![Chrzanow ulkrakowska mpazdziora](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Chrzanow_ulkrakowska_mpazdziora.JPG)
Chrzanów () is a town in southern
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 ...
with 35,651 inhabitants as of December 2021.
It is situated in the
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 ...
(since 1999) and is the seat of
Chrzanów County
__NOTOC__
Chrzanów County ( pl, powiat chrzanowski) 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 govern ...
.
History
History to 1809
It is impossible to establish a reliable date for the foundation of the town. A stronghold existed on the site, which was later raised to the rank of a
castellan
A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...
y. The earliest documents which corroborate the existence of Chrzanów castellany come from the late 12th century when, in around 1178, Chrzanów castellany was annexed to
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
by order of Duke
Casimir II the Just
Casimir II the Just ( pl, Kazimierz II Sprawiedliwy; 28 October 1138 – 5 May 1194) was a Lesser Polish Duke of Wiślica from 1166–1173, and of Sandomierz after 1173. He became ruler over the Polish Seniorate Province at Kraków and thereby Hig ...
. In the second half of the 13th century it was reunited with the Duchy of
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 ...
. In 1241 the wooden stronghold of Chrzanów was put to the torch by Mongol hordes invading
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 ...
from the east. The town of Chrzanów was rebuilt according to the
Magdeburg Law
Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within c ...
in the mid-14th century under the reign of King
Casimir III the Great
Casimir III the Great ( pl, Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars. He w ...
. However it seems that it was not surrounded by defence walls. It is believed that Chrzanów was an open town. The local church was mentioned for the first time in documents in the tax-register of
Peter's Pence
Peter's Pence (or ''Denarii Sancti Petri'' and "Alms of St Peter") are donations or payments made directly to the Holy See of the Catholic Church. The practice began under the Saxons in England and spread through Europe. Both before and after the ...
, 1325-1328. From the time of its construction in the 14th century until 1640 the town was the property of the Ligęza family of the Półkozic coat of arms. In the mid-15th century Chrzanów had c. 430 residents and in the 17th century some 650. At least from the early 15th century a parish school existed next to Chrzanów's Church of
St Nicholas
Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...
.
In the 16th century King
Sigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus ( pl, Zygmunt II August, lt, Žygimantas Augustas; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler ...
of Poland bestowed a new privilege on the town, allowing for four extra fairs. Various guilds were active in the town: weavers', tailors', shoemakers', smiths', butchers' and others. Ancient Chrzanów's speciality was trading cattle, as here was a customs house for exports of cattle to
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
and ore trade which was mined and smelted by Chrzanów's burghers. In 1640 Chrzanów was taken over by Andrzej Samuel Dembiński. Then in 1649 it was inherited by his granddaughter Katarzyna Grudzińska, and in 1675 by the Stadnicki family. In 1731 it went to Józef Kanty Ossoliński. In 1654 King
John II Casimir
John II Casimir ( pl, Jan II Kazimierz Waza; lt, Jonas Kazimieras Vaza; 22 March 1609 – 16 December 1672) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1648 until his abdication in 1668 as well as titular King of Sweden from 1648 ...
bestowed upon Chrzanów the privilege of holding extra fairs and in 1781 a similar privilege was bestowed on the town by
King Stanislaus II Augustus. The second half of the 17th century was a particularly hard period for Chrzanów. As a result of wars waged at the time the town was looted on several occasions by the Swedes (1655–1657), the Austrians who fought against them (1657), by Transylvanian troops of Prince George Rákóczi and by Polish troops as well. During the
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...
Chrzanów was plundered and put to the torch by Swedish troops of King
Charles XII
Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...
. During the Polish-Russian war which broke out in 1792, Chrzanów was occupied by Russian (1792–1793) and Prussian troops (1793–1795). In 1795, following the third partition of
Poland-Lithuania, Chrzanów was annexed to Galicia in the
Habsburg Empire
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
.
1809-1918
In the period 1795-1809 Chrzanów was a part of
Austrian Galicia
The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,, ; pl, Królestwo Galicji i Lodomerii, ; uk, Королівство Галичини та Володимирії, Korolivstvo Halychyny ta Volodymyrii; la, Rēgnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae also known as ...
. In 1809, as a result of the war between
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and the
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...
