Piaski
Encyclopedia
Piaski ', formerly Piaski Luterskie, is a town in Poland
at the Giełczew river. The town's population is about 2,660 (2004). Administratively it belongs to Powiat of Świdnik of the Lublin Voivodeship
. It lies 16 km Southeast of Świdnik
.
Later the town's Jewish community grew to eventually constitute two thirds of the total inhabitants, making it a shtetl
. in 1795, in the course of the Third Partition of Poland
, the town became part of Habsburg Austria. In 1809 it briefly passed to the Duchy of Warsaw
, before becoming part of Congress Poland
under Russian rule from 1815 onward. In 1869 Piaski lost its municipal rights. Since 1918 it has belonged to reconstituted Poland
.
In 1921 Piaski had 2,674 Jews among its 3,974 inhabitants. During the German occupation in the course of World War II
it was part of the General Government
. At the beginning of this period, 4,165 Jews lived in Piaski. In 1940 the Nazi German occupiers established a ghetto
, to imprison not only its Jewish inhabitants, but also several thousand Jews transported from the Lublin Ghetto
as well as from the German Reich. In 1942 the ghetto was liquidated and its inmates perished in the Belzec extermination camp
.
In 1993 Piaski recovered its municipal rights, officially becoming a town again after a break of over a hundred years.
, with a 342 metre high guyed mast, one of the tallest in 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...
at the Giełczew river. The town's population is about 2,660 (2004). Administratively it belongs to Powiat of Świdnik of the 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....
. It lies 16 km Southeast of Świdnik
Swidnik
Świdnik is a town in eastern Poland with 42,797 inhabitants , situated in the Lublin Voivodeship, very near the city of Lublin. It is the capital of Świdnik County.-History:The village of Świdnik is first mentioned in historical records from 1392...
.
History
The first documentary mention of the village Pogorzały Staw located near the site of the current town comes from the year 1401. The first specific mention of Piaski occurs in the chronicle of Jan Długosz from 1470 which calls the town "Pyassek alias Gyelczew" (alias here meaning formerly), where Giełczew is the name of another local village. Based on this evidence, it is thought that the town Piaski came into existence some time in the first half of the 15th century on lands formerly belonging to those two villages. In the 16th and 17th centuries a significant part of the town's population was Protestant, hence it became known as Piaski Luterskie (Lutheran).Later the town's Jewish community grew to eventually constitute two thirds of the total inhabitants, making it a shtetl
Shtetl
A shtetl was typically a small town with a large Jewish population in Central and Eastern Europe until The Holocaust. Shtetls were mainly found in the areas which constituted the 19th century Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire, the Congress Kingdom of Poland, Galicia and Romania...
. in 1795, in the course of the Third Partition of Poland
Third Partition of Poland
The Third Partition of Poland or Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1795 as the third and last of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.-Background:...
, the town became part of Habsburg Austria. In 1809 it briefly passed to 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...
, before becoming part of Congress 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...
under Russian rule from 1815 onward. In 1869 Piaski lost its municipal rights. Since 1918 it has belonged to reconstituted Poland
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
.
In 1921 Piaski had 2,674 Jews among its 3,974 inhabitants. During the German occupation in the course of 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...
it was part of the General Government
General Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
. At the beginning of this period, 4,165 Jews lived in Piaski. In 1940 the Nazi German occupiers established 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...
, to imprison not only its Jewish inhabitants, but also several thousand Jews transported from the Lublin Ghetto
Lublin Ghetto
The Lublin Ghetto was a World War II ghetto created by Nazi Germany in the city of Lublin in occupied Poland, on the Nazi-administered territory of the General Government. Its inhabitants were mostly Polish Jews, although a number of Roma were also present. The Lublin Ghetto, set up in March 1941,...
as well as from the German Reich. In 1942 the ghetto was liquidated and its inmates perished in the Belzec extermination camp
Belzec extermination camp
Belzec, Polish spelling Bełżec , was the first of the Nazi German extermination camps created for implementing Operation Reinhard during the Holocaust...
.
In 1993 Piaski recovered its municipal rights, officially becoming a town again after a break of over a hundred years.
Facilities
Near Piaski there is a TV transmission sitePiaski transmitter
Piaski transmitter is a facility for FM- and TV-broadcasting near Piaski in Lublin Voivodeship, Poland at . Piaski transmitter uses as antenna tower a 342 metre tall guyed mast, which was built in 1990...
, with a 342 metre high guyed mast, one of the tallest in Poland.