Limanowa (german: Ilmenau, yi, לימינוב ''Liminuv'') is a small town in southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is the capital of Limanowa County and had a population of 15,132 in 2012.

History

Mentions of the town date back to 1496, when it was documented as Ilmanowa, a rural estate that belonged to members of the szlachta. In 1520, ownership of the estate was passed from the Słupski family to Achacy Jordan, who subsequently established a judiciary. Limanowa became a township in 1565, after being granted city rights by King

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus ( pl, Zygmunt II August, lt, Žygimantas Augustas; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler ...

. The residents were not required to pay taxes to the Crown for a period of thirty years, throughout which the town rapidly developed. However, its economic strength declined due to the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

, and destruction caused by the Swedish invasion of 1655. While the town was constantly damaged by fire because of its wooden buildings, much of its infrastructure was destroyed by the fire of 1759. It was not until the

Polish Partitions The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for ...

, and Limanowa's incorporation into the Austrian province of Galicia, that it was rebuilt. The town began to flourish as a trading hub, hosting over eighteen markets per year. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Limanowa was located at the Eastern Front. In the early months of the war, it was the site of the

Battle of Limanowa The Battle of Limanowa-Łapanów took place from 1 December to 13 December 1914, between the Austro-Hungarian Army and the Russian Army near the town of Limanowa ( south-east of Kraków). The Austro-Hungarian high command had assumed that the Ger ...

between December 1 and December 9, 1914 in which the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

repelled a

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n breakthrough southwestwards between Limanowa and

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

saw invasion by German soldiers, and the establishment of a

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

in Limanowa. The town suffered heavy casualties as a result of the occupation; 472 people were shot as hostages and conspiracy participants, 123 as concentration camp prisoners, 91 people died in the Third Reich, 47 died fighting in the war, and 3,053 people from Limanowa's

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish population were murdered, including the family of Senator Bernie Sanders.

Sports

Limanovia Limanowa MKS Limanovia Limanowa is a Polish football club from Limanowa, Lesser Poland. History Beginning The club was founded in 1924 thanks to the merger of two local clubs, Sokół and Olimpia and adopted the name ''Klub Sportowy Olimpia w Limanow ...

, a football team playing in local league. * Limblach Limanowa, a basketball team reaching top Polish leagues. * Limanowa is also home to one of the most extreme mountain marathons in Europe, so-called " Kierat" which attracts hundreds of people every year.

People

Zygmunt Berling Zygmunt Henryk Berling (27 April 1896 – 11 July 1980) was a Polish general and politician. He fought for the independence of Poland in the early 20th century. Berling was a co-founder and commander of the First Polish Army, which fought on th ...

(1896–1980), general, politician * Teresa Dzielska (pl) (born 1977), actress * Dorota Gawryluk (pl) (born 1972), journalist and TV presenter *

Jakub Kot Jakub Kot (born 19 January 1990) is a Polish ski jumper, and a member of the Polish youth ski jumping team. Personal life Kot was born in Limanowa, Poland, but raised in Zakopane Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the ex ...

(born 1990), ski jumper *

Maciej Kot Maciej Kot (Polish pronunciation: ; born 9 June 1991) is a Polish Ski jumping, ski jumper. He is a member of the national team and competed at the Winter Olympics in 2014 Winter Olympics, 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics, 2018. He is a FIS Nordic Wor ...

(born 1991), ski jumper *

Justyna Kowalczyk Justyna Maria Kowalczyk-Tekieli (born 19 January 1983) is a Polish cross-country skier who has been competing since 2000. Kowalczyk is a double Olympic Champion and a double World Champion. She is also the only skier to win the Tour de Ski four ...

(born 1983), cross-country skier and multiple Olympic medallist *

Katarzyna Niewiadoma Katarzyna "Kasia" Niewiadoma (born 29 September 1994) is a Polish racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . Among her wins are the Amstel Gold Race, the Trofeo Alfredo Binda and the stage race The Women's Tour. She is a former nati ...

(born 1994), cyclist * Katarzyna Zielińska (pl) (born 1979), actress

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Limanowa is twinned with: * Niles,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Truskavets Truskavets ( uk, Трускавець, romanized: ''Truskavets''; pl, Truskawiec) is a city in Drohobych Raion, western Ukraine's Lviv Oblast (region), near the border with Poland. It hosts the administration of Truskavets urban hromada, one o ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Dolný Kubín Dolný Kubín (; also known by other names) is a town in northern Slovakia in the Žilina Region. It is the historical capital and the largest settlement of the Orava region. Names The name is derived from the archaic Slovak word meaning a "gl ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

References

External links

* Job market in Limanowa on GoWork.pl: https://www.gowork.pl/poradnik/25/kariera/praca-limanowa-gdzie-szukac-pracy-po-studiach-w-limanowej/ * * http://www.limanowa.in * https://web.archive.org/web/20160326205106/http://www.ilmanowa.republika.pl/ * http://www.limanowa.eu * https://web.archive.org/web/20120206103821/http://www.limanowa.tv/ * http://www.limanowa.com.pl/
Jewish Community in Limanowa
on Virtual Shtetl * https://web.archive.org/web/20120222210256/http://www.poland.travel/en-us/regions/the-maloposkie-voivodship-not-only-puff-pastries-with-cream/ {{Authority control Limanowa County Cities and towns in Lesser Poland Voivodeship Kraków Voivodeship (1919–1939) Shtetls Holocaust locations in Poland Nazi war crimes in Poland