, West Galicia with Chrzanów was annexed to the Duchy of Warsaw. During this period ownership of the town also changed. From 1804 to 1822 Chrzanów was owned by
Duke Albert Casimir of Saxe-Cieszyn, son of the late King of Poland,
Augustus III
Augustus III ( pl, August III Sas, lt, Augustas III; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire where he was known as Frederick Augu ...
of Saxony. Following the fall of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, a treaty among Austria, Prussia and Russia was concluded during the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
resulting in creation of the
Free City of Kraków
Free may refer to:
Concept
* Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything
* Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism
* Emancipate, to procure ...
on 3 May 1815. Chrzanów and the surrounding areas are annexed to the newly created state. In 1838 Chrzanów had 4078 residents: 2009 of the
Roman-Catholic and 2069 of the Jewish faith. The period of the Free City of Cracow was a time of prosperity and rapid development for Chrzanów and its residents. In this period ownership of the town changed again. The former owner, Duke Albert Casimir of Saxe-Cieszyn, bequeathed the town to Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria (1822), who in turn sold it to the Cracovian Senator and MP from Chrzanów Jan Mieroszewski. In 1856 Mieroszewski decided to sell his Chrzanów estate to a group of
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
entrepreneurs, one of whom, Emanuel Loewenfeld, soon became the sole owner.
In 1846 a
revolt
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
broke out in Kraków. Outside Cracow Austrian troops were also engaged in battle at Chrzanów where in February 1846 a 15-troop squad commanded by the owner of Kwaczała estate, Józef Patelski, victoriously attacked Austrian troops forcing them to withdraw. The revolt was doomed, however, and in September 1846 Chrzanów with the entire Free City of Cracow was annexed to the Austrian Kingdom of Galicia. In 1853/54 Galicia was divided into counties ''(powiaty)'' and Chrzanów became a seat of a county. In 1847 the first part of the railway running through Chrzanów County was built: from Cracow to Silesia with railway stations in
Krzeszowice
Krzeszowice (german: 1941-45 Kressendorf) is a town in southern Poland, situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. As of 2004, its population was 9,993. Krzeszowice belongs to ''Kraków Metropolitan Area'', and lies 25 kilometers west of the ...
,
Trzebinia
Trzebinia (; yi, טשעבין ''Tchebin'') is a town in Chrzanów County, Lesser Poland, Poland with an Orlen oil refinery and a major rail junction of the Kraków - Katowice line, with connections to Oświęcim and Spytkowice. The town became p ...
and
Szczakowa. In 1856 another section was built joining Cracow with
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
and this one ran through Chrzanów. In 1852 a zinc and lead ore mine "Matilda" was opened in the direct vicinity. Chrzanów entered the age of rapid industrialization. With it the number of residents grew. In 1870 the town had 6,323 inhabitants, 7,712 in 1890, 10,000 in 1900 and 11,572 in 1910. Henry Avenue (''Aleja Henryka'') was built in 1893 following a purchase of land situated between modern Henry Avenue and Oświęcimska St. from the Lowenfeld family. This initiated dynamic development of the town in S-W direction and intensive urbanization of the neighbourhood continued in the interwar period. In 1911 Chrzanów Secondary School was founded. Following
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 ...
's collapse in 1918 Chrzanów with the rest of Galicia was reunited with the
Republic 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 ...
.
1918-1945
In the years 1919-1939 Chrzanów and Chrzanów County belonged to the Province of Cracow (Voivodeship) in the Second Polish Republic. In the interwar years further industrialization of the town followed. In the 1920s Stella ceramic works and
Fablok
Fablok is a Polish manufacturer of locomotives, based in Chrzanów. Until 1947 the official name was ''First Factory of Locomotives in Poland Ltd.'' ( pl, Pierwsza Fabryka Lokomotyw w Polsce Sp. Akc.), Fablok being a widely used syllabic abbrevia ...
, the First Locomotive Factory in Poland, were founded. Many residents found employment there. The interwar years was the period of dynamic urbanization. A number of public buildings were constructed then (the
Józef Piłsudski
), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania)
, death_date =
, death_place = Warsaw, Poland
, constituency =
, party = None (formerly PPS)
, spouse =
, children = Wan ...
County Hospital, the Józef Piłsudski Children's House, a new building of Chrzanów Secondary School etc.), a residential area between Henry Avenue and Oświęcimska St. and housing estates at Kolonia Fabryczna and Rospontowa constructed for the employees of Fablok works. The population of the town in 1921 was 12,244 and 18,106 according to the 1931 census. In 1939 the number of residents was 22,000.
With the outbreak 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 ...
(1 September 1939) the town was flooded with refugees from
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...
. In the morning of 3 September Polish local government was evacuated from the town, as well as many residents. The following day, after a number of short skirmishes with the Polish troops, the town was occupied by German troops. In November 1939 when the town with the western half of the county was annexed directly to
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 ...
