Skalbmierz is a town in southern

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 ...

, in

Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship ( ), also known as Holy Cross Voivodeship, is a voivodeship (province) in southeastern Poland, in the historical region of Lesser Poland. The province's capital and largest city is Kielce. The voivodeship takes its ...

, in

Kazimierza County __NOTOC__ Kazimierza County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms p ...

. It has 1,326 inhabitants (2004). Skalbmierz has a long and rich history, the town belongs to the historic region of

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

History

Skalbmierz was presumably founded in the first half of the 12th century, yet it was first mentioned in written sources in 1217. It was devastated during the

first Mongol invasion of Poland The Mongol invasion of Poland from late 1240 to 1241 culminated in the Battle of Legnica, where the Mongols defeated an alliance which included forces from Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth, fragmented Poland and their allies, led by Henry ...

in 1241. In 1242,

Konrad I of Masovia Konrad I of Masovia (ca. 1187/88 – 31 August 1247), from the Polish Piast dynasty, was the sixth Duke of Masovia and Kuyavia from 1194 until his death as well as High Duke of Poland from 1229 to 1232 and again from 1241 to 1243. Life Konrad w ...

called a meeting in Skalbmierz, where he imprisoned representatives of

. In 1309, a school in Skalbmierz was first mentioned. On 20 February 1342, was granted a town charter (see

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (, , ; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages gr ...

) by King

Casimir III the Great Casimir III the Great (; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, retaining the title throughout the Galicia–Volhynia Wars. He was the last Polish king fr ...

. In 1400,

Stanisław of Skarbimierz Stanisław of Skarbimierz (1360–1431; Latinised as ''Stanislaus de Scarbimiria'') was the first rector of the University of Krakow following its restoration in 1399. He was the author of ''Sermones sapientiales'' (), comprising 113 sermons. Sta ...

became first vice-chancellor of

Kraków Academy The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

. Skalbmierz's town charter was confirmed by King

Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło (),Other names include (; ) (see also Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło) was Grand Duke of Lithuania beginning in 1377 and starting in 1386, becoming King of Poland as well. ...

in 1427 and

Bishop of Kraków A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

Jan Rzeszowski on 24 May 1483. In 1578 King

Stephen Bathory Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the firs ...

confirmed the right of Kraków curates to appoint Skalbmierz president canons of the Chapter. The town was hit by a fire in 1618 and plague epidemic in 1652–1653. In 1655–1657, it was destroyed by the invading Swedes, Hungarians and Cossacks (see

Deluge (history) The Deluge was a series of mid-17th-century military campaigns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense, it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648 and the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, comprising the Po ...

). To help revive the town, King

John II Casimir Vasa John II Casimir Vasa (; ; 22 March 1609 – 16 December 1672) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1648 to his abdication in 1668 as well as a claimant to the throne of Sweden from 1648 to 1660. He was the first son of Sigis ...

confirmed old privileges and established four annual

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

s in 1666. On 25 September 1781, King

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, and as Stanisław August Poniatowski (), was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuani ...

confirmed the privileges of Skalbmierz. On 29 April 1794, Russian general Fiodor Denisov during the retreat from

Racławice Racławice is a village located in Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. It became famous after the victorious Battle of Racławice (1794) in the Kościuszko Uprising. It is the seat of a municipality ( Gmina Racławice) within Miechów ...

robbed Skalbmierz and set it on fire. In 1795, following the

Third Partition of Poland The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...

, the town was annexed by

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. After the Polish victory in the

Austro-Polish War The Austro-Polish War or Polish-Austrian War was a part of the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809 (a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and allied states). In this war, Polish forces of ...

of 1809, it became part of the short-lived

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

, and after the duchy's dissolution in 1815, the town became part of Russian-controlled

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

. In 1807 and 1808, the town was hit by a fire. On 17 April 1810, Skalbmierz became capital of Skalbmierz County. In 1819, the collegiate church was turned into a regular parish church. During the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

, on 24 October 1831, a skirmirsh between Polish insurgents and Russian troops took place near Drożejowice. In 1869, Russian administration revoked the town rights of Skalbmierz as punishment for the unsuccessful Polish

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

. In 1884,

Maria Skłodowska Maria Salomea Skłodowska-Curie (; ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934), known simply as Marie Curie ( ; ), was a Polish and naturalised-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first wo ...

stayed in Skalbmierz. In 1906, there was a fire of the local church. In 1912, a fire brigade was established. 1918 witnessed the rise of

Polish Military Organization The Polish Military Organisation, PMO (, POW) was a secret military organization that was formed during World War I (1914–1918). Józef Piłsudski founded the group in August 1914. It adopted the name ''POW'' in November 1914 and aimed to gathe ...

(''Polska Organizacja Wojskowa'') and a scout troop. Since 1919, a railway station was built in Skalbmierz (station on the route between

Charsznica Charsznica is a village in Miechów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Charsznica. It lies approximately north-west of Miechów and north of the regional cap ...

and

Kocmyrzów Kocmyrzów is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kocmyrzów-Luborzyca, within Kraków County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately north-east of the regional capital Kraków. The village has an appr ...

). In the 1921 census, 85.1% of the population declared

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

nationality and 14.8% declared

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

nationality. On 31 March 1927, town rights were restored thanks to Antoni Baum’s initiative. In 1927, Stefczyk’s cash office opened, prototype of today’s Co-operative Bank (''Bank Spółdzielczy'', see

Cooperative banking Cooperative banking is retail and commercial banking organized on a cooperative basis. Cooperative banking institutions take deposits and lend money in most parts of the world. Cooperative banking, as discussed here, includes retail banking carr ...

). In 1931 the Committee of Military Preparation and Physical Education was established in Skalbmierz. In 1933, a shooting association was established. In 1933–1934, a new building of the common school was erected. Skalbmierz 31

During the German

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 ...

at the start of

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 ...

, it was the place of fights on 6–7 September 1939. Afterwards, the town was occupied by Germany. On 14 November 1939, the region of Skalbmierz and

Działoszyce Działoszyce is a town in Pińczów County in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in southern Poland, with 2,882 inhabitants as of December 2023. History The town is located in historic Lesser Poland, and the earliest mention of Działoszyce in hist ...

joined and turned into a place of underground Polish resistance. The Germans operated a

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

camp for Jews in the town. On 5 August 1944, the town was pacified by the German occupiers. On 14 January 1945, the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

entered Skalbmierz and German occupation ended with the town soon restored to Poland. On 1 August 1948, the Communal cooperative "SCh" was established. In 1952, the electrification of Skalbmierz was completed. In 1956, Skalbmierz became part of

. In 1959, thanks to Emilian Jaros’s initiative a vocational school opened (later renamed as the Vocational Schools Complex). On 3 September 1969, Skalbmierz was decorated with the

Cross of Grunwald The Order of the Cross of Grunwald (') was a military decoration created in Poland in November 1943 by the High Command of Gwardia Ludowa, a World War II Polish resistance movement organised by the Polish Workers Party. On 20 February 1944 it ...

(3rd class). On 1 October 1984, a new primary school building was opened. In 2005, the Skalbmierz water reservoir was built.

History

Demographics

References

See also