Zator (

Wymysorys Wymysorys (, ), also known as Vilamovian, Wilamowicean, or Wilmesaurisch, is a West Germanic language spoken by the Vilamovian ethnic minority in the town of Wilamowice, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland ( in Wymysorys), on the border between Si ...

: ''Naojśtaod'') is an old town on the

Skawa The Skawa is a river in southern Poland, a right tributary of the Vistula. Originating in the Western Carpathians (Beskids), the Skawa is long and drains . The several towns it passes along its path include Jordanów, Maków Podhalański, Sucha ...

river within

Oświęcim County __NOTOC__ Oświęcim County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in ...

Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). Its capital and largest city is Kraków. The province's name recalls the traditional name of a h ...

(since 1999) in southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. From 1975 to 1998 it belonged to the

Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship The Bielsko Voivodeship ( Polish: ''Województwo bielskie'') was a voivodeship (province) of the Polish People's Republic from 1975 to 1989, and the Third Republic of Poland from 1989 to 1998. Its capital was Bielsko-Biała. It was established on ...

. The town is the administrative seat of the

Gmina Zator __NOTOC__ Gmina Zator is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Oświęcim County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. Its seat is the town of Zator, which lies approximately east of Oświęcim and west of the regional capi ...

. According to data from December 31, 2008, Zator was inhabited by 4,779 people.

Description

The city, located on the

river, is well known for

pisciculture Fish farming or pisciculture involves commercial animal husbandry, breeding of fish, most often for food, in fish tanks or artificial pen (enclosure), enclosures such as fish ponds. It is a particular type of aquaculture, which is the controlled ...

, especially

carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

, and periodic event called Zatorskie Dni Karpia. Zator is the main city of the Carp Valley.

History

Originally a part of

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

, the area was acquired by the Silesian Piast Duke Władysław of Opole through a 1274 agreement with the Polish Princeps

Bolesław V the Chaste Bolesław V the Chaste (; 21 June 1226 – 7 December 1279) was Duke of Sandomierz in Lesser Poland from 1232 and High Duke of Poland from 1243 until his death, as the last male representative of the Lesser Polish branch of Piasts. Birth and n ...

. Zator then belonged to the Upper Silesian

Duchy of Opole The Duchy of Opole (; ) or Duchy of Oppeln () was one of the duchies of Silesia ruled by the branch of Polish Piast dynasty, formed during the medieval fragmentation of Poland into provincial duchies. Its capital was Opole () in Upper Silesia. S ...

and after Władysław's death in 1281 fell to the Duchy of Cieszyn. It received

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 ...

in 1292. From 1315 onwards, Zator belonged to the

Duchy of Oświęcim The Duchy of Oświęcim (), or the Duchy of Auschwitz (), was one of the Duchies of Silesia in the lands of Lesser Poland (Małopolska), formed in the aftermath of the fragmentation of Poland, centered around Oświęcim. It was established a ...

split off Cieszyn and in 1445 even became the capital of a Piast duchy in its own right, the Duchy of Zator under Duke Wenceslaus I, a

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

vassal. It finally fell back to the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

, when in 1494 Wenceslaus' son Jan V sold his lands to King

John I Albert John I Albert (; 27 December 1459 – 17 June 1501) was King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Roy ...

. From 1564, Zator had been incorporated into the Kraków Voivodeship of Lesser Poland; in the course of the 1772

First Partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...

it was annexed by the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

under Empress

Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. She was the sovereig ...

and incorporated into the Austrian

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galicia in Eastern Europe. The Cr ...

. After the dissolution of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

by the 1919

Treaty of Saint-Germain A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, conventi ...

Zator again fell to Poland. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Zator was incorporated to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

as a part of the

Province of Upper Silesia The Province of Upper Silesia (; Silesian German: ''Provinz Oberschläsing''; ; ) was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. It comprised much of the region of Upper Silesia and was eventually divided int ...

, and was liberated on January 26, 1945. Several hundred Jews lived in Zator. Most of them were murdered in the Holocaust.

Places of interest

* The Zator castle, actually a

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

, originally of defensive purposes. The castle is from 1445 year. It is classified as The First Class Monument. In 1836, it was completely renovated by The

Potocki family The House of Potocki (; plural: Potoccy, male: Potocki, feminine: Potocka) was a prominent szlachta, Polish noble family in the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Kingdom of Poland and magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Po ...

according to the project of F. M. Lanci. * The

Jewish cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Halakha, Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' (house of s ...

, founded in the middle of the 19th century. There are about 50 preserved headstones, most of which with an inscription in

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language unti ...

. *

The

Energylandia Energylandia is an amusement park located in Zator, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Zator, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Lesser Poland, in southern Poland. It is approximately away from Kraków and away from Warsaw, Poland's capital city. Energylandi ...

amusement park is located in Zator.

Notable people

* Roman Rybarski (1887–1942), economist and politician * Rose Meth (1925–2013), surviving participant of the October 7, 1944 Sonderkommando uprising at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Zator is twinned with: * Berekfürdő, Hungary *

Bojnice Bojnice (; ) is a historical town in east Slovakia located on the Nitra (river), Nitra river, near the city of Prievidza. The town is situated just below the Bojnice Castle. It has a population of around 5,000. Bojnice is best known for its popul ...

, Slovakia

References

External links

*
Serwis Internetowy Miasta i Gminy Zator
*
Stowarzyszenie Dolina Karpia
*
The illustrated article about the castle in Zator

Jewish Community in Zator
on Virtual Shtetl {{Authority control Cities and towns in Lesser Poland Voivodeship Oświęcim County Holocaust locations in Poland