, Chrzanów was made a county town in the
Katowice
Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...
region of the
Province of Upper Silesia
The Province of Upper Silesia (german: Provinz Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ''Provinz Oberschläsing''; szl, Prowincyjŏ Gōrny Ślōnsk; pl, Prowincja Górny Śląsk) was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. It comprise ...
.
In 1940 the German authorities began expropriating Polish families from better houses in the town. These were given to German officials, military, policemen and German settlers from Romania. The Nazis started removing any Polish traces in the town with particular pettiness. Public buildings and shops had all signs written in Polish removed and all streets received German names. In 1941 the town itself was renamed ''Krenau''. Jewish residents were resettled to a
ghetto
A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...
, created in 1941. It was not surrounded by walls, like in other Polish towns, nevertheless the
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
s were not allowed to venture outside the ghetto. From 1942 Germans started sending Chrzanów's Jews to the death camp in
Auschwitz-Birkenau
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
. The last transport of Jews from Chrzanów to Birkenau was organized by the Germans in February 1943.
On April 29, 1942, the Germans hanged seven Jews in Krzyska Street in Chrzanow. The seven Jews were accused of illegally baking bread. The victims were Israel Gerstner (bakery owner), Chaim Gerstner, Szymszen Gerstner, Szaja Szpangelet, Fajwel Waloman, Israel Frisz and an unknown man from Olkusz.
German occupation was terminated on 24 January 1945 when Chrzanów was taken over by
Soviet troops of the
1st Ukrainian Front
The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...
. The town escaped serious damage in this last chapter of its war history (about one-fourth of the town was damaged). The population decreased by almost half. From 30 January 1945 the town was administered first by the Town Council and then by the National Town Council. Due to ruthless political methods, local administration was soon seized by the local and incoming communists, although the communists themselves constituted a tiny fraction of the politically active residents.
Since 1945
In 1949 Chrzanów had almost 15,000 residents, increasing to 20,000 in 1960, to over 30,000 in 1975 and to 53,000 in 1993. After 1945 new enterprises were created in the town (e.g. a dairy, a cold storage plant, a slaughterhouse) and new residential areas (housing estates ''Północ'' - from 1961, ''Południe'' - from 1979, ''Trzebińska'' and so on) and cultural centres (e.g. County Cultural Centre, the construction of which was initiated in 1959, and Chrzanów Museum founded in 1960). In 1970-71 a new town centre was constructed focusing around the Millennium Square (''Plac Tysiąclecia'') and the Victory and Liberty Monument. In 1975, following an administrative reform abolishing counties (''powiaty''), Chrzanów ceased to be a county seat. Further, the town was detached from its original Province of Cracow, to which it belonged since restoration of Poland's independence after World War I, and annexed to the Province of Katowice until 1999. Since 1999 Chrzanów has been a county seat in Małopolskie, or
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 ...
.
Demographics
Detailed data as of 31 December 2021:
Number of inhabitants by year
Main sights
![Chrzanow kaplica loewenfeldow](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Chrzanow_kaplica_loewenfeldow.JPG)
*Church of St Nicholas, most probably constructed at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries Its final architectural shape - as it then seemed, as it survived only until 1912 - had been created in the 15th century and shortly afterwards by adding annexes. A detached belfry was erected next to the church most probably around the same time. The present church was created by extensive reconstruction in 1912-1914. The interior decoration consist of several interesting altars with old paintings, arrestingly beautiful stained glass windows from 1914, grand chandelier from the 1930s and many other interesting historic objects.
*The Loewenfeld Mausoleum, built in 1898-1900 in Neo-Classical style on the
Greek cross
The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...
plan, according to a design of Teodor Talowski from Kraków. The chapel was raised as the mausoleum of the last owners of Chrzanów, the Loewenfelds.
*Market Square with residences from the late 18th and 19th centuries. Probably the most interesting of those is a 1905-1907 two-storey, Art-Nouveau house at nr 13 (previously nr 22). It has a façade of glazed bricks opulently decorated with miscellaneous ornaments (mostly chestnut foliage).
*The Victory and Liberty Monument at the Tysiąclecia Sq. (locally known as "The Eagle") by the Chrzanovian sculptor Marian Konarski. It was raised in 1971 in memory of the residents of Chrzanów who fell during World War II.
*The castle granary from the 16th century, now the seat of the
Chrzanów Museum. The building was originally a part of the manor assembly (called the Castle), which in turn was the residence of the owners of Chrzanów. Since 1960 the building has housed collections of the Chrzanów Museum, including mementos of the last owners, the Loewenfelds. The Museum has an interesting collections on local history divided into several sections.
