Łazy is a town in

Zawiercie County __NOTOC__ Zawiercie County ( pl, powiat zawierciański) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local governmen ...

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province ( pl, województwo śląskie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centered on the historic region known as Upper Silesia ('), with Katowice serving as its capital. Despite the Silesian V ...

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 ...

. Until 1947 the town was the seat of the Rokitno Szlacheckie municipality. In the years 1975–1998 the town administratively belonged to the Katowice province. As of 2019, the town has 6,811 inhabitants. During

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, German occupiers changed the name to ''Lazy'' then to ''Lasern'' without a legislative decree. Łazy belongs to the province 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 ...

, and since its foundation until the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

, it was part of Krakow Voivodeship.

History

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, in the area of today's Łazy were five settlements: Grabowa, Niegowonice, Wiesiolka, Wysoka and Ciagowice. Another village, which today is located within boundaries of Łazy, Chruszczobrod, belonged to the

Duchy of Siewierz The Duchy of Siewierz was a Silesian duchy with its capital in Siewierz. The area was part of the original Duchy of Silesia established after the death of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth in 1138 during the times of the fragmentation of Poland. S ...

, which was incorporated into 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 ...

in 1790. In the year 1386, King Wladyslaw Jagiello granted the villages of Niegowonice, Wiesiolka, Wysoka, Grabowa and Rokitno Szlacheckie to Wlodek of Charbinowice, the

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. The ...

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...

and

czesnik A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person must have been regarded as ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

. Until 1795, Grabowa, Hutki Kanki and Niegowoniczki belonged to Lelow County, while Niegowonice, WiesióΠka,Wysoka, Ciagowice, Rokitno Szlacheckie and Turza were part of Kraków County. During the

Swedish invasion of Poland The Deluge ( pl, potop szwedzki, lt, švedų tvanas) was a series of mid-17th-century military campaigns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648 and the Truce ...

, the area of today's Łazy witnessed heavy fighting and destruction. Stanislaw Warszycki, owner of the so-called

Ogrodzieniec Ogrodzieniec is a town in Zawiercie County, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, with 4,282 inhabitants (2019). It is noted for the extensive ruins of a medieval castle. Ogrodzieniec is a part of Lesser Poland. Ogrodzieniec lies among the hills of Le ...

Properties, fought Swedish invaders. As a result, the Ogrodzieniec Castle was destroyed, together with numerous villages, such as Grabowa, with its fortified stronghold on the Lesser Poland – Silesian border. After the Third Partition of Poland (1795), the boundary between the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

and 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 ...

was established on the upper Pilica river. The area of Łazy was seized by Prussia, as part of the province of

New Silesia New Silesia (german: Neuschlesien or ''Neu-Schlesien'') was a small province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1795 to 1807, created after the Third Partition of Poland. It was located northwest of Kraków and southeast of Częstochowa, in the lands ...

. In 1807, after the

Treaties of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander, when ...

, it was annexed by the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...

, which in 1815 became Russian-controlled

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. I ...

, and remained part of

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

until

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. The village of Łazy for the first time appeared on maps in ca. 1790. It remained a small settlement, located next to the much larger village of Rokitno Szlacheckie. Łazy owes its development to the construction of the Warsaw–Vienna railway (completed in 1848). During the

January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

, a skirmish between Polish rebels and Russian troops took place near Lazy on March 22, 1863. Until 1927, Łazy belonged to 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 ...

of Rokitno Szlacheckie, Bedzin County. In the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...

, it was originally part of

Kielce Voivodeship Kielce Voivodeship ( pl, województwo kieleckie) is a former unit of administrative division and the local government in Poland. It was originally formed during Poland's return to independence in the aftermath of World War One, and recreated within ...

, and on January 1, 1927, the gmina of Rokitno Szlacheckie was transferred to

. The village of Lazy was captured 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 previo ...

in early September 1939, and remained in German hands until January 20, 1945. After the war, the government of

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million ne ...

transferred Łazy to

Katowice Voivodeship Katowice Voivodeship () can refer to one of two political entities in Poland: Katowice Voivodeship (1), initially "Silesian-Dabrowa Voivodeship" ( pl, województwo śląsko-dąbrowskie), was a unit of administrative division and local government ...

, creating the

of Łazy in late 1945. In Communist Poland, Łazy was a local center of industry, with Cement Works Wysoka, Pottery Plant, and large cargo depot of Polish State Railways. In the late 1940s, houses of culture, cinemas and libraries were opened in the gmina of Łazy. The village went through the period of quick development in the 1960s, when waterworks and electrification program were completed. Finally, on January 1, 1967, Łazy received town charter.

War cemetery

The War Cemetery was founded during 1914–1918. There are graves of Austrian and German soldiers who fought in

. The cemetery is situated in the western part of the city, on the Podlesie estate on the Konstytucja road. In the neighbourhood of the cemetery there is a parish dedicated to

Maximilian Kolbe Maximilian Maria Kolbe (born Raymund Kolbe; pl, Maksymilian Maria Kolbe; 1894–1941) was a Polish Catholic priest and Conventual Franciscan friar who volunteered to die in place of a man named Franciszek Gajowniczek in the German death cam ...

Landmarks

*Depot buildings from the late 19th century *Locomotive Ty45 – 421 *Refractories factory buildings from the late 19th century *Wooden buildings from the late 19th century *Saint Michael's church built in years 1934–1949 *Historic water tower

References

External links

Jewish Community in Łazy
on Virtual Shtetl
Łazy war cemetery
(in Polish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lazy Cities and towns in Silesian Voivodeship Zawiercie County Piotrków Governorate Kielce Voivodeship (1919–1939)