Kołaczyce is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

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

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. It is the seat of the

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 ...

(administrative district) called

Gmina Kołaczyce __NOTOC__ Gmina Kołaczyce is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Jasło County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. Its seat is the town of Kołaczyce, which lies approximately north of Jasło and south-west of the ...

. It lies approximately north of

Jasło Jasło is a county town in south-eastern Poland with 36,641 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2012. It is situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), and it was previously part of Krosno Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located in Lesser ...

and south-west 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 of Kolaczyce was founded probably in late 13th century, as property of the Benedictine Abbey from

Tyniec Tyniec is a historic village in Poland on the Vistula river, since 1973 a part of the city of Kraków (currently in the district of Dębniki). Tyniec is notable for its Benedictine abbey founded by King Casimir the Restorer in 1044. Etymology ...

. In 1339, it received town charter from King

Casimir 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 ...

. It was a private church town, administratively located in the

Sandomierz Voivodeship Sandomierz Voivodeship (, ) was a unit of administration and local government in Poland from the 14th century to the partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. It was part of the Lesser Poland region and the Lesser Poland Province. Originally Sandomier ...

in the Lesser Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1474, Kołaczyce was burned to the ground by a Hungarian raid commanded by Thomas Tarczay. In 1546, the town burned in a great fire, while in 1657, it was completely destroyed by Transilvanian forces of George II Rakoczi (see

Swedish invasion of Poland 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 Pol ...

). In the past, Kołaczyce was spelled ''Colanthicze'' (1330), ''Colaczicze'' (1358), and ''Colacice'' (1401). In 1772, Kolaczyce was annexed by the

Habsburg Empire The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

in the

First Partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...

, and remained in Austrian Galicia until November 1918. In 1919, it lost its town status, regaining it in 2010. In the 19th century, Kolaczyce was famous for its shoe makers, which annually made app. 40 000 pairs of shoes. In the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

, Kolaczyce belonged to the Jasło County in the Krakow Voivodeship. According to the 1921 census, it had a population of 1,348, 92.7%

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 ...

and 7.3%

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 ...

. Following the 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, the settlement was occupied by Germany until 1944. It suffered from heavy destruction; its Jewish minority was decimated in

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

by the occupiers. The Nazis gathered 260 Jews from the nearby town of

Brzostek Brzostek is a town in Dębica County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, south-eastern Poland (historic province of Lesser Poland). It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Brzostek. As of December 2021, the town has a populatio ...

, and surrounding villages, marched them a few miles south along the road No. 73, and—having escorted them in groups of ten to a spot in the Podzamcze forest—killed them and buried in a mass grave. The place is marked by a memorial officially unveiled on 17 June 2012. It regained town status on 1 January 2010, along with five other Polish localities.

Sights

* Market square with a fountain and 19th-century houses (including a house from 1792), * St. Ann parish church with a 1632

holy water font A holy water font or stoup is a vessel containing holy water which is generally placed near the entrance of a church. It is often placed at the base of a crucifix or other Christian art. It is used in Catholic, as well as many Lutheran and Angli ...

, * Roadside chapel (first half of 19th century), * A figure of Our Lady in the market square (1803), * World War I and World War II cemeteries.

References

External links

Information about the unveiling ceremony on Kołaczyce Community website
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Subcarpathian Voivodeship Jasło County Holocaust locations in Poland