Radzyń Podlaski is a town in eastern

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 ...

, about north of

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 ...

, with 15,808 inhabitants (2017). The town has been part of the

Lublin Voivodeship Lublin Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland, located in the southeastern part of the country, with its capital being the city of Lublin. The region is named after its largest city and regional capital, Lu ...

since 1999, previously it was part of the Biała Podlaska Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Radzyń Podlaski County, and historically belongs to the 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 ...

(despite the adjective ''Podlaski'', which suggests that it is part of another Polish province, Podlaskie). The town was founded in 1468, and its most important landmark is the

rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

Potocki

Palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

. Radzyń lies on the Białka River within the South Podlasie Lowland, at a height of above sea level. The town has an area of , of which forests make only 5%. It is located along the Expressway S19, which passes through

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

, Lublin and

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów is the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and the county seat, seat of Rzeszów C ...

History

In the early years of Polish statehood Radzyń was located in extreme northeastern corner of Lesser Poland, near the border with

Podlachia Podlachia, also known by its Polish name Podlasie (; ; ), is a historical region in north-eastern Poland. Its largest city is Białystok, whereas the historical capital is Drohiczyn. Similarly to several other historical regions of Poland, e.g ...

, which often passed between Poland,

Ruthenia ''Ruthenia'' is an exonym, originally used in Medieval Latin, as one of several terms for Rus'. Originally, the term ''Rus' land'' referred to a triangular area, which mainly corresponds to the tribe of Polans in Dnieper Ukraine. ''Ruthenia' ...

and the

Duchy of Lithuania The Duchy of Lithuania (; ) was a state-territorial formation of ethnic Lithuanians that existed from the 13th century to 1413. For most of its existence, it was a constituent part and a nucleus of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Other alternative ...

. The region was frequently raided by its neighbors, which had a negative impact on the economy. This sparsely populated borderland of Lesser Poland began to see improvements after 1385, when Poland and Lithuania formed the

Polish–Lithuanian union Polish–Lithuanian can refer to: * Polish–Lithuanian union (1385–1569) * Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795) * Polish-Lithuanian identity as used to describe groups, families, or individuals with histories in the Polish–Lithuania ...

under the

Union of Krewo In a strict sense, the Union of Krewo or Act of Krėva (also spelled Union of Krevo, Act of Kreva; ; ) comprised a set of prenuptial promises made at Kreva Castle on 14 August 1385 by Jogaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania, in regard to his prospectiv ...

. Settlers from other part of Lesser Poland, as well as

Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( ) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the largest city and Płock being the capital of the region . Throughout the ...

, came to Radzyń, churches were built and villages were founded. According to historical documents, the town of Radzyń was preceded by a settlement called ''Kozirynek'' (also spelled as ''Cozirynek'' and ''Kozyrynek''; this name appears in documents as late as 1580). In 1456, first Roman Catholic parish at Radzyń was created, and in 1468, the town was incorporated 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 ...

. It was a royal possession, leased by kings to different noblemen, such as the Mniszech family. In 1690, King

John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

granted several privileges to town's residents. At that time, Radzyń had Roman Catholic, Greek-Catholic and Orthodox churches, as well as a synagogue. Radzyń was a

private town Private towns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were privately owned towns within the lands owned by magnates, bishops, knights and princes, among others. Amongst the most well-known former private magnate towns are Białystok, Zamość, R ...

, administratively located in the

in the

Lesser Poland Province of the Polish Crown Lesser Poland Province (, ) was an administrative division of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1569 until 1795. It was the largest province of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, with Kraków as its capital. The province's name derives fro ...

. Since 1741 until the late 18th century, Radzyń belonged to the

Potocki family The House of Potocki (; plural: Potoccy, male: Potocki, feminine: Potocka) was a prominent szlachta, Polish noble family in the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Kingdom of Poland and magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Po ...

. General Eustachy Potocki built a

palace here. His son Ignacy Potocki (1750–1809) was born here.

19th century

Following 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 ...

at the end of the 18th century, Radzyń was annexed by

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 ...

, then following 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 ...

, in 1809, it was liberated 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 its dissolution, 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 ...

. Many inhabitants participated in the large Polish uprisings of 1830–1831 and 1863–1864. In 1867 Russian authorities created Radzyń County, which gave the town a boost. Later on, Radzyń got a rail connection with

and

Siedlce Siedlce () ( ) is a city in the Masovian Voivodeship in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). The city is situated between two small rivers, the Muchawka and the Helenka, and lies along the European route E30, around east of Warsaw. It is ...

, and the town began a period of development.

World War I

During

World War I 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 ...

, the town was occupied by

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 ...

. In November 1918, Poland regained independence, and the occupying German forces opened fire on Poles who tried to liberate the town, but it was still reintegrated with the reborn Polish state. Within 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 ...

, Radzyń was the seat of a county in

. The town was briefly occupied by the Russians during the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

in mid-August 1920, and recaptured by Poles on August 16, 1920. After a major fire in 1930, the houses on the market square, formerly from wood, were rebuilt of stone and brick.

World War II

During 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 ...

