Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern
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 ...
with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023.
[ Data for territorial unit 1862000.] In 1999, it became part of the
Subcarpathian Voivodeship
Subcarpathian Voivodeship is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshal, it is governed by the Subcarpathian Regional As ...
. It was previously the capital of
Przemyśl Voivodeship.
Przemyśl owes its long and rich history to the advantages of its geographic location. The city lies in an area connecting mountains and lowlands known as the Przemyśl Gate (Brama Przemyska), with open lines of transport, and fertile soil. It also lies on the navigable
San River. Important trade routes that connect
Central Europe
Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...
from Przemyśl ensure the city's importance. The Old Town of Przemyśl is listed as a
Historic Monument of Poland.
Since the start of the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
on 24 February 2022, Przemyśl has been a point of refuge for many Ukrainians, as it is located near the
Poland–Ukraine border and serves as the end point of the
Lviv
Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
–Przemyśl railway junction.
Names
Different names in various languages have identified the city throughout its history. Selected languages include: ; ; ; (Peremyshl
j) and (Pshemysl
j); and (Pshemishl).
History
Origins
Przemyśl is the second-oldest city (after
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 ...
) in southeastern Poland, dating back to the 8th century. It was the site of a fortified
gord belonging to the ''Lędzianie'' (
Lendians), a
West Slavic tribe. In the 9th century, the fortified settlement and the surrounding region became part of
Great Moravia
Great Moravia (; , ''Meghálī Moravía''; ; ; , ), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to emerge in the area of Central Europe, possibly including territories which are today part of the Czech Repub ...
. Most likely, the city's name dates back to the Moravian period. Also, archeological remains testify to the presence of a
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
monastic settlement as early as the 9th century.
Upon the invasion of the
Hungarian tribes into the heart of the Great Moravian Empire around 899, the local Lendians declared allegiance to the Hungarians. The region then became a site of contention between
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 ...
,
Kievan Rus and
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
beginning in at least the 9th century, with Przemyśl along with other
Cherven Grods, falling under the control of the
Polans (''Polanie''), who would in the 10th century under the rule of
Mieszko I establish the Polish state.
When Mieszko I annexed the tribal area of Lendians in 970–980, Przemyśl became an important local centre on the eastern frontier of
Piast's realm.
The city was mentioned by
Nestor the Chronicler, when in 981 it was captured by
Vladimir I of Kiev.
[A. Buko. "The archaeology of early medieval Poland". Brill. 2008]
pp. 307–308
/ref> In 1018, Przemyśl returned to 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 ...
, and in 1031 it was retaken by the Rus'. Around the year 1069, Przemyśl again returned to Poland, after Bolesław II the Generous retook the town and temporarily made it his residence. In 1085, the town became the capital of a semi-independent Principality of Peremyshl under the lordship of Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,.
* was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...
.
The palatium complex including a Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
rotunda was built during the rule of the Polish king Bolesław I the Brave in the 11th century. Sometime before 1218, an Orthodox eparchy
Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...
was founded in the city.[Stanislaw Stepien. (2005). Borderland City: Przemyśl and the Ruthenian National Awakening in Galicia. In Paul Robert Magocsi (Ed.). Galicia: A Multicultured Land. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 52–67]
Przemyśl later became part of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia
The Principality or, from 1253, Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, also known as the Kingdom of Ruthenia, Kingdom of Rus', or Kingdom of Russia, also Halych–Volhynian Kingdom was a medieval state in Eastern Europe which existed from 1199 to 1349. I ...
, during which it became the starting point for the Bârlad Trail. From 1246 onwards, like all of Kyivan Rus, Przemyśl was under Mongol suzerainty.
Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
In 1340, Przemyśl was retaken by the king Casimir III of Poland and again became part of the Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385.
Background
The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...
as result of the Galicia–Volhynia Wars
The Galicia–Volhynia Wars were several wars fought in the years 1340–1392 over the succession in the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, also known as Ruthenia. After Yuri II Boleslav was poisoned by local Ruthenian nobles in 1340, both the Gran ...
