Jeleśnia 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 ...

Żywiec County __NOTOC__ Żywiec County ( pl, powiat żywiecki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, on the Slovakia, Slovak border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of ...

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province ( pl, województwo śląskie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centered on the historic region known as Upper Silesia ('), with Katowice serving as its capital. Despite the Silesian ...

, in southern Poland. It is the seat 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 ...

(administrative district) called

Gmina Jeleśnia __NOTOC__ Gmina Jeleśnia is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Żywiec County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. Its seat is the village of Jeleśnia, which lies approximately south-east of Żywiec and south of the regional capi ...

. It lies approximately south-east of

Żywiec Żywiec () (german: Saybusch) is a town in southern Poland with 31,194 inhabitants (2019). Between 1975 and 1998, it was located within the Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship, but has since become part of the Silesian Voivodeship.It is the capital of Ż ...

and south of the regional capital

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 ...

. The village has a population of 4,098, and it belongs to

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a s ...

. Together with Żywiec, for hundreds of years it was administratively tied with the city 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 ...

. Jeleśnia is located on two rivers, Sopotnia and Koszarawa, among the mountains and hills of

Beskidy The Beskids or Beskid Mountains ( pl, Beskidy, cs, Beskydy, sk, Beskydy, rue, Бескиды (''Beskydŷ''), ua, Бескиди (''Beskydy'')) are a series of mountain ranges in the Carpathians, stretching from the Czech Republic in the west a ...

. The area of the gmina is 13,845 hectares, and it is largely covered by forests, with several protected areas, such as one around

Pilsko Pilsko is the second highest mountain, , in the Żywiec Beskids ( Oravské Beskydy in Slovakia) mountain range, on the border between Poland and Slovakia. It is a hiking destination in summer and a skiing area in winter. The name Pilsko is freque ...

. First written mentions of Jeleśnia come from the 16th century. At that time, the area of the village was sparsely populated, and local

noblemen Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characterist ...

would frequently fight each other, using gangs of

highwaymen A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to fo ...

. The area of the future Żywiec County belonged to the Komorowski family, then it was divided among other families, such as the Wielopolskis. Until 1772 (see

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

), Jeleśnia belonged to

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 ...

. From 1772 to 1918, it was part of Austrian province of Galicia. 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 ...

, Jeleśnia again belonged to Kraków Voivodeship. During the war, it was incorporated into the

Third Reich 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 ...

, and from 1945 to 1975, it returned to Kraków Voivodeship. In 1975 the village was transferred to

Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship Bielsko-Biała (; cs, Bílsko-Bělá, german: Bielitz-Biala, szl, Bjylsko-Bjoło) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 168,319 as of December 2021, making it the 22nd largest city in Poland, and an area of . It is a ...

, where it remained until January 1, 1999.

References

External links

*
Jewish Community in Jeleśnia
on Virtual Shtetl
Villages in Żywiec County {{Żywiec-geo-stub