Konskowola
Encyclopedia
Końskowola k is a village in southeastern Poland
, located between Puławy and Lublin
, near Kurów
, on the Kurówka River
. It is the seat of a separate commune (gmina
) within Puławy County in Lublin Voivodeship
, called Gmina Końskowola
. Population: 2,188 inhabitants (as of 2004).
- a type of a village. A slightly different spelling of the same name, "Konińskawola" is noted in 1442.
On June 8, 1532, the town was incorporated. Several textile
production factories were built. Many people immigrated to work there from other parts of Poland and elsewhere; among them many immigrants from Saxony
. The town shared the history of the entire region. After the third partition of Poland
, in 1795, it was annexed by Austria
. In 1809 it became part of the Duchy of Warsaw
, only to become part of the Kingdom of Poland
in 1815. After the January Uprising
, in 1870 the town lost its city charter, never to regain it again. During the Russian Revolution of 1905
, many demonstrations and strikes of solidarity were organized there. Since 1918, the town remained in sovereign Poland.
With the onset of the Second World War, on September 15, 1939, Końskowola was taken by German troops and occupied. During the course of WWII, the Germans set up a POW
camp and camps for slave labour in the town. The POW camp was soon liquidated, but a labour camp continued in operation through 1943. The inmates worked for Germans on farms, and on construction sites of roads and railroads.
A ghetto
was established in the town, to which many groups of Jews
were relocated, including Jews from Slovakia
. On May 8, 1942, the Nazis conducted an Aktion in which many Jews were rounded up and transported to the Nazi extermination camp Sobibor
. In October 1942, the ghetto' population was liquidated. In a massacre carried out by German troops: the Reserve Police Battalion 101, some 800-1000 Jews, among them women and children, were taken to a nearby forest and slaughtered. The ghetto's remaining inhabitants were transferred to another camp.
With the approach of Red Army
forces in the summer of 1944, the Germans had plans to burn the town. On July 25, 1944, the German occupation forces were engaged in battle by fighters of the Polish underground Armia Krajowa
, joined by Polish partisans of the Bataliony Chłopskie. With the arrival of Soviet Red Army troops, the combined antifascist combatants succeeded in securing the area's liberation.
architectural project by Tylman van Gameren
. The renovation, which included the new graves of the Opaliński and Lubomirski families was commissioned by Stanisław Lubomirski. There is also another old Catholic church, built in 1613 in the "Lublin Renaissance" architectural style, whose finest exemplars are this church in Konskowola and one in Kazimierz Dolny
. There are also the remains of a Lutheran
cemetery.
Końskowola is also known as the place of death of the Polish poets Franciszek Dionizy Kniaźnin
and Franciszek Zabłocki. Henryk Sienkiewicz
, a famous Polish novelist and Nobel prize winner
, author of historical novel With Fire and Sword
included a critical mention of "... Very poor beer also in this Końskowola, Mr. Zagłoba noticed ..."
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...
, located between Puławy and Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
, near Kurów
Kurów
Kurów is a village in south-eastern Poland, located between Puławy and Lublin, on the Kurówka River. It is capital of a separate gmina called Gmina Kurów, within Lublin Voivodeship...
, on the Kurówka River
Kurówka River
Kurówka is a river in South-East Poland, a right tributary of Vistula River. Its length is approximately 50 kilometres and its basin covers roughly 395,4 km². Its source is located near the village of Piotrowice Wielkie and it joins Vistula in Puławy...
. It is the seat of a separate commune (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...
) within Puławy County in Lublin Voivodeship
Lublin Voivodeship
- Administrative division :Lublin Voivodeship is divided into 24 counties : 4 city counties and 20 land counties. These are further divided into 213 gminas....
, called Gmina Końskowola
Gmina Konskowola
Gmina Końskowola is a rural gmina in Puławy County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. Its seat is the village of Końskowola, which lies approximately east of Puławy and north-west of the regional capital Lublin....
. Population: 2,188 inhabitants (as of 2004).
Name
Końskowola literally translates as Horse's Will. The name originated from the surname of its early owner Jan z Konina (Jan Koniński, John of Konin), and the toponym WolaWola (settlement)
Wola in Poland, a name given to agricultural villages, appearing as early as the first half of the thirteenth century and historically constituting a separate category of settlements in Poland, by comparison to others, in terms of the populace used to settle them and the freedoms they were granted...
- a type of a village. A slightly different spelling of the same name, "Konińskawola" is noted in 1442.
