Stradów is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the administrative district of Gmina Czarnocin, within

Kazimierza County __NOTOC__ Kazimierza County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms p ...

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 ...

, in south-central Poland. It lies in historic

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 ...

, approximately north-west of Czarnocin, north of

Kazimierza Wielka Kazimierza Wielka () is a town in southern Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, about northeast of Kraków. It is the administrative seat of Kazimierza County. With a population of 5,848 (2005), it is the smallest county seat in Poland. Kazimi ...

, and south of the regional capital

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 ...

History

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, a large

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

gord was located here. Altogether, the complex covered the area of some 25 hectares, and was among the largest of early Poland. The gord probably existed from the 8th to the 12th century, and was placed among hills, which provided defensive cover. Archaeologists found here traces of wooden houses, furnaces, and fortifications. The gord had a population of several hundred and it probably was an important administrative center of the region. Most likely, it belonged to the state of the

Vistulans The Vistulans, or Vistulanians (), were an early medieval Lechitic tribe inhabiting the western part of modern Lesser Poland. Etymology Their name derives from the hydronym of the river Vistula, meaning "inhabitants of Vistula"; the region is m ...

, and some time in the late 10th century, Stradów was seized by another Slavic tribe, the Polans. By the 12th century, the importance of Stradów diminished, as it was replaced by other local towns, seats of

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

s, such as Wislica. Central part of the gord of Stradów was the so-called Zamczysko, with the area of 1,5 hectares. It was surrounded by a rampart with a moat, which had the shape of a horseshoe. Next to Zamczysko there were subdivisions of the gord, now known as Miescisko and Barzynskie. They also were protected by a system of ramparts and moats. The size of the complex suggests that in case of danger, hundreds of local residents were able to find protection there. Stradów also has a wooden church of St.

Bartholomew the Apostle Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2). New Testament references The name ''Bartholomew ...

, which was founded in 1657 by

Voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

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 ...

, Wladyslaw Myszkowski. It was built in the spot of an earlier church from 1326, which was burned down in 1656, during the

Swedish invasion of Poland The Deluge was a series of mid-17th-century military campaigns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense, it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648 and the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, comprising the Pol ...

. In the 19th century, the church, which is famous for the painting of Our Lady of Stradów, was remodelled and expanded. Inside there is a stone baptismal font (17th century), several paintings (17th and 18th centuries), Baroque equipment and silver dress of Our Lady of Stradów (1879). Next to the church stands a wooded bell tower (1780). During

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 January 11, 1945, a unit 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 ...

destroyed here a unit of 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 ...

, together with their Ukrainian collaborators.

References

{{Authority control Villages in Kazimierza County