Kolbuszowa ( yi, קאלבאסאוו) is a small

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in south-eastern

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 populou ...

, with 9,190 inhabitants (02.06.2009). Situated in the Sandomierz Forest in the Subcarpathian Voivodship (since 1999), it is the capital of Kolbuszowa County. Kolbuszowa belongs to historic

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 ...

, near its border with another historic region,

Red Ruthenia Red Ruthenia or Red Rus' ( la, Ruthenia Rubra; '; uk, Червона Русь, Chervona Rus'; pl, Ruś Czerwona, Ruś Halicka; russian: Червонная Русь, Chervonnaya Rus'; ro, Rutenia Roșie), is a term used since the Middle Ages fo ...

History

The name of the town comes from the land owner Kolbusz. It appeared for the first time in 1503 in place where Poręby Wielkie used to exist. The town, which belonged to

Sandomierz Voivodeship Sandomierz Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo Sandomierskie, la, Palatinatus Sandomirensis) was a unit of administration and local government in Poland from the 14th century to the partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. It was part of the Lesser Polan ...

, was probably founded before 1683, when it was mentioned in a trade regulating document of Józef Karol Lubomirski. Kolbuszowa was located on an important trade route from

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Prov ...

to Przemyśl. As the owners of the area were the Leliwa Tarnowski, Kolbuszowa belonged to

Sandomierz County __NOTOC__ Sandomierz County ( pl, powiat sandomierski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish lo ...

. With regard to the Roman Catholic Church, Kolbuszowa was within the diocese 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 ...

, but in 1786 it was moved under the jurisdiction of the diocese of

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarn� ...

. During the partitions of Poland the town was in the

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ; la, Resovia; yi, ריישא ''Raisha'')) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian ...

district of the Austrian Galicia and in 1867 it became the seat of its own county (

powiat A ''powiat'' (pronounced ; Polish plural: ''powiaty'') is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture ( LAU-1, formerly NUTS-4) in other countries. The term "''powiat ...

). Before World War II, half of Kolbuszowa's population was Jewish. The coat of arms of the city features a Christian cross and a Star of David with hands shaking between them to symbolize the friendship between Jewish and Christian Poles in Kolbuszowa. During the war, German troops burned down part of the town and about half of the Jewish population perished. In September 1941 Germans established a ghetto and interned 2500 people. In September 1942 the ghetto was emptied and its entire population was moved to a ghetto in

. On September 9, 1939, a 2-day battle between the Polish Army (121st light tank company) and the German 2nd Panzer Division took place here. During the war units of Polish Armia Krajowa (AK) and BCh ( Polish Peasants' Battalions) operating in this area discovered testing sites for the German V-1 and

V-2 rocket The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develop ...

s in the nearby towns of Blizna/ Pustkow. The Red Army entered Kolubuszowa in July 1944 and local Polish AK units (as part of

Operation Tempest file:Akcja_burza_1944.png, 210px, right Operation Tempest ( pl, akcja „Burza”, sometimes referred to in English as "Operation Storm") was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II against occupying German forces by the Polish Home ...

) attacked retreating German units; several dozen partisans died in the operation. After World War II, Kolbuszowa was rebuilt. New school districts were created, as well as a library and Museum of Culture. In 1964, a new rail link was established:

– Głogów Małopolski – Kolbuszowa. In 1971, it was extended to Nowa Dęba and

Tarnobrzeg Tarnobrzeg is a city in south-eastern Poland (historic Lesser Poland), on the east bank of the river Vistula, with 49,419 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Polish: ''Województwo podkarpackie'') sinc ...

. This connected Kolbuszowa to all the major cities in Poland including the capital, Warsaw. It was a culmination of decades of preparations which started when this part of Poland was under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Notable people

Jan Bytnar Jan Roman Bytnar, ''nom de guerre'' "Rudy" (''Ginger'') (born 6 May 1921, Kolbuszowa, Poland – died 30 March 1943, Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish scoutmaster, a member of Polish scouting anti-Nazi resistance, and a lieutenant in the Home Army du ...

, Scoutmaster, Polish Scouting resistance activist and Second Lieutenant of Armia Krajowa. *

Marian Krzaklewski Marian Krzaklewski (; born 23 August 1950 in Kolbuszowa) is a Polish politician. A member of Solidarity since the 1980s, he was one of the most known and influential Polish politicians in the late 1990s, when he created the Solidarity Electora ...

, Polish politician, was born in Kolbuszowa. * Hadassah (née Bluth) and Eliezer Birnbaum (parents of American comedian/actor

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. His arched eyebr ...

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kolbuszowa is twinned with:

Gallery

File:PL-Kolbuszowa, skansen, kościół św. Marka z Rzochowa 2013-08-04--18-01-45-001.jpg, Saint Mark church from Rzochów File:Skansen Kolbuszowa chałupa z Sędziszowa Małopolskiego 03.09.2010 p2.jpg, Cottage from Sędzisz Małopolski in skansen at Folk Culture Museum File:Garncarz.JPG, Pottery workshop in skansen at Folk Culture Museum File:Kolbuszowa - Starostwo Powiatowe - budynek (01) - DSC04617 v3.jpg, County Governor's Office in Kolbuszowa File:Stacja kolejowa w Kolbuszowej.jpg, Train station File:Stacja kolejowa w Kolbuszowej - peron.jpg, Pier at the train station

References

;Notes {{Authority control Cities and towns in Podkarpackie Voivodeship Kolbuszowa County Sandomierz Voivodeship Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Lwów Voivodeship Holocaust locations in Poland Jewish communities destroyed in the Holocaust it:Kolbuszowa