. Around this time, the first Latin Catholic diocese was founded in the city, and Przemyśl was granted a city charter based on 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 ...
, confirmed in 1389 by the 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. ...
. The city prospered as an important trade centre during the 16th century. Like nearby Lwów, the city's population consisted of a great number of nationalities, including Poles
Pole or poles may refer to:
People
*Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland
* Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name
* Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist
...
, Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, Germans
Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
, Czechs
The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...
, Armenians
Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...
and Ruthenians
A ''Ruthenian'' and ''Ruthene'' are exonyms of Latin language, Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common Ethnonym, ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term ...
. The long period of prosperity enabled the construction of public buildings such as the Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
town hall and the Old Synagogue of 1559. Also, a Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
college was founded in the city in 1617.
The prosperity came to an end in the middle of the 17th century, caused by the invading Swedish army during the Deluge, and a general decline of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
. The city's decline lasted for over a hundred years, and only at the end of the 18th century did it recover its former levels of population. In 1754, the Latin Catholic bishop founded Przemyśl's first public library, which was only the second public library in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, with Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
's Załuski Library founded 7 years earlier. Przemyśl's importance at that time was such that when Austria annexed eastern Galicia in 1772 the Austrians considered making Przemyśl their provincial capital, before deciding on Lwów. In the mid-18th century, Jews constituted 55.6% (1,692) of the population, Latin Catholic Poles 39.5% (1,202), and Greek Catholic Ruthenians 4.8% (147).
Part of Austrian Poland
In 1772, as a consequence of the First Partition of Poland
The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...
, Przemyśl became part of 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 what the Austrians called the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. According to the Austrian census of 1830, the city was home to 7,538 people of whom 3,732 were Latin Catholic
The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 ''sui iuris'' churches in full communion w ...
, 2,298 Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
and 1,508 were members of the Greek Catholic Church, a significantly larger number of Ruthenians than in most Galician cities. In 1804, a Ruthenian library was established in Przemyśl. By 1822, its collection had over 33,000 books and its importance for Ruthenians was comparable to that held by the Ossolineum library in Lwów for Poles. Przemyśl also became the centre of the revival of Byzantine choral music in the Greek Catholic Church. Until eclipsed by Lviv in the 1830s, Przemyśl was the most important city in the Ruthenian cultural awakening in the nineteenth century. As the majority of Przemyśl's inhabitants were Poles, the city also became a centre for the development of Polish culture and science, and Polish independence organisations also operated in Przemyśl. The greatest heyday of Polishness in Przemyśl dates back to 1860-1918, due to the granting of autonomy to Galicia.
In 1861, the Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis built a connecting line from Przemyśl to Kraków, and east to Lwów. In the middle of the 19th century, due to the growing conflict between Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
and Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
over the Balkans
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
, Austria grew more mindful of Przemyśl's strategic location near the border with the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
. During the Crimean War
The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
, when tensions mounted between Russia and Austria, a series of massive fortresses, in circumference, were built around the city by the Austrian military.
In 1909, the Polish "Museum of the Przemyśl Land" was established in Przemyśl. It was an extremely important facility for the Polish population.
The census of 1910, showed that the city had 54,078 residents. Latin Catholics were the most numerous 25,306 (46.8%), followed by Jews 16,062 (29.7%) and Greek Catholics 12,018 (22.2%). 87% of the city's inhabitants spoke Polish. All Poles spoke Polish, and most Jews were bilingual and communicated in Yiddish and Polish, but owing to the inability to declare Yiddish, almost all Jews declared the Polish language.
World War I (Przemyśl Fortress)
With technological progress in artillery
Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
during the second half of the 19th century, the old fortifications rapidly became obsolete. The longer range of rifled artillery necessitated the redesign of fortresses so that they would be larger and able to resist the newly available guns. To achieve this, between the years 1888 and 1914 Przemyśl was turned into a first-class fortress
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...
