Baligród
Encyclopedia
Baligród b is a village
in Lesko County
, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship
(province
) of south-eastern Poland
. It is also the seat of the municipality (gmina
) called Gmina Baligród
. Location: 49°21' N 22°17' E
. From 1 January 1999 until 1 January 2002 it was located in Bieszczady County.
river, near the Bieszczady mountains. Earlier Baligród was a small town but declined in population over the last century.
The settlement was first mentioned in 1615. It is believed to have been established at the beginning of the 17th century near a castle built by the Bal family. In 1634 the town previously called Balówgród received Magdeburg rights
and privileges for markets, fairs and wine storage. Baligród remained in the Bal family until 1770. The town was situated on an often traveled trade route to Hungary
. This enhanced opportunities for greater economic development. However the town began to later decline and in 1915 lost its municipal rights.
Between 1914 and 1915, during World War I
, Baligród was partially destroyed. During World War II
the village was once again partially damaged and many of its inhabitants were killed, including a great many of its Jews. Those Jews that did not manage to escape were rounded up outside of the town and executed. On 6 August 1944 the village was attacked by a strong unit of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, 42 Poles were killed, and some buildings were burnt.
The soldiers of the Polish Army that were stationed here called the village Diabligród (Devil’s town), because earlier during the occupation the Germans paved the main square with stones taken from the Jewish cemetery. On 28 March 1947, Polish General Karol Świerczewski
was killed nearby on a road to Cisna
close to Jabłonki.
It is a village with a few stores and homes built around a large square. In the middle of the square is a model of a T-34
tank. The tank was used in skirmishes against the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in the Bieszczady mountains. An earlier monument of a T-70
tank in Baligród was the last one its kind existing in Poland but was transferred to the armour
museum of the Centrum Szkolenia Wojsk Lądowych (Land Forces Training Centre) in Poznan
.
The ancestors of Michael Schudrich
, the Chief Rabbi
of Poland, were born in Baligród.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in Lesko County
Lesko County
Lesko County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, south-eastern Poland, on the Slovak border. It was created in 2002 out of five gminas which previously made up the western part of Bieszczady County...
, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship
Subcarpathian Voivodeship
Podkarpackie Voivodeship , or Subcarpathian Voivodeship, is a voivodeship, or province, in extreme-southeastern Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów...
(province
Administrative divisions of Poland
The administrative division of Poland since 1999 has been based on three levels of subdivision. The territory of Poland is divided into voivodeships ; these are further divided into powiats , and these in turn are divided into gminas . Major cities normally have the status of both gmina and powiat...
) of south-eastern Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. It is also the seat of the municipality (gmina
Gmina
The gmina is the principal unit of administrative division of Poland at its lowest uniform level. It is often translated as "commune" or "municipality." As of 2010 there were 2,479 gminas throughout the country...
) called Gmina Baligród
Gmina Baligród
Gmina Baligród is a rural gmina in Lesko County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. Its seat is the village of Baligród, which lies approximately south of Lesko and south of the regional capital Rzeszów....
. Location: 49°21' N 22°17' E
Length
In geometric measurements, length most commonly refers to the longest dimension of an object.In certain contexts, the term "length" is reserved for a certain dimension of an object along which the length is measured. For example it is possible to cut a length of a wire which is shorter than wire...
. From 1 January 1999 until 1 January 2002 it was located in Bieszczady County.
History
Baligród is a village situated in the valley of the HoczewkaHoczewka
Hoczewka is a right tributary of the San River in southeastern Poland. It flows for 27.8 kilometres....
river, near the Bieszczady mountains. Earlier Baligród was a small town but declined in population over the last century.
The settlement was first mentioned in 1615. It is believed to have been established at the beginning of the 17th century near a castle built by the Bal family. In 1634 the town previously called Balówgród received Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg Rights or Magdeburg Law were a set of German town laws regulating the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages granted by a local ruler. Modelled and named after the laws of the German city of Magdeburg and developed during many centuries of the Holy Roman Empire, it was...
and privileges for markets, fairs and wine storage. Baligród remained in the Bal family until 1770. The town was situated on an often traveled trade route to Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. This enhanced opportunities for greater economic development. However the town began to later decline and in 1915 lost its municipal rights.
Between 1914 and 1915, during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Baligród was partially destroyed. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the village was once again partially damaged and many of its inhabitants were killed, including a great many of its Jews. Those Jews that did not manage to escape were rounded up outside of the town and executed. On 6 August 1944 the village was attacked by a strong unit of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, 42 Poles were killed, and some buildings were burnt.
The soldiers of the Polish Army that were stationed here called the village Diabligród (Devil’s town), because earlier during the occupation the Germans paved the main square with stones taken from the Jewish cemetery. On 28 March 1947, Polish General Karol Świerczewski
Karol Swierczewski
Karol Wacław Świerczewski was a Pole who became a Soviet military officer and a general. He served as a general in the service of the Soviet Union, Republican Spain, and the Soviet sponsored Polish Provisional Government of National Unity after World War II.- Life :Karol Świerczewski grew up in...
was killed nearby on a road to Cisna
Cisna
Cisna is the main village of the Gmina Cisna in the Lesko County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of south-eastern Poland. It lies in the Solinka valley in between the Bieszczady mountains.-History:...
close to Jabłonki.
It is a village with a few stores and homes built around a large square. In the middle of the square is a model of a T-34
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
tank. The tank was used in skirmishes against the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in the Bieszczady mountains. An earlier monument of a T-70
T-70
The T-70 was a light tank used by the Red Army during World War II, replacing both the T-60 scout tank for reconnaissance and the T-50 light infantry tank for infantry support. The T-80 light tank was a more advanced version of the T-70 with a two-man turret—it was only produced in very small...
tank in Baligród was the last one its kind existing in Poland but was transferred to the armour
Armour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
museum of the Centrum Szkolenia Wojsk Lądowych (Land Forces Training Centre) in Poznan
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
.
The ancestors of Michael Schudrich
Michael Schudrich
Michael Joseph Schudrich is the Chief Rabbi of Poland. He is the oldest of four children of Rabbi David Schudrich and Doris Goldfarb Schudrich.-Biography:...
, the Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
of Poland, were born in Baligród.
Notable sites
- Catholic church (built in 1877–1879)
- Greek-Catholic church (from 1829)
- Military cemetery (est. 1946–1947, redesigned 1984)
- Bal’s castle (remains of its foundations)
- Ruins of Jewish cemetery