Raków 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 ...

in Kielce County,

Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship The Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, also known as the Świętokrzyskie Province, and the Holy Cross Voivodeship ( pl, województwo świętokrzyskie ) is a voivodeship ( province) of Poland situated in southeastern part of the country, in the his ...

, in south-central

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 ...

. 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 Raków. It lies in 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 ...

, approximately south-east of the regional capital

Kielce Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the ban ...

. The village has a population of 1,213. Raków was founded in 1569 by , a

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

who was

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 ...

Żarnów Żarnów is a historical village in Opoczno County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district called Gmina Żarnów. It lies approximately south-west of Opoczno and south-east of the regional capita ...

, as the centre of the

Polish Brethren The Polish Brethren (Polish: ''Bracia Polscy'') were members of the Minor Reformed Church of Poland, a Nontrinitarian Protestant church that existed in Poland from 1565 to 1658. By those on the outside, they were called " Arians" or " Socinians" ( ...

and a place of religious tolerance. The town

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

includes a

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, m ...

and is derived from the Warnia coat of arms of Sienieński's

Arian Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...

wife, Jadwiga Gnoińska. The Socinian Racovian Academy was founded in 1602 by

Jakub Sienieński Jakub Sienieński (died 1639) was a Polish nobleman, representative in the Sejm, who in 1602 founded the Racovian Academy. His father Jan Sienieński (d. 1599) founded the town of Raków, Kielce County in 1569. The family name, also written "z Si ...

, Jan Sienieński's son. By the 1630s, the town had grown to 15,000 inhabitants, with businesses centering on the Academy. As the

Counter-Reformation in Poland Counter-reformation in Poland refers to the response (Counter-Reformation) of Catholic Church in Poland (more precisely, the Kingdom of Poland until 1568, and thereafter the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth) to the spread of Protestantism in Poland ...

gathered force, pressure began to be used against the

Socinians Socinianism () is a nontrinitarian belief system deemed heretical by the Catholic Church and other Christian traditions. Named after the Italian theologians Lelio Sozzini (Latin: Laelius Socinus) and Fausto Sozzini (Latin: Faustus Socinus), uncle ...

. On April 19, 1638 an incident occurred in which some young students of the Academy destroyed or removed a cross, giving the royal court the pretext needed to ban Arian activities, including printing and the schools, and sentenced teachers to exile, many heading south to the Principality of Transylvania.

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

scholar

Szymon Starowolski Szymon Starowolski (1588 – 1656; Simon Starovolscius) was a writer, scholar and historian in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was probably born near Pruzhany, and died near Kraków. He was a very prolific writer, and left behind over 70 ...

justified the closing of Protestant schools (in 1638 and 1640), and Protestant centers and printing presses (in 1638, the press at Raków), as the "duty of good pastors" and as a legitimate act of the King and the Republic. The was demolished in 1640. In 1641

Jakub Zadzik Jakub Zadzik (1582 – 17 March 1642) was a Polish Great Crown Secretary from 1613 to 1627, bishop of Chełmno from 1624, Crown Deputy Chancellor from 1627, Great Crown Chancellor from 1628 to 1635, bishop of Kraków from 1635, diplomat, szlachc ...

archbishop of Kraków The Archbishop of Kraków is the head of the archdiocese of Kraków. A bishop of Kraków first came into existence when the diocese was created in 1000; it was promoted to an archdiocese on 28 October 1925. Due to Kraków's role as Poland's politic ...

, began construction of the magnificent on the same site and settled

Franciscan friar , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

s in Raków to reconvert the Polish Brethren. The friars left the town around 1649. The main Arian buildings were destroyed, and more destruction was brought by Cossacks and Hungarians in 1657. By 1700 the town had only 700 inhabitants left. Initially, after the first partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Raków was in the Austrian Partition , and later in the

Russian Partition The Russian Partition ( pl, zabór rosyjski), sometimes called Russian Poland, constituted the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that were annexed by the Russian Empire in the course of late-18th-century Partitions of Po ...

. In 1820, Raków had 926 inhabitants, in 1864 their number rose to 2007, a significant part being

Jewish 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""The ...

. In 1869, like many other Polish towns, Raków has lost its town status and

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

People

Fausto Paolo Sozzini Fausto Paolo Sozzini, also known as Faustus Socinus ( pl, Faust Socyn; 5 December 1539 – 4 March 1604), was an Italian theologian and, alongside his uncle Lelio Sozzini, founder of the Non-trinitarian Christian belief system known as Sociniani ...

, Italian Arian *

Lelio Sozzini Lelio Francesco Maria Sozzini, or simply Lelio Sozzini (Latin: ''Laelius Socinus''; 29 January 1525 – 4 May 1562), was an Italian Renaissance humanist and theologian and, alongside his nephew Fausto Sozzini, founder of the Non-trinitarian C ...

, uncle of the above *

Stanisław Lubieniecki Stanisław Lubieniecki (german: link=no, Stanislaus de Lubienietz, also ''Lubiniezky'' or ''Lubyenyetsky'') (August 23, 1623 in Raków – May 18, 1675 in Hamburg) was a Polish Socinian theologist, historian, astronomer, and writer. He is the e ...

, Socinian *

Piotr of Goniądz Piotr of Goniądz ( pl, Piotr z Goniądza, ; Latin: Gonesius; c. 1525–1573) was a Polish political and religious writer, thinker and one of the spiritual leaders of the Polish Brethren. Life Little is known of his early life. He was born to a p ...

, Socinian *

Gregory Paul of Brzeziny Grzegorz Paweł z Brzezin (English: Gregory Paul of Brzeziny, Latin: Gregorius Paulus Brzezinensis) (1525–1591), was a Socinian ( Unitarian) writer and theologian, one of the principal creators and propagators of radical wing of the Polish Brethr ...

, Socinian *

Marcin Czechowic Martin Czechowic (or ''Marcin Czechowic'') (c.1532–1613) was a Polish Socinian (Unitarian) minister, Protestant reformer, theologian and writer. Life Born in Zbąszyń on the German border, Czechowic received a humanistic education in Pozn ...

, Socinian *

Jan Niemojewski Janusz Jan Niemojewski (1531–1598) was a Polish nobleman, and theologian of the Polish Brethren.Kęstutis Daugirdas, "Die Anfänge des Sozinianismus", Göttingen, 2016, p. 91-94, 180-183 Works * 1583 – "Odpowiedź na potwarz Wilkowskiego" * 1 ...

, Socinian * Mikołaj Sienicki, Socinian * Andrzej Wiszowaty, Socinian

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rakow, Kielce County Villages in Kielce County