, the third-largest in Europe out of about 200 that were built in this period. Around the city, in a circle of circumference , 44 forts of various sizes were built. The older fortifications were modernised to provide the fortress with an internal defence ring. The fortress was designed to accommodate 85,000 soldiers and 956 cannon
A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...
s of all sorts, although eventually 120,000 soldiers were garrisoned there.
In August 1914, at the beginning of the First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Russian forces defeated Austro-Hungarian forces in the opening engagements and advanced rapidly into Galicia. The Przemyśl fortress fulfilled its mission very effectively, helping to stop a 300,000-strong Russian army advancing upon the Carpathian Passes and Kraków, the 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 ...
regional capital. The first siege
A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...
was lifted by a temporary Austro-Hungarian advance. However, the Russian army resumed its advance and initiated a second siege of the fortress of Przemyśl in October 1914. This time relief attempts were unsuccessful. Due to lack of food and exhaustion of its defenders, the fortress surrendered on 22 March 1915. The Russians captured 126,000 prisoners and 700 big guns. Before the surrender, the complete destruction of all fortifications was carried out. The Russians did not linger in Przemyśl. A renewed offensive by the Central Powers
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...
recaptured the destroyed fortress on 3 June 1915. During the fighting around Przemyśl, both sides lost up to 115,000 killed, wounded, and missing.
Drewniany most na Sanie w Przemyslu ca 1865 (37523540) (cropped).jpg, Wooden bridge, ca 1865
Kosciol reformatow i plac targowy w Przemyslu 1886 (89015102) (cropped).jpg, Saint Anthony of Padua church, 1886
Przemysl - widok ze Zamku. 1908 (71544541) (cropped).jpg, City view, 1908
Przemysl, Plac na bramie 1911 (156401888) (cropped).jpg, Na Bramie Square, 1911
Second Polish Republic
Population of Przemyśl, 1931
At the end of World War I, Przemyśl became disputed between renascent Poland and the West Ukrainian People's Republic
The West Ukrainian People's Republic (; West Ukrainian People's Republic#Name, see other names) was a short-lived state that controlled most of Eastern Galicia from November 1918 to July 1919. It included major cities of Lviv, Ternopil, Kolom ...
. On 1 November 1918, a local provisional government was formed with representatives of Polish, Jewish, and Ruthenian inhabitants of the area. However, on 3 November, a Ukrainian military unit overthrew the government, arrested its leader and captured the eastern part of the city. The Ukrainian army was checked by a small Polish self-defence unit formed of World War I veterans. Also, numerous young Polish volunteers from Przemyśl's high schools, later to be known as Przemyśl Orlęta, ''The Eaglets of Przemyśl'' (in a similar manner to more famous Lwów Eaglets), joined the host. The battlefront divided the city along the river San, with the western borough of Zasanie held in Polish hands and the Old Town controlled by the Ukrainians. Neither Poles nor Ukrainians could effectively cross the San river, so both opposing parties decided to wait for a relief force from the outside. That race was won by the Polish reinforcements and the volunteer expeditionary unit formed in Kraków arrived in Przemyśl on 10 November 1918. When the subsequent Polish ultimatum to the Ukrainians remained unanswered, on 11–12 November the Polish forces crossed the San and forced out the outnumbered Ukrainians from the city in what became known as the 1918 Battle of Przemyśl.
After the end of the Polish–Ukrainian War and the Polish–Bolshevik War that followed, the city became a part of 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 ...
. Although the capital of the voivodeship
A voivodeship ( ) or voivodate is the area administered by a voivode (governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in ...
was in Lwów (see: Lwów Voivodeship), Przemyśl recovered its nodal position as a seat of local church administration, as well as the garrison of the 10th Military District of the Polish Army
The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...
— a staff unit charged with organizing the defence of roughly 10% of the territory of pre-war Poland. As of 1931, Przemyśl had a population of 62,272 and was the biggest city in southeastern Poland between Kraków and Lwów.
World War II
On 11–14 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 ...
, 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 ...
