Zator (german: Neuenstadt an der Schaue,
Wymysorys
Wymysorys (, or ), also known as Vilamovian or Wilamowicean, is a West Germanic language spoken by the ethnic Vilamovian minority in the small town of Wilamowice, Poland ( in Wymysorys, ), on the border between Silesia and Lesser Poland, near ...
: ''Naojśtaod'') is an old town 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 within
Oświęcim County
__NOTOC__
Oświęcim County ( pl, powiat oświęcimski) 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 gove ...
,
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 ...
(since 1999) in southern
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 populous ...
. From 1975 to 1998 it belonged to the
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 ...
. It 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 ca ...
. According to data from December 31, 2008, Zator was inhabited by 4779 people.
Description
The city, located 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, is well known for
pisciculture, especially
carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...
, 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 ( 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 ...
, the area was acquired by the
Silesian Piast
The Silesian Piasts were the elder of four lines of the Polish Piast dynasty beginning with Władysław II the Exile (1105–1159), eldest son of Duke Bolesław III of Poland. By Bolesław's testament, Władysław was granted Silesia as his he ...
Duke
Władysław of Opole by a 1274 agreement with the Polish Princeps
Bolesław V the Chaste
Bolesław V the Chaste ( pl, Bolesław Wstydliwy; 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 o ...
. Zator then belonged to the Upper Silesian
Duchy of Opole
Duchy of Opole ( pl, Księstwo opolskie; german: Herzogtum Oppeln; cs, Opolské knížectví) was one of the duchies of Silesia ruled by the Piast dynasty. Its capital was Opole (Oppeln, Opolí) in Upper Silesia.
Duke Boleslaw III 'the Wrymou ...
and after Władysław's death in 1281 fell to the
Duchy of Cieszyn
The Duchy of Teschen (german: Herzogtum Teschen), also Duchy of Cieszyn ( pl, Księstwo Cieszyńskie) or Duchy of Těšín ( cs, Těšínské knížectví), was one of the Duchies of Silesia centered on Cieszyn () in Upper Silesia. It was split o ...
. 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 tradition ...
in 1292.
From 1315 on Zator belonged to the
Duchy of Oświęcim
The Duchy of Oświęcim ( pl, Księstwo Oświęcimskie), or the Duchy of Auschwitz (german: Herzogtum Auschwitz), was one of many Duchies of Silesia, formed in the aftermath of the fragmentation of Poland.
It was established about 1315 on the Le ...
split off Cieszyn and in 1445 even became the capital of a Piast duchy in its own right, the
Duchy of Zator
The Duchy of Zator was one of many Duchies of Silesia.
It was split off the Duchy of Oświęcim, when after eleven years of joint rule the sons of Duke Casimir I in 1445 finally divided the lands among themselves, whereby his eldest son Wences ...
under Duke
Wenceslaus I, a
Bohemian
Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to:
*Anything of or relating to Bohemia
Beer
* National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst
* Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors
Culture and arts
* Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
vassal. It finally fell back to the
Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to:
Historical political entities
*Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031
*Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...
, when in 1494 Wenceslaus' son
Jan V
Jan V of Zator ( pl, Jan V zatorski; before 1455 – 17 September 1513), was a Duke of Zator during 1468–1474 (with his three brothers as co-rulers), ruler over the western half of Zator from 1474 to 1494 (with his brother Władysław as his co- ...
sold his lands to King
John I Albert
John I Albert ( pl, Jan I Olbracht; 27 December 1459 – 17 June 1501) was King of Poland from 1492 until his death in 1501 and Duke of Głogów (Glogau) from 1491 to 1498. He was the fourth Polish sovereign from the Jagiellonian dynasty, the s ...
.
From 1564 Zator had been incorporated into the
Kraków Voivodeship of Lesser Poland; in the course of the 1772
First Partition of Poland it was annexed by the
Habsburg monarchy
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 ...
under Empress
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' ( ...
and incorporated into the Austrian
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,, ; pl, Królestwo Galicji i Lodomerii, ; uk, Королівство Галичини та Володимирії, Korolivstvo Halychyny ta Volodymyrii; la, Rēgnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae also known as ...
. After the dissolution of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
by the 1919
Treaty of Saint-Germain
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...
Zator again fell to Poland.
During the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Zator was incorporated to
Nazi Germany
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 ...
as a part of the
Province of Upper Silesia
The Province of Upper Silesia (german: Provinz Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ''Provinz Oberschläsing''; szl, Prowincyjŏ Gōrny Ślōnsk; pl, Prowincja Górny Śląsk) was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. It comprise ...
, 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 grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
, 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 Polish noble family in the Kingdom of Poland and magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Potocki family is one of the wealthiest and ...
according to the project of F. M. Lanci.
[
]
* The
Jewish cemetery
A Jewish cemetery ( he, בית עלמין ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' ...
, founded in the middle of the 19th century. There are about 50 preserved headstones, most of which with an inscription in
Hebrew language
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
.
* The
Energylandia
Energylandia is an amusement park in Poland. It is located in Zator in Lesser Poland, which is in southern Poland. It is approximately away from Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland ...
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
Berekfürdő is a village in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, in the Northern Great Plain region of central Hungary.
Geography
It covers an area of .
Population
It has a population of 1010 people (2015).
References
External links
Official s ...
, Hungary
*
Bojnice
Bojnice (german: Weinitz; hu, Bajmóc) is a historical town in central Slovakia located on the 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 know ...
, Slovakia
References
External links
*
Serwis Internetowy Miasta i Gminy Zator*
Stowarzyszenie Dolina Karpia*
The illustrated article about the castle in ZatorJewish Community in Zatoron Virtual Shtetl
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Lesser Poland Voivodeship
Oświęcim County
Lesser Poland
Kraków Voivodeship (14th century – 1795)
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Kraków Voivodeship (1919–1939)
Jewish communities destroyed in the Holocaust