Jordanów, is a town in southern Poland, on the

Skawa Skawa (german: Schaue) is a river in southern Poland, a right tributary of the Vistula. It originates in the Western Carpathians (Beskids), is long and drains . It passes several towns: Jordanów, Maków Podhalański, Sucha Beskidzka, Wadowice ...

river. As of 2018, the town had a population of 5,360.

History

Jordanów was founded in 1564 by Spytek Wawrzyniec Jordan on the salt road from

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 ...

and

Wieliczka Wieliczka (German: ''Groß Salze'', Latin: ''Magnum Sal'') is a historic town in southern Poland, situated within the Kraków metropolitan area in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. The town was initially founded in 1290 by Premislaus II of P ...

to Orava and Hungary. In 1581 it got a right to organize annual fairs, which in 17th century became famous in south regions of

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

. Main goods traded there were

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

and

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

. Since 1999, Jordanów has been situated in

Sucha County __NOTOC__ Sucha County ( pl, powiat suski) is a ''mogus'' of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland, on the Slovak border. Its administrative seat and largest town is Sucha Beskidz ...

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 ...

. It was previously in

Nowy Sącz Voivodeship Nowy Sacz Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government, located in southern Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Its capital city was Nowy Sącz. Major cities and towns (popul ...

from 1975 to 1998. Jordanów is the oldest town on the territory of Sucha Beskidzka County. Its history dates back to a royal privilege, issued in 1564 by King

Zygmunt August 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 rule ...

, upon which Spytek Jordan of

Zakliczyn Zakliczyn is a town in Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 1,558 (2006). Zakliczyn lies on the right bank of the Dunajec river, surrounded by wooded hills above sea level. Zakliczyn has a town hall, locate ...

was allowed to found a new town. Jordan himself was a rich and influential nobleman, a

starosta The starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', german: link=no, Starost, Hauptmann) is a term of Slavic origin denoting a community elder whose role was to administer the assets of a clan or family estates. Th ...

of Kraków and Crown

podskarbi Podskarbi in Poland then in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was minister responsible for the treasury. Since 1569 also a senatorial office. The title although meaning treasurer can be deconstructed as "''underingtreasury''" - treasury as an old- ...

The town of Jordanów was located on the grounds of the village of Malejowa, with

Magdeburg rights 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 ...

charter. Spytek Jordan, who was regarded as an enlightened man, planned the town square with a town hall (1571), hoping that Jordanów would emerge as an important trade and craft center. After Spytko's death, Jordanów belonged to his wife Anna Sieniawska, and then to several noble families. In 1576,

Stefan Batory Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...

confirmed Jordanów's charter, allowing for two fairs a year. Jordanów prospered, with inns, restaurants, artisans, and warehouses of salt and Hungarian wine, a very popular commodity in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

. Following the first partition of Poland (1772) Jordanów was annexed by 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 ...

, and remained in Austrian Galicia until 1918. During Austrian rule the town declined, with the situation slowly improving after 1884, when a railroad line with a station was completed. 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 ...

, Jordanów was a spa, nicknamed Green Town. The town, however, remained poor, with high unemployment and no industry. In early September 1939, during the

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 ...

, Jordanów was burned by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

(see also Battle of Jordanów). Out of 400 houses, 270 were completely destroyed. The town was once again burned in January 1945, and for its sufferings, in 1984 was awarded the

Order of the Cross of Grunwald The Order of the Cross of Grunwald (') was a military decoration created in Poland in November 1943 by the High Command of Gwardia Ludowa, a World War II Polish resistance movement organised by the Polish Workers Party. On 20 February 1944 it w ...

External links

Municipality home page

Jewish Community in Jordanów
on Virtual Shtetl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordanow Cities and towns in Lesser Poland Voivodeship Sucha County Kraków Voivodeship (14th century – 1795) Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Kraków Voivodeship (1919–1939) Populated places established in 1564 1564 establishments in Europe Holocaust locations in Poland 16th-century establishments in Poland