History
The village was founded probably in the 14th century, under the name Witowska Wola. The name was later changed to Konińskawola, and in the 19th century adjusted to its present form. As a private town, Końskowola served as a marketplace for trade of farm produce for the surrounding area.On June 8, 1532, the town was incorporated. Several textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
production factories were built. Many people immigrated to work there from other parts of Poland and elsewhere; among them many immigrants from Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
. The town shared the history of the entire region. After the third partition of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
, in 1795, it was annexed by Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. In 1809 it became part of the Duchy of Warsaw
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
, only to become part of the Kingdom of Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
in 1815. After the January Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
, in 1870 the town lost its city charter, never to regain it again. During the Russian Revolution of 1905
Russian Revolution of 1905
The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies...
, many demonstrations and strikes of solidarity were organized there. Since 1918, the town remained in sovereign Poland.
With the onset of the Second World War, on September 15, 1939, Końskowola was taken by German troops and occupied. During the course of WWII, the Germans set up a POW
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camp and camps for slave labour in the town. The POW camp was soon liquidated, but a labour camp continued in operation through 1943. The inmates worked for Germans on farms, and on construction sites of roads and railroads.
A ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
was established in the town, to which many groups of Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
were relocated, including Jews from Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
. On May 8, 1942, the Nazis conducted an Aktion in which many Jews were rounded up and transported to the Nazi extermination camp Sobibor
Sobibór extermination camp
Sobibor was a Nazi German extermination camp located on the outskirts of the town of Sobibór, Lublin Voivodeship of occupied Poland as part of Operation Reinhard; the official German name was SS-Sonderkommando Sobibor...
. In October 1942, the ghetto' population was liquidated. In a massacre carried out by German troops: the Reserve Police Battalion 101, some 800-1000 Jews, among them women and children, were taken to a nearby forest and slaughtered. The ghetto's remaining inhabitants were transferred to another camp.
With the approach of Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
forces in the summer of 1944, the Germans had plans to burn the town. On July 25, 1944, the German occupation forces were engaged in battle by fighters of the Polish underground Armia Krajowa
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
, joined by Polish partisans of the Bataliony Chłopskie. With the arrival of Soviet Red Army troops, the combined antifascist combatants succeeded in securing the area's liberation.
Tourism
Among the notable tourist attractions is a Catholic church pw. Znalezienia Krzyża (Under the Finding of the Cross), restored c. 1670 in a BaroqueBaroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
architectural project by Tylman van Gameren
Tylman van Gameren
Tylman van Gameren was a Dutch-born Polish architect and engineer who, at the age of 28, settled in Poland and worked for Queen Maria Kazimiera, wife of Poland's King Jan III Sobieski...
. The renovation, which included the new graves of the Opaliński and Lubomirski families was commissioned by Stanisław Lubomirski. There is also another old Catholic church, built in 1613 in the "Lublin Renaissance" architectural style, whose finest exemplars are this church in Konskowola and one in Kazimierz Dolny
Kazimierz Dolny
Kazimierz Dolny is a small town in Central Poland, on the right bank of the Vistula river in Puławy County, Lublin Province.It is a considerable tourist attraction as one of the most beautifully situated little towns in Poland. It enjoyed its greatest prosperity in the 16th and the first half of...
. There are also the remains of a Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
cemetery.
Końskowola is also known as the place of death of the Polish poets Franciszek Dionizy Kniaźnin
Franciszek Dionizy Kniaznin
Franciszek Dionizy Kniaźnin is considered to be one of the most distinguished Polish poets of the Polish sentimentalism in the Enlightenment period....
and Franciszek Zabłocki. Henryk Sienkiewicz
Henryk Sienkiewicz
Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz was a Polish journalist and Nobel Prize-winning novelist. A Polish szlachcic of the Oszyk coat of arms, he was one of the most popular Polish writers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 for his...
, a famous Polish novelist and Nobel prize winner
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
, author of historical novel With Fire and Sword
With Fire and Sword
With Fire and Sword is a historical novel by the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz, published in 1884. It is the first volume of a series known to Poles as the Trilogy, followed by The Deluge and Fire in the Steppe , also translated as Colonel Wolodyjowski...
included a critical mention of "... Very poor beer also in this Końskowola, Mr. Zagłoba noticed ..."
| Churches of Końskowola | |||
Znalezienia Krzyża |
by Tylman van Gameren Tylman van Gameren Tylman van Gameren was a Dutch-born Polish architect and engineer who, at the age of 28, settled in Poland and worked for Queen Maria Kazimiera, wife of Poland's King Jan III Sobieski... |
at Church pw. Znalezienia Krzyża |
|
Front entrance |
in Końskowola |
St. Anna's |
|