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Iłża () is a small town in Masovian Voivodeship, Poland. In 2006 Iłża had approximately 5,165 inhabitants. The town belongs to the historical region of Lesser Poland, and from its foundation until 1795, it was part of Lesser Poland’s Sandomierz Voivodeship. Iłża lies in Małopolska Upland, on the Iłżanka river, south of Radom. Iłża is the northern terminus of the ''
Starachowice Starachowice is a city in southeastern Poland (historic Lesser Poland), with 49,513 inhabitants (31.12.2017). Starachowice is situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (since 1999); it was formerly in the Kielce Voivodeship (1975–1998). It ...
Narrow Gauge Line'' (''Starachowicka Kolej Wąskotorowa''), a 20-kilometer () line built in the early 1950s, which now is open for tourists in the summer.


History

The history of the town dates back to the early Middle Ages, when it was a Western Slavic gord. Since the 12th century, until 1789, Iłża belonged to the Catholic
Bishops of Kraków A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
. The settlement was twice destroyed by the Mongols (1241, 1260) during the first and second Mongol invasion of Poland. In around 1294 it received Magdeburg rights town charter. In 1340, a stone castle was built here by Bishop Jan Grot, which was expanded in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 16th century, Iłża became famous for its potters and other artisans or craftsmen. The town prospered, together with whole Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was conveniently located on a merchant route from the heartland of Poland to the Vistula ports at
Solec nad Wisłą Solec nad Wisłą is a town in Lipsko County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Solec nad Wisłą. It lies approximately east of Lipsko and south-east of Warsaw. Th ...
,
Zawichost Zawichost is a small town (ca. 1,800 inhabitants ) in Sandomierz County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland. It is located by the Vistula River in Lesser Poland, near Sandomierz. It is first mentioned in historical documents from around 1148. I ...
, and Sandomierz. In 1576, a town hall was built at the main market square, Iłża had a
defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
, and several Polish kings visited the castle. The decline of Iłża was brought by the
Deluge A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood. The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the Biblical book of Genesis. Deluge may also refer to: History *Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-Lithuanian Com ...
(1655–1660), when Swedish and Transylvanian armies completely destroyed the town and the castle. On July 17, 1789 Iłża ceased to be the property of the Bishops of Kraków, and became a state-owned town. Following the Third Partition of Poland, Iłża briefly belonged to the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
(1795–1807), afterwards it was part of the short-lived Polish
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, durin ...
, and since 1815, it was part of Russian-controlled
Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...
. The town suffered in the November Uprising (1831), and in 1850, a Jewish gmina was opened here. By 1857, Jews made up 26% of Iłża's total population. On January 17, 1864, during the
January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
, a battle between Polish rebels and Russians took place here. In 1867, as a punishment for the uprising, Iłża lost its town charter and privileges and became a village. In 1870, a synagogue was built, and by 1897, 40% of the population was Jewish. The village was once again destroyed in World War I (1915), and in 1918, the capital of the ''Iłża County'' (created 1866) was moved to
Starachowice Starachowice is a city in southeastern Poland (historic Lesser Poland), with 49,513 inhabitants (31.12.2017). Starachowice is situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (since 1999); it was formerly in the Kielce Voivodeship (1975–1998). It ...
. In 1921, already in
Kielce Voivodeship Kielce Voivodeship ( pl, województwo kieleckie) is a former unit of administrative division and the local government in Poland. It was originally formed during Poland's return to independence in the aftermath of World War One, and recreated within ...
of the Second Polish Republic, Iłża regained its town charter. Throughout
Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
, the Battle of Iłża (also called Battle of Radom) took place here on September 8–9, 1939, in which Polish
Prusy Army The Prusy Army ( pl, Armia Prusy) was one of the Polish armies to fight during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. Created in the summer of 1939 as the main reserve of the Commander in Chief, it was commanded by Gen. Stefan Dąb-Biernacki. The word '' ...
was defeated by the Wehrmacht. During the subsequent
German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 ...
,
Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Cen ...
were subject to mass arrests, tortures, massacres and deportations. In March 1940, Germans carried out mass arrests of Poles, who were then either murdered in the village of Góry Wysokie or deported to
Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as conce ...
, and in June 1940, they carried out another wave of arrests of Poles, who were then imprisoned and tortured in Skarżysko-Kamienna, and afterwards murdered in the Brzask forest near Skarżysko-Kamienna. All Poles were a target of German brutality, and Polish Jews were a special target, being nearly wiped out completely. In Iłża in December 1941, Germans established a Jewish ghetto, whose 2000 residents were murdered at Treblinka extermination camp in October 1942. Polish police assisted in rounding them up for the deportation and searching the ghetto for those in hiding. The number of survivors is unknown. Iłża was an important center of Polish resistance, with a unit of the
Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) es ...
(AK), and local headquarters of Bataliony Chłopskie. Furthermore, the Communist partisan force
Armia Ludowa People's Army (Polish: ''Armia Ludowa'' , abbriv.: AL) was a communist Soviet-backed partisan force set up by the communist Polish Workers' Party ('PR) during World War II. It was created on the order of the Polish State National Council on 1 J ...
(AL) was active in the region; on May 16–17, 1944 its units took control of the town and on January 16, 1945 the Red Army entered Iłża. Under the
Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million near ...
Iłża remained a small town, without an industry and located close to the quickly growing industrial center at Starachowice. Since the 14th century Iłża established a potter's guild and has been famous for its pottery. Particularly popular were figurines of birds, animals and people, based on keen observations of nature. Entire families participated in the industry each taking their own part in the production. In the 17th and 18th century great developments occurred when caravans of pottery were transported to Kraków and other Polish cities, from where barges would transport the ceramics on the Vistula River to Gdańsk, spreading the fame of the artists work. During the 19th century, Stanisław Kosiarski began his long tradition of production, until his death at the hands of the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Naz ...
in 1939. The tradition was passed on to his students and daughter who continued to produce excellent ornamental pottery and build schools for young artists who could contribute to the art of Poland. Iłża now belongs to Masovian Voivodeship, even though it had never been part of the historical Masovia.


Sights

Among local attractions are: * remains of the castle built in 1340 by bishop Jan Grot, which in 1560s was turned into a Renaissance residence, * parish church dating back to 1326, remodeled in 1603, * remnants of Gothic buildings, such as round tower (late 13th century), * Holy Spirit church (1448), rebuilt in 1922, * parish cemetery (1832), * Jewish cemetery from the 19th century, * complex of the 1754 hospital.


References


External links


Jewish Community in Iłża
on Virtual Shtetl {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilza Cities and towns in Masovian Voivodeship Radom County Sandomierz Voivodeship Radom Governorate Kielce Voivodeship (1919–1939) Holocaust locations in Poland