasty * Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech Spira of Bluzhov (Błażowa) (1841–1924), the Bluzhover Rebbe who was also called the ''Tzvi Latzaddik''. * His disciple and grandson was Rabbi

Yisroel Spira Yisroel Spira (November 12, 1889 – October 30, 1989), the Bluzhover Rebbe, was a senior member of Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, and a Holocaust survivor. His experiences in the Nazi concentration camps were the basis for the book ''Hasidic Tales of ...

, the Bluzhever Rebbe of America.

References

External links

Official website
Cities and towns in Podkarpackie Voivodeship Rzeszów County Shtetls Holocaust locations in Poland {{Poland-geo-stub