, the German and Polish armies fought the Battle of Przemyśl in and around the city. After the battle German '' Einsatzgruppe I'' entered the city to commit various atrocities against the population, and the ''Einsatzgruppe zbV'' entered to take over the Polish industry. The battle was followed by three days of massacres carried out by the German soldiers, police and ''Einsatzgruppe I'' against hundreds of Jews who lived in the city. In total, over 500 Jews were murdered in and around the city and the vast majority of the city's Jewish population was deported across the San River into the portion of Poland that was occupied by the Soviet Union.[Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team, Przemysl, http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/ghettos/przemysl.html]
The border between the two invaders ran through the middle of the city along the San River until June 1941. German-occupied left-bank Przemyśl was part of the Kraków District of the General Government
The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...
. Members of the ''Einsatzgruppe I'' co-formed the local German police unit. On 10 November 1939, the Germans carried out mass arrests of Poles in left-bank Przemyśl and the county, as part of the ''Intelligenzaktion
The ''Intelligenzaktion'' (), or the Intelligentsia mass shootings, was a series of mass murders committed against the Polish people, Polish intelligentsia (teachers, priests, physicians, and other prominent members of Polish society) during the ...
''.[Wardzyńska, p. 258] Arrested Poles were detained in the local German police prison, and then deported to a prison in Kraków, from where they were eventually deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
.[ The Soviet-occupied right-bank part of the city was incorporated to the ]Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
in the atmosphere of NKVD terror as thousands of Jews were ordered to be deported. It became part of the newly established Drohobych Oblast.[Voytovych, L. ]
Drohobych Oblast
'. "Lviv Gazette". 18 July 2013 In 1940, the city became an administrative centre
An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located.
In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...
of Peremyshl Uyezd with the Peremyshl Fortified District established along the Nazi-Soviet frontier before the German attack against the USSR in 1941.
The town's population increased due to a large influx of Jewish refugees from the General Government
The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...
who sought to cross the border to Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
. It is estimated that by mid-1941 the Jewish population of the city had grown to roughly 16,500. In the Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...
of 1941, the eastern Soviet-occupied part of the city was also occupied by Germany. On 20 June 1942, the first group of 1,000 Jews was transported from the Przemyśl area to the Janowska concentration camp, and on 15 July 1942 a Nazi ghetto was established for all Jewish inhabitants of Przemyśl and its vicinity – some 22,000 people altogether. Local Jews were given 24 hours to enter the ghetto. Jewish communal buildings, including the Tempel Synagogue and the Old Synagogue were destroyed; the New Synagogue, Zasanie Synagogue, and all commercial and residential real estate belonging to Jews were expropriated.
The ghetto in Przemyśl was sealed off from the outside on 14 July 1942. By that time, there may have been as many as 24,000 Jews in the ghetto. On 27 July the 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 ...
notified '' Judenrat'' about the forced resettlement program and posted notices that an ''"Aktion"'' (roundup for deportation to camps) was to be implemented involving almost all occupants. Exceptions were made for some essential, and 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 ...
workers, who would have their papers stamped accordingly. On the same day, Major Max Liedtke, military commander of Przemyśl, ordered his troops to seize the bridge across the San river that connected the divided city, and halt the evacuation. The Gestapo were forced to give him permission to retain the workers performing service for the ''Wehrmacht'' (up to 100 Jews with families). For the actions undertaken by Liedtke and his adjutant Albert Battel in Przemyśl, Yad Vashem later named them "Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...
". The process of extermination of the Jews resumed thereafter. Until September 1943 almost all Jews were sent to the Auschwitz or Belzec extermination camps. The local branches of the Polish underground and the Żegota managed to save 415 Jews. According to a postwar investigation in German archives, 568 Poles were executed by the Germans for sheltering Jews in the area of Przemyśl, including Michał Kruk, hanged along with several others on 6 September 1943 in a public execution. Among the many Polish rescuers there, were the Banasiewicz, Kurpiel, Kuszek, Lewandowski, and Podgórski families.
