Everything about Sandomierz totally explained
Sandomierz (; ) is a city in south-eastern
Poland with 25,714 inhabitants (
2006).
Situated in the
Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in
Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship (1975-1998). It is the capital of
Sandomierz County (since 1999).
Sandomierz is known for its Old Town, a major tourist attraction.
History
Sandomierz is one of the oldest and historically most significant cities in Poland.
Archeological finds around the city indicate that humans inhabited the area since
neolithic times.
The city came into existence in the early
Middle Ages, taking advantage of an excellent location at the junction
of
Vistula and
San rivers, and on the path of important trade routes.
The first known historical mention of the city comes from the early 12th century, when the chronicler
Gallus Anonymus ranked it together with
Kraków and
Wrocław as one of the main cities of
Poland. In the testament of
Bolesław Krzywousty, in which he divided Poland among his sons, Sandomierz was designated as a capital of one of the resulting principalities.
In the course of the 13th century the city suffered grievous damage during raids by
Mongols in 1241, 1259 and 1287. The old wooden buildings of the town were completely destroyed. As a result, in 1286 the city was effectively refounded by
Leszek Czarny, under
Magdeburg Law. The founding document is still preserved in the city archives.
After Polish lands were reunified in the 14th century, the former principality became the
Sandomierz Voivodeship, incorporating large areas of southeastern Poland. At this time Sandomierz had about 3000 inhabitants and was one of the larger Polish cities. In the middle of the 14th century the city was burned again during a raid by the
Lithuanians. It was rebuilt during the rule of king
Casimir III of Poland. The layout of the city has survived practically unchanged since that time until the present day.
The following three hundred years, running until the middle of the 17th century, were quite prosperous for the city. The most important historical buildings were built during this period. This golden age came to an end in 1655 when
Swedish forces captured the city in the course of the
Deluge. After briefly holding out in the city, the withdrawing Swedes blew up the castle and caused heavy damage to other buildings. In the next 100 years the economy of Poland suffered a decline, which also affected the city. A great fire in 1757 and the
First Partition of Poland in 1772, which placed Sandomierz in
Austria, further reduced its status. As a result Sandomierz lost its role as an administrative capital.
In 1809 the city was damaged during fighting between the forces of Austria and the
Duchy of Warsaw during the
Napoleonic Wars.After 1815 it found itself in the
Russian Empire (
Congress Poland). At this point it had just 2640 inhabitants.
The city again suffered damage during
World War I. In 1918 it again became part of independent Poland. In September 1939, following the German invasion of Poland, the city was occupied by Germany and made part of the
General Government. The Jewish population of the city, consisting of about 2,500 people, perished during the
Holocaust, mostly in the death camps of
Bełżec and
Treblinka. The city was captured by the Soviet army in August, 1944.
No major industrial development took place in Sandomierz, thus preserving it as a charming, small city full of historical monuments among unspoiled landscape.
Tourist attractions
Principal tourist attraction in Sandomierz:
Education
Wyższa Szkoła Humanistyczno-Przyrodnicza Studium Generale Sandomiriense
Wyższe Seminarium Duchowne w Sandomierzu
1 Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace Collegium GostomianumFurther Information
Get more info on 'Sandomierz'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://sandomierz.totallyexplained.com">Sandomierz Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