*The Church of St John the Baptist in Kościelec had been built probably in the 14th century in Gothic style and it was preserved as such until 1843/45 when a decision was made for a general reconstruction of the church due to its rather poor shape. Among other interesting furnishings of the church is the 19th-century high altar and black Dębniki marble epitaphs of the former owners of Kościelec, which until the recent renovation used to be on the walls of the presbytery. The church has a richly adorned bell of 1484.
*The Building of the Credit Society (1895) in Henry Avenue, with rich eclectic details including two porches with column porticos which make the whole structure look quite handsome.
*
Jewish cemetery
A Jewish cemetery ( he, בית עלמין ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' ...
(c. 1763) with 19th- and 20th-century tombstones. Initially it had consisted of two cemeteries, the small one (which was destroyed by the Germans in 1941) and the big one which has been preserved down to our own days (small part of which, however, was destroyed by the Germans during World War II).
* World War I cemetery behind / adjacent to the Jewish cemetery of 1914/15 with approx. 170 interred, mainly Austro-Hungarian soldiers who died in the Chrzanów military hospitals. The site has been cleaned, a simple cross with the names of the interred erected in 2014, and restoration is envisaged to be completed by 2018.
Flag and coat of arms
The ancient coat of arms of Chrzanów, the St Nicholas, was created perhaps in the 14th century simultaneously with granting the Magdeburg Rights to Chrzanów. The oldest preserved seals of the town of Chrzanów are charged with an effigy of St Nicholas, the patron-saint of the local church, who holds a crosier in his right hand and a book in his left and wears bishop's vestments and a bishop's mitre on his head. Next to St Nicholas the Półkozic crest is seen which was the arms of the Ligęza Family, the former owners of Chrzanów. This coat of arms had been used by the town until c. 1809, when the authorities of the
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...
to which Chrzanów belonged to then, annulled all municipal coats-of-arms. Following the fall of the Duchy of Warsaw (1815) the arms of the Duchy was adopted as the arms of Chrzanów. It is unclear why the ancient and traditional arms were not restored. The arms of the Duchy of Warsaw, adopted after 1815 as the arms of Chrzanów, were a shield divided in half and placed under a royal crown. In the right field of the shield were the arms of
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
(black and golden stripes divided by a green crown-shaped half-wreath). In the left field were the
coat of arms of Poland
The coat of arms of Poland is a white, crowned Eagle (heraldry), eagle with a golden beak and talons, on a red background.
In Poland, the coat of arms as a whole is referred to as ''godło'' both in official documents and colloquial speech, des ...
.
In 1964 the flag of Chrzanów was adopted. During the session of the City Council on 21 May 1964 it was decided that the city colours would be blue and red put in two horizontal stripes, exactly like the colours of the Polish national flag. It seems quite probable that the choice of colours had been determined by the dominant colours in the old arms of Chrzanów featuring St Nicholas, and that is why such colours were adopted. In 2009 a new flag of Chrzanów was introduced. It consists of 3 vertical stripes: a broad white one, centrally located and featuring the city's arms and two narrower pale blue stripes flanking the central stripe on both sides.
Transport
Main road connections from the town include connection with
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 ...
(to the east) and
Katowice
Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...
(to the west) via the
A4 highway or via the
national road
The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the Federal Government of the United States, federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Pot ...
number 79. There are also two voivodeship roads starting from Chrzanów: road number 933 (going south-west) to
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 ...
,
Pszczyna
Pszczyna (german: Pleß, cs, Pština) is a town in southern Poland with 25,823 inhabitants (2019), and a seat of a local gmina (commune). It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship, and was a part of the Katowice Voivodeship from 1975 until adm ...
and
Jastrzębie-Zdrój
Jastrzębie-Zdrój (; german: Bad Königsdorff-Jastrzemb, originally ''Jastrzemb'', cs, Lázně Jestřebí, szl, Jastrzymbie-Zdrōj or ''Jastrzymbje-Zdrůj'') is a city in south Poland with 86,632 inhabitants (2021). Its name comes from the Poli ...
and road number 781 (going south-east) to
Andrychów
Andrychów ( la, Andrichovia, list=no, german: Andrichau, list=no, hist. also ''Andrychau'') is the largest town in Wadowice County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland. The town is located in the Little Beskids, in the historical region of Lesse ...
.
Rail connection links Chrzanów to Kraków (to the east), Oświęcim and
Czechowice-Dziedzice
Czechowice-Dziedzice (, szl, Czechowice-Dziydzice), previously known until 1958 as Czechowice, is a town in Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland with 35,684 inhabitants as of December 2021. It lies on the northeastern edge of t ...