In October 1941, the Germans relocated the Stalag II F prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...
from Czarne to Przemyśl and renamed it Stalag 315, with some POWs, including Jews and Soviet communist political commisars, executed by the '' Sicherheitsdienst''. In November 1942, the camp was moved to Villingen.[ Then in December 1942, the occupiers relocated the Stalag 327 prisoner-of-war camp from Sanok to Przemyśl with multiple subcamps founded in the area.] It housed Italian, Dutch and Soviet POWs, with the Italians and Soviets suffering from malnutrition and infectious diseases, and Italians also subjected to mass executions by the Gestapo and SS.[ In July 1944, the camp was evacuated westwards in a death march with death rates reaching 50 men per day.][
The ]Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
took the town from German forces on 27 July 1944. On 16 August 1945, a border agreement between the government of the Soviet Union and the Polish Provisional Government of National Unity, installed by the Soviets, was signed in Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. According to the so-called Curzon Line, the postwar eastern border of Poland was established several kilometres to the east of Przemyśl.
Post-war communism to present
In the postwar period, the border ran only 15 kilometres to the east of the city, cutting it off from much of its economic hinterland. Due to the killing of Jews in the Nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
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 ...
and the postwar expulsion of Ukrainians (in the Operation Vistula or ''akcja Wisła''), the city's population fell to 36,000, almost entirely Polish. However, the city welcomed thousands of Polish migrants from Kresy (Eastern Borderlands) who were expelled by the Soviets — their numbers restored the population of the city to its prewar level.
On 11 July 2022, President of Ukraine
The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...
Volodymyr Zelenskyy conferred the honorary title of " Rescuer City" upon Przemyśl for the role the city played in helping Ukrainian refugees fleeing the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
.
Climate
The climate is warm-summer humid continental (Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Dfb''). Despite its location in southeastern Poland, its winters may be colder than at higher latitudes, especially in the north-west of the country due to continentality.
Transport
The main Przemyśl railway station is called '' Przemyśl Główny'', and is located in the city center. About 40 trains depart every day, including trains to many cities in Poland, as well as in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Ukraine.
The main road connection to the rest of Poland is provided by the A4 motorway that passes about 15 km north of the city center.
The closest international airport is Rzeszów–Jasionka, about 90 km away by road.
Main sights
Due to the long and rich history of the city, there are many sights in and around Przemyśl, of special interest to tourists, including the Old Town, which is listed as a Historic Monument of Poland,[ with the ''Rynek'', the main market square.
Among the historic buildings and museums, opened to visitors, are:
* Old Town Market Square
* The Great Przemyśl Cathedral
* Muzeum Diecezjalne (the diocesan museum)
* Przemyśl Castle, built by Casimir III the Great in the 14th century
* Carmelite Church, 17th century late-Renaissance church
* Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Przemyśl, former 17th-century ]Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
church, now a Ukrainian Greek Catholic cathedral
* Reformed Franciscan church and monastery, founded in 1627
* Franciscan Church, from mid-18th-century in a 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
* Lubomirski Palace, an eclectic style palace of the Lubomirski family constructed in 1885
* Przemyśl Główny train station built in 1895
* Zasanie Synagogue
* New Synagogue, built in 1918
* Salesians Church, built 1912-23 in Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
style
* Muzeum Narodowe (the National Museum), contains a collection of icons, second only to the one in Sanok in size
* Muzeum Dzwonów i Fajek (the Museum of Bells and Pipes)
* Kopiec Tatarski, a mound to the south of the city where a 16th-century Tatar khan was supposedly buried. The Tatarska Góra TV tower is built on the mound.
* Przemyśl Fortress, a Historic Monument of Poland
* World War I cemeteries (Cmentarz Wojskowy)
* Civil Defense Shelter – Schron Kierowania Obroną Cywilną
* Railway bridge designed by Gustave Eiffel
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel ( , ; Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway net ...
