The Chochołów Uprising, also known as the Tatra Insurrection ( or ''insurekcja pod Tatrami''; ;

Goral The gorals are four species in the genus ''Naemorhedus''. They are small ungulates with a goat-like or antelope-like appearance. Until recently, this genus also contained the serow species (now in genus '' Capricornis''). Etymology The original ...

: ''poruseństwo chochołowskie'') was a rebellion of rural

Gorals The Gorals (; Goral ethnolect: ''Górole''; ; Cieszyn Silesian dialect, Cieszyn Silesian: ''Gorole''), also anglicized as the Highlanders, are an ethnographic group with historical ties to the Vlachs. The Goral people are primarily found in thei ...

of the region of

Podhale Podhale (; ), sometimes referred to as the Polish Highlands, is Poland's southernmost region. The Podhale is located in the foothills of the Tatra range of the Carpathian Mountains. It is the most famous region of the Goral Lands which are a ...

(present-day 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 ...

) in the

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 ...

against the Austrian authorities, in February 1846.

Background

The rebellion was organized by local teacher , poet , as well as priests , , and Michał Janiczak. It was initiated by the

Polish Democratic Society The Polish Democratic Society ( or TDP) was a radical constitutionalist political organization established in Paris by émigrés from the Kingdom of Poland in 1832. While not explicitly socialist with respect to their political program, the Democ ...

as a part of the planned general uprising in partitioned Poland. The message that the general uprising was called off did not reach the people of Chochołów.

Uprising

On 21 February 1846, the same day that the

Kraków Uprising The Kraków Uprising ( Polish: ''powstanie krakowskie'', ''rewolucja krakowska''; German: ''Krakauer Aufstand''; Russian: ''краковское восстание'') of 1846 was an attempt, led by Polish insurgents such as Jan Tyssowski and ...

started, a group of Gorals from the villages of Chochołów, Ciche,

Dzianisz Dzianisz is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kościelisko, within Tatra County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approximately north of Kościelisko, north-west of Zako ...

, and Witów, led by Andrusikiewicz and a

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

veteran Wojciech Lebiocki, attacked a tax guards' post in Chochołów. Next, they attacked a tax guard station in Sucha Góra (now Suchá Hora, Slovakia). The rebels confiscated the guards' weapons and 600

guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' (" gold penny"). This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Rom ...

s, knocked down a symbol of the

Imperial Eagle The eagle is used in heraldry as a charge, as a supporter, and as a crest. Heraldic eagles can be found throughout world history like in the Achaemenid Empire or in the present Republic of Indonesia. The European post-classical symbolism of ...

from the building's wall, and destroyed a border post. Their next goals were a guards' post in Witów and forestry departments in Witów and

Kościelisko Kościelisko is a village in Tatra County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. (It was previously in Nowy Sącz Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998.) It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) cal ...

. On 22 February, priest Kmietowicz called for more Gorals to join the rebellion. About 500 people joined. The insurgents' goal was to reach

Nowy Targ Nowy Targ (Officially: ''Royal Free city of Nowy Targ'', Yiddish: ''Naymark'', Gorals, Goral dialect: ''Nowy Torg'' ) is a town in southern Poland, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is located in the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin at the foot of the Go ...

and join forces with other units in the area of

Myślenice Myślenice is a town in southern Poland situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, 30 km south of Kraków. The town is divided into six districts. The most popular of them, Zarabie, is a famous tourist destination. It is located behind the Ra ...

to aid the Kraków Uprising. Austrian soldiers convinced the people of nearby

Czarny Dunajec Czarny Dunajec is a town located in southern Poland near the Polish- Slovak border in a valley alongside a river of the same name. Czarny Dunajec is the seat of the gmina, belonging to the Nowy Targ County ''(Polish: Powiat Nowotarski)'' and in t ...

that the insurgents were planning to attack the town. On the night of 22–23 February, a group of about 20 border guards and 150 peasants from Czarny Dunajec, led by commissioner Romuald Fiutowski, attacked the Chochołów rebels. The insurgents managed to repel the attack. On February 23, a new group of guards, along with Czarny Dunajec peasants, arrived in Chochołów, forcing the Gorals to surrender.

Aftermath

About 150 of the insurgents, including Kmietowicz and Andrusikiewicz, were arrested and imprisoned. Charged with treason, they either received long prison sentences or were sentenced to

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

. They were let go from prisons in 1848, during the

Springtime of Nations The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

. Emperor of Austria awarded the residents of Czarny Dunajec a decree of recognition for their loyalty to the monarchy. The statue of

John of Nepomuk John of Nepomuk (or John Nepomucene) (; ; ) ( 1345 – 20 March 1393) was a saint of Bohemia (a western part of what is now the Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia. Later accounts st ...

in Chochołów was said to have been placed with its back facing Czarny Dunajec as a sign of the local population's anger towards the people of the town.

Legacy

The Chochołów Uprising is commemorated within the area. Reconstructions and performances are held on the anniversaries of the uprising. Several instutitions, such as a school, a museum, and a tourist trail, were given the name of the Chochołów Insurgents.

References

{{Polish wars and conflicts 1846 in Poland 1846 in the Austrian Empire Conflicts in 1846 Polish nationalism (1795–1918) Rebellions in Poland Rebellions against the Austrian Empire February 1846 19th-century military history of Poland Gorals History of Lesser Poland Voivodeship