, on September 9, 1939, Radzyń was bombed by the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

. In late September of that year, it was one of centers of Polish resistance, with units of Independent Operational Group Polesie stationed there for some time. The first Germans appeared in Radzyń after the Battle of Kock, in early October 1939. In June 1940, during the ''

AB-Aktion The ''AB-Aktion'' ( , ) was the second stage of the Nazi German campaign of violence in Poland early in World War II, taking place between March and September 1940. As with the previous ''Intelligenzaktion'', during the 1939 invasion of Poland, i ...

'', the Germans carried out mass arrests of

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 ...

, many of whom were afterwards imprisoned in the

Lublin Castle The Lublin Castle () is a medieval castle in Lublin, Poland, adjacent to the Old Town district and close to the city center. It is one of the oldest preserved royal residencies in Poland, initially established by High Duke Casimir II the Just. It ...

and deported to

concentration camps A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...

. From Radzyń, 6,000 local Jews were sent to

Treblinka extermination camp Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Mas ...

in August 1942 amid gunfire and screams. Some went through the transit point in the Międzyrzec Podlaski Ghetto. The pacification actions were conducted by the Nazi German

Reserve Police Battalion 101 Reserve Police Battalion 101 () was a Nazi German paramilitary formation of the uniformed police force known as the ''Ordnungspolizei'' (Order Police, ''Orpo''), the organization formed by the Nazi unification of the civilian police forces in th ...

. The town was a major center of

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 ...

, with 4,200 members, and the German occupation lasted until July 23, 1944, when 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 ...

entered the town. The Jewish community was never reconstituted. Church in Radzyn (121484670).jpg, Church in Radzyń, before 1930 Radzyn - Gimnazjum. post 1906 (70496646) (cropped).jpg, School, post 1906 Radzyn. Palac post 1906 (70496715) (cropped).jpg, Palace, post 1906

Jewish community

Jews settled in Radzyn Podlaski in the 16th century. In the 19th century, it became known as an important center of Jewish learning. The town had a Jewish population of 2,900 before World War II. It was home to the Radzyn Hasidic dynasty.Sixty Jewish Tombstones Uncovered at Polish Town’s Gestapo Headquarters

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

Sport

* Orlęta Radzyń Podlaski - football club

Landmarks

Among the local points of interest are the St. Trinity Church (1641), built in the so-called

Lublin Renaissance The Lublin Renaissance was an architectural style developed in the Lublin region of Poland at the end of the 16th century. History The Lublin region has a fine architectural heritage. It was at the end of the 16th century that the first fully ...

style, as well as the Potocki Palace (1740s), built by a Polish-Italian architect Jakub Fontana. Its interior was destroyed twice: in 1915 by Imperial Russian troops, and in 1944 by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

during the

occupation of Poland Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

in World War II. The palace was in 1920 the headquarters of General

Edward Rydz-Śmigły Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz also called Edward Rydz-Śmigły, (11 March 1886 – 2 December 1941) was a Polish people, Polish politician, statesman, Marshal of Poland and Commander-in-Chief of Poland's armed forces, as well as a painter and ...

, during the Battle of Warsaw. Since 1920, it has served as office of local administration.

Notable residents

* Szymon Buchbinder (1853– ca.1908) a Polish painter of genre and historical scenes * Zofia Grabczan (born 1962) a Polish politician was elected to the

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' ...

in 2005 * Max Helfman (1901-1963) a Polish-American Jewish composer and choral conductor; emigrated in 1909 * Dariusz Kowaluk (born 1996) a Polish 400m. sprinter, team gold medallist at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

* Gershon Henoch Leiner (1839–1890) a rebbe of the

Izhbitza-Radzin Izhbitza-Radzin is a List of Hasidic dynasties and groups, dynasty of Hasidic Judaism, Hasidic rebbes. The first rebbe was Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Leiner from Izbica (in present-day Poland), author of ''Mei Hashiloach'' who left the court of Ra ...

dynasty * Shmuel Shlomo Leiner (1909–1942) the fifth Rebbe of the

dynasty *

Karol Lipiński Karol Józef Lipiński (30 October 1790 – 16 December 1861) was a Polish music composer and virtuoso violinist active during the partitions of Poland. The Karol Lipiński University of Music in Wrocław, Poland is named after him. Life L ...

(1790–1861) a Polish music composer and virtuoso violinist * Ignacy Potocki (1750–1809) a Polish nobleman, a politician and writer. *

Eustachy Erazm Sanguszko Prince Eustachy Erazm Sanguszko (1768–1844) was a Polish Szlachta, nobleman, general, military commander, diplomat and politician. Early life Eustachy Erazm Sanguszko was born in 1768 to Hieronim Janusz Sanguszko and Cecylia Usrzula Pot ...

(1768–1844) a Polish nobleman, general, military commander, diplomat and politician.

References

External links

Official town website
Radzyn-Podl.pl
News and prices - Radzyń Podlaski
Iledzisiaj.pl {{Authority control Cities and towns in Lublin Voivodeship Radzyń Podlaski County 1468 establishments in Europe Populated places established in the 1460s Holocaust locations in Poland 15th-century establishments in Poland Reserve Police Battalion 101