File:Przemyśl, bazylika archikatedralna (HB1).jpg, Cathedral of Przemyśl
File:Przemyśl, domy, Rynek 15-16, widok od pn-wsch..JPG, Renaissance houses on the Old Town Market Square
File:2015, Przemyśl, Zamek Kazimierzowski (03).jpg, The northern wing of the Przemyśl Castle
File:2015 Przemyśl, Kościół Karmelitów pw. św. Teresy (02).jpg, Carmelite Church of Saint Theresa
Ambona w kształcie statku.jpg, Ship-shaped pulpit
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...
in the Carmelite Church
File:Katedra grek-kat w Przemyślu ul. Katedralna 1 01 prnt.jpg, Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to:
* The Catholic Church in Greece
* The Eastern Catholic Churches
The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, former Jesuit church
File:Przemyśl, kościół św. Marii Magdaleny i Matki Bożej Niepokalanej (HB1).jpg, Franciscan Church of Saint Mary Magdalene
Kościół p.w. św. Antoniego w Przemyślu ul. Jagiellońska 2 01 prnt.jpg, Saint Anthony church
File:Muzeum Narodowe Ziemi Przemyskiej2.jpg, National Museum in Przemyśl
File:PrzemyslNowaSynagoga.JPG, New Synagogue
File:Przemyśl, kościół Salezjanów (HB1).jpg, Salesian church
File:Fort W XII „Werner” (5).jpg, Fort W XII „Werner” (today museum) near Przemyśl
File:Kopiec Tatarski2.jpg, Tatar mound
File:Most kolejowy - Przemysl.jpg, Railway bridge
Education
* Wyższa Szkoła Administracji i Zarządzania
** Wydział zamiejscowy w Rzeszowie
* Wyższa Szkoła Gospodarcza
* Wyższa Szkoła Informatyki i Zarządzania
Nauczycielskie Kolegium Języków Obcych
* Nauczycielskie Kolegium Języka Polskiego
Sport
* Czuwaj Przemyśl – football club
* AZS Czuwaj Przemyśl – handball club
* Polonia Przemyśl – football club
Politics
Krosno/Przemyśl constituency ( 2023 elections)
Members of Sejm
The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...
elected from Krosno/Przemyśl constituency
Law and Justice
Law and Justice ( , PiS) is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative List of political parties in Poland, political party in Poland. The party is a member of European Conservatives and Refo ...
* Marek Kuchciński
* Anna Schmidt
* Piotr Uruski ( SP)
* Piotr Babinetz
* Teresa Pamuła
* Tadeusz Chrzan
* Maria Kurowska ( SP)
Civic Coalition
* Joanna Frydrych ( PO)
* Marek Rząsa ( PO)
Third Way
The Third Way is a predominantly centrist political position that attempts to reconcile centre-right and centre-left politics by advocating a varying synthesis of Right-wing economics, right-wing economic and Left-wing politics, left-wing so ...
* Bartosz Romowicz ( PL2050)
Confederation
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
* Andrzej Zapałowski
Twin towns
Przemyśl is twinned with:
* Chivasso, 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 ...
* Eger, Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
* Kamianets-Podilskyi
Kamianets-Podilskyi (, ; ) is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi. Formerly the administrative center of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the city is now the administrative center of Kamianets ...
, Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
* Lviv
Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
, Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
* Paderborn
Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...
, 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 ...
* South Kesteven
South Kesteven is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. Its council is based in Grantham. The district also includes the towns of Bourne, ...
, United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
* Truskavets, Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
Notable people
* Jerzy Bartmiński (1939–2022), Polish linguist and ethnologist, lecturer at the UMCS
* Avraham Ben-Yitzhak (1883–1950), Israeli poet
* Ben Bernanke
Ben Shalom Bernanke ( ; born December 13, 1953) is an American economist who served as the 14th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014. After leaving the Federal Reserve, he was appointed a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Insti ...
