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Pińczów is a town 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 ...
, in
Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship ( ), also known as Holy Cross Voivodeship, is a voivodeship (province) in southeastern Poland, in the historical region of Lesser Poland. The province's capital and largest city is Kielce. The voivodeship takes its ...
, about 40 km south of
Kielce Kielce (; ) is a city in south-central Poland and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the banks of the Silnic ...
. It is the capital of
Pińczów County __NOTOC__ Pińczów County is a unit of administration with the degree of the Sejm on territorial and territorial self-government in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It was established on January 1, 1992 as a result of Polish ...
. The population is 10,946 (2018). Pińczów belongs to the historical 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 ...
(Polish: ''Małopolska'') and lies in the valley of the river Nida. The town has a station on a narrow-gauge line, called Holy Cross Mountains Rail.


History

In the 12th century in the location of current Pińczów there was a quarry. The miners working at the quarry probably resided in a gord, which was destroyed in 1241, during the first Mongol invasion of Poland. In the first half of the 14th century a Gothic castle was erected in the spot where once the gord stood. At the foot of the castle, a settlement appeared, initially called ''Piedziców'', ''Pandziczów'' and (1470), ''Pyandzyczów''. The name Pińczów has been in use since the 16th century, and it is not known who was first owner of the settlement. In 1424, it belonged to the powerful Oleśnicki family, which built its residence here, and funded a Pauline monks abbey (1449). On September 21, 1428 in
Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
, King
Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło (),Other names include (; ) (see also Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło) was Grand Duke of Lithuania beginning in 1377 and starting in 1386, becoming King of Poland as well. ...
granted town charter to Pińczów. In the mid-16th century, Pińczów became one of main centers of
Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
in Lesser Poland. The Calvinist nobleman Nicholas Oleśnicki drove out the Catholic monks of Pińczów in 1550 at the instigation of the Italian ex-priest Francesco Stancaro, creating a Calvinist centre, where the Synods of Pińczów were held 1550–1563. Pińczów is sometimes called the ''Sarmatian Athens'' for its association with the Calvinist Academy founded by Francesco Lismanino, to which scholars such as the French grammarian Pierre Statorius were invited.''For Wiktor Weintraub: essays in Polish literature, language, and history '' 1975 – 625 pages Page 577 "Lubieniecki uses the term "Sarmatia" only three times in the Historia: he writes of Pinczow "as the Sarmatian Athens" (p. 33)" The town was the site of the six years of work 1558–1563 for the translators of the Brest Bible, which is why it is sometimes called the ''Pińczów Bible''. In 1586 the town was purchased by Bishop of Kraków Piotr Myszkowski, who initiated the program of
Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...
. Pauline monks returned to Pińczów, and in the late 16th century, the Myszkowski family redecorated the castle, turning it into their residence. In 1592, Zygmunt Myszkowski founded a town of Mirów, which in 1612 was absorbed by Pińczów. The town had a
defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with t ...
, with four gates, and a number of foreign artisans, from
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. In 1657, Pińczów was destroyed by Swedish soldiers (see the Deluge), and during the
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 ...
, the town was once again captured by the Swedes; King
Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...
stayed here for a while, after the Battle of Kliszów. In the late 18th century, Pińczów was purchased by the Wielopolski family. Following the Third Partition of Poland, it was annexed by the Habsburg Empire (1795). After 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 ...
, and after the dissolution of the duchy in 1815, tne town 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 ...
. In the 1820s, the town had some 4,000 inhabitants, and in 1867, the Russians created the Pińczów 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 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...
, Pińczów belonged to Kielce Voivodeship. In the early 1920s, the town was home to the 2nd Legions Infantry Regiment, which was later moved to Sandomierz. Pińczów was destroyed by the Germans in September 1939 during the
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 ...
at the start of
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 ...
, and almost all Jews, who had accounted for about 70% of the town's population, were killed or sent to extermination camps. Most Pińczów's Jews were murdered in the Treblinka extermination camp. The Jewish cemetery was also destroyed. Some Jews of Pińczów survived
the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
by hiding in nearby forests. Some, though not many, were hidden by Polish farmers until the end of the war. The Republic of Pińczów was a short-lived Polish uprising, which took place in July – August 1944. Units of the
Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...
and other underground organizations managed to push Germans from the area of approximately 1,000 km2, which stretched from Pińczów to
Działoszyce Działoszyce is a town in Pińczów County in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in southern Poland, with 2,882 inhabitants as of December 2023. History The town is located in historic Lesser Poland, and the earliest mention of Działoszyce in hist ...
, and from Nowy Korczyn to Nowe Brzesko. The resistance was very active here; there were two attacks on a local
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
prison, in which hundreds of Poles were freed.


Main sights

The town's attractions include the 18th-century palace of the Wielkopolski family, several churches and monasteries (some dating back to 15th century), the Renaissance St. Anne's Chapel, the recently restored
synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
, and ruins of the 13th-century castle. The complex of the former Pauline monastery, founded in 1449 by Cardinal Zbigniew Oleśnicki, is located in Pińczów's market square. Currently, it houses a regional museum, a house of culture, and a cinema. In Pińczów's district of Mirów there also was a Franciscan monastery, founded in 1587 by Bishop Piotr Myszkowski. In Mirów there is a house which once was a Calvinist printing shop. Now it houses a branch of the National Archive of Poland. Mount St. Anne is located in the vicinity of Pińczów.


Sports

The town is home to a sports club Nida Pińczów, which was established in 1946.


Notable residents

* Jan Łaski (1499–1560), theologian, a leading figure of
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
in Poland * Andrzej Barański (born 1941), film director * Adam Jarubas (born 1974), politician * Andrzej Dziubiński (born 1947) , Polish historian, regionalist writer, history teacher at Primary School No. 1 in Pińczów, councilor of the Pińczów City Council, social activist, researcher of the history and history of Pińczów, PTTK guide.


Twin towns

Pińczów is twinned with: * Bystřice, Czech Republic * Svodín, Slovakia * Tata, Hungary * Caurdy, France


See also

* Pińczów Academy


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Pińczów County Populated riverside places in Poland Holocaust locations in Poland