(south-west). There are two rail stops in the town.
Education
Chrzanów has, among others, seven primary schools, two secondary schools, a secondary technical school, a music school and the Academy of Business and Marketing (
Wyższa Szkoła Przedsiębiorczości i Marketingu).
Sport
The town has a number of sports venue, including a large sport hall. The main sports club is
Fablok Chrzanów
Fablok Chrzanów is a Polish sports club, founded in 1926 in Chrzanów. Its name reflects the name of club's sponsor - Fablok, the biggest and most important company of the town.
Fablok's most famous soccer player is Paweł Cyganek, who played ...
, founded in 1926 and sponsored by the locomotive company Fablok.
Notable people
*
Dovid Halberstam
Dovid Halberstam (1821–1894) was a religious leader of the Hasidic Jewish community of Chrzanow.
Family life
Dovid Halberstam was the second son of Chaim Halberstam or ''Divrei Chaim'', the founder of the Sanz Hasidic dynasty of rebbes, wh ...
(1821-1894), Jewish religious leader
*
Ignacy Schwarzbart
Ignacy Izaak Schwarzbart (13 November 1888 in Chrzanów – 26 April 1961 in New York City) was a prominent Polish Zionist, and one of Jewish representatives on the Polish National Council of the Polish Government-in-Exile during the Second World ...
(1888–1961), Zionist, member of the
National Council of the Republic of Poland
*
Klemens Stefan Sielecki
Klemens Stefan Sielecki (December 8, 1903 in Stanisławów, Austria-Hungary – July 14, 1980 in Kamień Pomorski, Poland) was a Polish engineer and technical director of the first Polish Locomotive Factory Fablok in Chrzanów in the post-war year ...
(1903–1980), technical director of Fablok
*
Isaac Deutscher
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was th ...
(1907-1967), Jewish Marxist
*
Mascha Kaléko
Mascha Kaléko (born Golda Malka Aufen; 7 June 1907 – 21 January 1975) was a German language, German-language poet.
Biography
Kaléko was born Golda Malka Aufen in Chrzanów, Galicia (Central Europe), Galicia (now Poland). She was the daugh ...
(1907-1975), Poet
*
Janusz Szrom
Janusz Szrom (born 16 November 1968 in Grodków) is a Polish jazz vocalist and composer.
Biography
His musical education started in 1977 on the piano, at Nysa School of Music. Then, in 1981, he started to play on trumpet while continuing to ...
(born 1968), jazz singer
*
Michał Gajownik (1981–2009), Olympic canoeist
*
Henryk Tauber
''Henryk (Tauber) Fuchsbrunner'' (8 July 1917 – 3 January 2000) was a Polish Jewish prisoner at Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp during the Holocaust, who gave detailed testimony at the end of World War II. Tauber was his mother's maiden name. His p ...
Fuchsbrunner (1917-2000), Auschwitz worker and escapee, gave famous testimony; longest known survivor of the
*
Nathan Wasserberger
Nathan Wasserberger (1928-2013) was a Jewish American painter, known for his portrait paintings, including in particular nudes and depictions of women in kimono. Originally from Chrzanów, Poland, he survived the Holocaust and emigrated to the ...
(1928-2013), painter
[Obituary: Nathan Wasserberger]
" ''New York Times'', 7 April 2013.
International relations
Twin towns — sister cities
Chrzanów is
twinned with:
*
Harnes
Harnes () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.
Geography
Harnes is an ex-coalmining and light industrial town situated some northeast of Lens, at the junction of the D162e and the D39. The Lens ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
*
Nyékládháza
Nyékládháza is a small town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, northern Hungary, from county capital Miskolc.
History
The area has been inhabited since ancient times; archaeological finds include an Avar cemetery. The villages Mezőnyék and ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
*
Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вськ, translit=Iváno-Frankívśk ), formerly Stanyslaviv ( pl, Stanisławów ; german: Stanislau), is a city located in Western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk O ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
* Jan Pęckowski: ''Chrzanów miasto powiatowe w województwie krakowskiem'', Chrzanów 1934
* ''Ziemia chrzanowska i Jaworzno'', Kraków 1969
* ''Chrzanów, studia z dziejów miasta i regionu'', Chrzanów 1998,
* ''Chrzanów and its Neighbourhood. Tourist Guide'', Chrzanów 2008,
External links
Chrzanow; the Life and Destruction of a Jewish ShtetlJewish Community in Chrzanówon Virtual Shtetl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chrzanow
Kraków Voivodeship (14th century – 1795)
Free City of Kraków
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Kraków Voivodeship (1919–1939)
Holocaust locations in Poland