(born 1953), American economist
* Svetozar Boroević (1856–1920), Austro-Hungarian Army Marshal
* Jan Borukowski, Bishop of Przemyśl (1524–1584)
* Helene Deutsch, ''née'' Rosenbach (1884–1982), Polish-American psychoanalyst
* Karl Duldig (1902–1986), Austrian-Australian sculptor
* Andrzej Maksymilian Fredro (–1679), Sejm Marshal
* Mark Gertler (1891–1939), British painter
* Leonid Gobyato
Leonid Nikolaevich Gobyato (; 6 February 1875 – 21 May 1915) was a lieutenant-general (awarded posthumously in 1915) in the Imperial Russian Army and designer of the modern, man-portable mortar.
Life and career
Gobyato was born in the c ...
(1875–1915), Russian military designer
* Stefan Grabiński (1887–1936), Polish writer
* Giulietta Guicciardi (1782–1856), Austrian countess
* Joshua Höschel ben Joseph (1578–1648), Polish rabbi
* Wojciech Inglot (1955–2013), Polish entrepreneur, founder of Inglot Cosmetics Company
* Hermann Kusmanek von Burgneustädten (1860–1934), Colonel-General of the Austrian Imperial Army
* Czesław Marek (1891–1985) Polish composer, pianist, and piano teacher
* Lidia Morawska
Lidia Morawska (born 10 November 1952, Tarnów, Poland) is a Polish–Australian physicist and distinguished professor at the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, at the Queensland University of Technology and director of the International ...
(born 1952), physicist
* Yaroslav Osmomysl (–1187), Prince of Halych
* Rena Pfiffer-Lax (1893–1943), opera singer
* Jerzy Podbrożny (born 1966), Polish footballer
* Stefania Podgórska (1925–2018), Polish holocaust resister, Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...
* Jan Nepomucen Potocki (1867–1943), Polish nobleman
* Teodor Andrzej Potocki (1664–1738), Polish nobleman, Primate of Poland
* Hieronim Florian Radziwiłł (1715–1760), Polish–Lithuanian nobleman
* Jaroslav Rudnyckyj (1910–1995), Ukrainian-Canadian linguist
* Pawel Sek (born 1977), Polish music producer and composer
* Ryszard Siwiec (1909–1968), Polish accountant and former 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 ...
resistance member
* Renia Spiegel (1924–1942), Polish-born Jewish diarist
* Zeev Sternhell (1935–2020), Polish-born Israeli historian, political scientist and commentator
* Andrzej Trzebicki (1607–1679), Polish nobleman, bishop of Kraków
* Anatole Vakhnianyn
Anatole Vakhnianyn (; 19 September 184111 February 1908), was a List of Ukrainian composers, Ukrainian composer, political and cultural figure, teacher, and journalist.
Biography Family
Vakhnianyn was born in Sieniawa, Przeworsk County, today a ...
(1841–1908), Ukrainian political and cultural figure, composer, teacher and journalist
* Jan Wężyk (1575–1638), Polish nobleman, Primate of Poland
* Andrzej Tomasz Zapałowski
Andrzej Tomasz Zapałowski (6 November 1966 in Wałbrzych, Poland) is a Polish politician and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). He is a member of the League of Polish Families, which is a part of the European Christian Political Party.
...
(born 1966), Polish politician and a former Member of the European Parliament
A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...
(MEP)
* Władysław Dominik Zasławski (–1656), Polish nobleman of Ruthenian origin
* Velvel Zbarjer (1824–1884), Galician Jewish Brody singer
* Samuel Zborowski (?–1584), Polish military commander
* Zyndram of Maszkowice (–), Polish knight
See also
* Old Synagogue in Przemyśl destroyed by the Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
in 1941
* Przemyślanin
Notes
References
External links
*
Municipal website
*
Powiat of Przemyśl
''( Przemyśl County)''
*
Przemyśl
24/7
Przemyśl Photo Gallery
The Jewish Przemyśl Blog, its Sons and Daughters
Przemyśl
at KehilaLinks
*
{{Authority control
City counties of Poland
Cities and towns in Subcarpathian Voivodeship
Holocaust locations in Poland
Populated riverside places in Poland