Medyka () 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 ...

Przemyśl County __NOTOC__ Przemyśl County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, south-eastern Poland, on the border with Ukraine. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish lo ...

Subcarpathian Voivodeship Subcarpathian Voivodeship is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshal, it is governed by the Subcarpathian Regional As ...

, in south-eastern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, on the border with

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. It is the seat of the municipality (

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' ) is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,479 gminy throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. 940 gminy include cities and tow ...

) called Gmina Medyka. It lies approximately east of

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

and east of the regional capital

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów is the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and the county seat, seat of Rzeszów C ...

History

The village dates back to 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 castle existed there already in the 14th century. It was expanded in 1542 by Piotr Kmita Sobieński (1477-1553)

Starosta Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...

. In 1607 the Roman Catholic St Peter and Paul timber church was erected and in 1663 the settlement was granted

Starostwo ''Starostwo'' (literally " eldership") is an administrative unit established from the 14th century in the Polish Crown and later in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until the partition of Poland in 1795. Starostwos were established in the ...

status. There was also a

Greek Catholic Church Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gre ...

. Medyka was occupied by Habsburg Austria after the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

in 1772 and remained within Galicia until the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. From 1809 the village became the property of the Pawlikowski family. They built a manor house on the ruins of the ancient castle and for generations maintained in their family seat a cultural centre with a valuable library and historical collections. In 1830 (1793-1852) established on his estate the first school of

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

in the

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galicia in Eastern Europe. The Cr ...

and a dendrological collection in his laid out park. The manor house was damaged both in 1915 and 1939 Fortuitously, part of its cultural heritage was donated to what became the Ossolineum Institute in

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

and survived. It includes a single page containing a Polish version of Psalm 50, known as the '' Karta medycka'', from the early 15th century, discovered in Medyka in 1832 by historian and collector, (1793-1855). The Polish 23rd Observation Escadrille was stationed in Medyka during the joint German-Soviet

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, which started

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 ...

in September 1939. Afterwards the village was occupied by the Soviet Union until 1941, under which it was annexed to the newly formed Drohobych Oblast of the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

. From 1941, it was occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, and from 1944 by the Soviet Union. It was eventually restored to Poland in 1948 during a revision of borders. The British society portrait painter and illustrator, Aniela Pawlikowska, was married to the last proprietor of Medyka, (1887-1970), a bibliophile, writer, and publisher who lived, worked and raised their family there, before being routed from their home by invading forces in

. They eventually settled in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. "Medyka" was also the imprint of Pawlikowski's small publishing and printing enterprise which specialised in small runs of literary works for which his artist wife provided the illustrations.

Synagogue

A brick-built rectangular

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, ' was erected in the village at the beginning of the 20th century. As its congregation, it was devastated by Nazi invaders during World War II.

Border crossing

Medyka is one of the main road border crossings between Poland and

. A major railway line also runs through the village, connecting both countries. The village across the border in Ukraine is Shehyni. During the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, Medyka was one site welcoming Ukrainian refugees who crossed the border.

Gallery

Medyka, kościół Świętych Piotra i Pawła (HB2).jpg,

17th century The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCI), to December 31, 1700 (MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized ...

RC timber church of Sts. Peter and Paul Церква Преображення Господнього у Медиці.jpg, Etching of Greek-Catholic church in Medyka Manor house in Medyka (11).jpg, Front of the Pawlikowski Manor house in Medyka Manor house in Medyka (6).jpg, Lake in the Medyka Manor house park Medyka, cmentarz grobowiec Pawlikowscy.jpg, Pawlikowski family mausoleum in Medyka cemetery Palace in Medyka 1840.jpg, Manor house in Medyka circa 1840

References

{{Authority control Poland–Ukraine border crossings Villages in Przemyśl County Small press publishing companies

History

Synagogue

Border crossing

Gallery

See also

References