Żarnów
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Żarnów is a town in
Opoczno County __NOTOC__ Opoczno County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Łódź Voivodeship, south-east Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. I ...
,
Łódź Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province is named after its capital and largest city, Łódź, pronounced . Łódź Voivodeship is bordered by six other voivodeships: Masovian Voivodeship ...
, in central
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 ...
. It is the seat of the
administrative district Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
called
Gmina Żarnów __NOTOC__ Gmina Żarnów is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Opoczno County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. Its seat is the village of Żarnów, which lies approximately south-west of Opoczno and south-east of the regional capi ...
. It lies approximately south-west of
Opoczno Opoczno () is a town in south-central Poland, seat of Opoczno County in the Łódź Voivodeship. It has a long and rich history, and in the past it used to be one of the most important urban centers of northwestern Lesser Poland. Currently, Opoczno ...
and south-east of the regional capital
Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
. The town belongs to historic region 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 ...
. Its name most probably comes from the phrase ''miejsce żarne'' - burned-out area, and refers to burning of forests in ancient times, to make fields. Żarnów has a long history, in the early years of Polish state it was a major urban center of the country. The first written mention of the settlement dates from 1065.


History

Żarnów was founded before 1065, as the first written mention of the settlement comes from that year, and it had already existed. It was home to one of the oldest Polish castellanies, with a church founded in 1111 by prince
Bolesław III Wrymouth Bolesław III Wrymouth (; 20 August 1086 – 28 October 1138), also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between 1107 and 1138. He was the onl ...
as a
votum In ancient Roman religion, a (plural ; ) is a vow or promise made to a deity. As the result of this verbal action, a is also that which fulfills a vow, that is, the thing promised, such as offerings, a statue, or even a temple building. Th ...
for his victories in a war with
Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...
n tribes. In 1136, a
papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...
of
Innocent II Pope Innocent II (; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as Pope was controversial, and the first eight years o ...
mentioned ''Sarnov'' as one of major grods of central Poland, together with other administrative centers of the area - Skrzynno and
Małogoszcz Małogoszcz is a town in the Jędrzejów County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in southern Poland. The Battle of Małogoszcz. one of the biggest battles of the 1863 January Uprising, took place there. Małogoszcz belongs to Lesser Poland; the nam ...
(the three towns made the so-called '' Pilica castellanies''). In 1191 Żarnów's parish church (most likely founded by Prince
Casimir II the Just Casimir II the Just (; 28 October 1138 – 5 May 1194) was a Lesser Polish Duke of Wiślica from 1166 to 1173, and of Sandomierz after 1173. He became ruler over the Polish Seniorate Province at Kraków and thereby High Duke of Poland in 1177; a ...
) was mentioned among seven major churches of the
Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...
collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...
. In the 12th century Żarnów was an important urban center of northern Lesser Poland, with its own gord and church. In 1415 Żarnów received a
town charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally, the granting of a charter ...
, and despite losing its importance to the nearby town of
Opoczno Opoczno () is a town in south-central Poland, seat of Opoczno County in the Łódź Voivodeship. It has a long and rich history, and in the past it used to be one of the most important urban centers of northwestern Lesser Poland. Currently, Opoczno ...
, the title of ''
Castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...
of Żarnów'' remained in use until the
Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...
. It was the site of a major battle during the
Swedish invasion of Poland The Deluge 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 of Andrusovo in 1667, comprising the Pol ...
in 1655. In 1795 Żarnów was annexed by the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
in the
Third Partition of Poland The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...
. Following the Polish victory in the
Austro-Polish War The Austro-Polish War or Polish-Austrian War was a part of the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809 (a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and allied states). In this war, Polish forces of ...
of 1809, it was regained by Poles and included within the short-lived
Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...
. In 1815, it became part of Russian-controlled
Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of 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. It was established w ...
. Like many other towns of northern Lesser Poland, Żarnów lost its town privileges in 1876. The Russians reduced it to the status of a village for residents’ participation in the
January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...
. Following the joint German-Soviet
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
, which started
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 ...
in September 1939, it was occupied by Germany until 1945.


Points of interest

* St. Nicholas parish church (12th century). Its western wall, with a Romanesque structure, has preserved the original shape. Also, Romanesque are the church round tower and the
matroneum A triforium is an interior gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be locate ...
. In the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, Żarnów's church was located by a busy merchant road from Sandomierz to
Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...
. The town itself was at that time located to the south and west of the church. In 1510, a Gothic presbytery was added, * remains of the 11th century Slavic gord, located in central part of the village. Żarnów at that time was a fortified settlement, with the castle of the castellan, and a
moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...
surrounding the gord. Currently, the locals call the gord the ''Swedish Mountain'', as here King
John II Casimir John II Casimir Vasa (; ; 22 March 1609 – 16 December 1672) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1648 to his abdication in 1668 as well as a claimant to the throne of Sweden from 1648 to 1660. He was the first son of Sigis ...
observed the September 16, 1655 battle between the Poles and the Swedes. On the top of the ''Swedish Mountain'' there is a monument with a Polish eagle, erected on May 3, 1923. * central part of the ancient town of Żarnów. The village originally was a defensive gord, located on a hill, with round shape and a diameter of some 50 meters. Most probably, it was the capital of early Western Slavic princes, out of whom the noble family of Odrowaz (see Odrowąż coat of arms) emerged. * wooden bell-tower (early 19th century). Its bells were famous for the sound. The oldest bell was made in 1533, and together with other bells, was stolen by the German occupiers 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 ...
.


References


External links


Żarnów website
{{Gmina Żarnów Cities and towns in Łódź Voivodeship Opoczno County Holocaust locations in Poland