Krościenko nad Dunajcem is a village 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 ...

situated in the Nowy Targ County 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 (previously in Nowy Sącz Voivodeship, from 1975 to 1998). Located near Poland's border with

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, it is approximately east of

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 south-east of the regional capital

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. Town rights were given to Krościenko by Kazimierz Wielki in 1348.

History

Krościenko is one of the oldest settlements in Polish part of the

Pieniny Mountains The Pieniny (sometimes also the PieninsSzafer, Władysław. 2013. ''The Vegetation of Poland: International Series of Monographs in Pure and Applied Biology''. Warsaw: Pergamon Press, pp. 156, 388. or the Pienin Mountains,Griffiths, Graham C. D ...

. Its history dates back to the late 12th century, when it was a village serving the now non-existing Pieniny Castle (see also Dunajec river castles). In 1348, Kazimierz Wielki granted

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (, , ; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages gr ...

to Krościenko, and shaped the village into a medieval town, with a market square and street grid. Royal decree, giving the charter to Krościenko does not exist, as it was burned in a

Hussite file:Hussitenkriege.tif, upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century file:The Bohemian Realm during the Hussite Wars.png, upright=1.2, The Lands of the ...

raid in 1433. At that time the town was named Crosna in documents. Due to convenient location along a merchant route to Hungary, Krościenko prospered. In 1350, a Roman Catholic parish was established here, and in 1565, a parish school was opened. The period known as

Polish Golden Age The Polish Golden Age (Polish language, Polish: ''Złoty Wiek Polski'' ) was the Renaissance in Poland, Renaissance period in the Kingdom of Poland and subsequently in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which started in the late 15th century. H ...

ended in the 17th century, when Krościenko was affected by several wars (see Swedish invasion of Poland,

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

) and rebellions (see Kostka-Napierski Uprising). As a result, by mid-18th century Krościenko was almost deserted. In 1770, Krościenko was occupied by the Habsburg Empire. The town became property of Austrian treasury, which in 1822 sold it to the Gross family. New owners noticed local mineral waters, and decided to turn Krościenko into a spa, with guest houses and baths. In 1934, Krościenko was officially recognized as a spa. 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 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

, it became a very popular tourist resort, located in close proximity to Pieniny National Park. Nevertheless, the number of permanent residents was so low that in 1932 Krościenko lost its town charter. In 1973, Krościenko was joined with nearby Szczawnica, and the town of Szczawnica–Krościenko was created. In 1982, this idea was abandoned, due to protests of residents.

Tourism

Numerous tourist attractions include Pieniny National Park Museum, the 14th-century church rebuilt in

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style in 1589, and in summer, walk trails in the Pieniny mountains. There are holiday cottages and paths for mountain biking both advanced and easy. In winter, ski lift at Szczawnica-Palenica is available at distance.

External links

History of Krościenko

official site of Gmina Krościenko nad Dunajcem

Jewish Community in Krościenko nad Dunajcem
on Virtual Shtetl

References

{{Authority control Villages in Nowy Targ County

History

Tourism

See also

External links

References