Tykocin (; ) is a small town in north-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 ...

, with 2,010 inhabitants (2012), located on the

Narew The Narew (; ; or ) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland. It is a tributary of the river Vistula. The Narew is one of Europe's few braided rivers, the term relating to the twisted channels resembling braided h ...

river, in

Białystok County Białystok County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland, on the border with Belarus. It was created on 1 January 1999 as a result of the Polish local government refo ...

in the

Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, ''Podlasie''), and significant part of its territory corresponds to th ...

. It is one of the oldest towns in the region, with its historic center designated a Historic Monument of Poland.

History

Middle Ages

The name of Tykocin was first mentioned in the 11th century. Through the 14th century, it was a

castellany A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

in the

Duchy of Masovia The Duchy of Masovia was a District duchy, district principality and a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385), Kingdom of Poland, existing during the Middle Ages. The state was centered in Mazovia in the northeastern Kingdom of Poland, a ...

on the border with

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. Tykocin received its

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

from prince

Janusz I of Warsaw Janusz I of Warsaw (pl: ''Janusz I warszawski''), also known as Janusz I the Old (pl: ''Janusz I Starszy'') (c. 1347/52 – 8 December 1429), was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast in the Dukes of Masovia, Masovian branch, from 1373/74 D ...

in 1425, but several months later, the settlement was transferred to the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

(within the Polish-Lithuanian Union) by the

Polish king Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

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. ...

. Shortly later, in around 1433, Duke

Sigismund Kęstutaitis Sigismund Kęstutaitis (, ; 136520 March 1440) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1432 to 1440. Sigismund was his baptismal name, while his pagan Lithuanian birth name is unknown. He was the son of Grand Duke Kęstutis and his wife Birutė. Aft ...

gave the town along with other surrounding villages to Jonas Gostautas, and it became the most important seat of the Lithuanian Gostautai noble family.

Early modern era

In the 1542, upon the death of Gostautai family's last member, the town was acquired by Polish king and Lithuanian Grand Prince

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 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 of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...

who had the medieval stronghold remodelled into a Renaissance castle. One of the largest arsenals of Poland was located in Tykocin. It subsequently became a royal town of the Polish Crown, located within the

in the Lesser Poland Province. In 1572, Polish Renaissance writer Łukasz Górnicki was appointed

starost 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 ...

of Tykocin by Sigismund II Augustus. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Tykocin was granted new privileges by kings

Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory (; ; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) as well as Prince of Transylvania, earlier Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576). The son of Stephen VIII Báthory ...

and

Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and claimant of the thrones of Monarchy of Sweden, Sweden and List of Russian monarchs, Russia. Born into the House of Vasa as a prince ...

. Krzysztof Wiesiołowski, starost of Tykocin, founded a hospital and shelter for injured and disabled knights, one of the oldest of its kind in Europe. Later on, the town was awarded to

Hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

Stefan Czarniecki Stefan Czarniecki (Polish: of the Łodzia coat of arms, 1599 – 16 February 1665) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish szlachta, nobleman, general and military commander. In his career, he rose from a petty nobleman to a magnate hol ...

for his military service during the

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 1661. Afterwards, through the marriage of Czarniecki's daughters, it passed to the Branicki ( Gryf coat-of-arms) family. From 1513 until 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 ...

in 1795, Tykocin was a county (

powiat A ''powiat'' (; ) is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture (Local administrative unit, LAU-1 ormerly Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS-4 ...

) seat. It was Tykocin, where in 1705, King

Augustus II the Strong Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...

established the Order of the White Eagle, the highest and oldest Polish order. Most of Tykocin's landmarks was built in this era, including the Holy Trinity Church, monasteries of the

Congregation of the Mission The Congregation of the Mission (), abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic Church, Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vin ...

and the Bernardines, the former 17th-century military hospital, the

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 ...

and the statue of hetman

Late modern era and recent times

Following 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 ...

Tykocin was annexed by

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and Izabella Poniatowska-Branicka sold the town to the Prussian government in 1795. In 1807, it was briefly regained by Poles as part of the

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 ...

in accordance to the

Treaty of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit (), also collectively known as the Peace of Tilsit (; ), were two peace treaties signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland, at the end of the War o ...

. In 1815, it became part of the

Congress Kingdom of 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 wh ...

, later on forcibly annexed by

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

Sebastien Dulac - Bitwa pod Tykocinem 1831 r

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 21 May 1831, Polish insurgents won a battle against the Russians at Tykocin. After the massacres of Polish protesters committed by the Russians in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

in 1861, Polish demonstrations and clashes with Russian soldiers took place in Tykocin. Shortly after the outbreak of the

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 ...

, Tykocin was the site of a battle between Polish insurgents and Russian troops on 24–25 January 1863. During the uprising, Tykocin was attacked by a

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

unit led by Captain Dmitriyev, who forced the populace to sign a request to the tsarist administration to make him the town's military superior.''Katalog miejsc pamięci powstania styczniowego w województwie podlaskim'', p. 14-15 In this way, he obtained office, and then committed macabre murders of the inhabitants.''Katalog miejsc pamięci powstania styczniowego w województwie podlaskim'', p. 15 Dmitryev's cruelty even caused the Russians themselves to report him to the tsarist authorities, but he was only fined. Tykocin was reintegrated with Poland after the country regained independence after

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 ...

in 1918. During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, the population of Tykocin had reached an estimated 4,000 inhabitants. During

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 occupied by the

Soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

from 1939 to 1941 and the Germans from 1941 to 1944. The

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 ...

population of Tykocin, estimated at 2,000 people, was eradicated by

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

s during

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 ...

. On 25–26 August 1941, the Jewish residents of Tykocin were assembled at the market square for "relocation", and then marched and trucked by the Nazis into the nearby Łopuchowo forest,"Rocznica zagłady żydowskiego Tykocina,"
(commemoration)

Gazeta Wyborcza (; ''The Electoral Gazette'' in English) is a Polish nationwide daily newspaper based in Warsaw, Poland. It was launched on 8 May 1989 on the basis of the Polish Round Table Agreement and as a press organ of the Solidarity (Polish trade union), t ...

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

, 24 August 2009Tykocin na mapie polskich judaików
at www.kirkuty.xip.pl where they were executed in waves into pits by SS

Einsatzkommando During World War II, the Nazi German ' were a sub-group of the ' (mobile killing squads) – up to 3,000 men total – usually composed of 500–1,000 functionaries of the SS and Gestapo, whose mission was to exterminate Jews, Polish intellect ...

Zichenau-Schroettersburg under SS-Obersturmführer Hermann Schaper. Alexander B. Rossino, "Contextualizing Anti-Jewish Violence in the Białystok District during the Opening Weeks of Operation Barbarossa", ''Polin: Studies in Polish Jewry'', Volume 16 (2003) A memorial now exists outside the town for the

Tykocin pogrom The mass murders in Tykocin occurred on 25 August 1941, during World War II, where the local Jewish population of Tykocin (Poland) was killed by German Einsatzkommando. Background The town of Tykocin was conquered by Nazi Germany ...

. In 1950, Tykocin lost its town rights due to population loss in World War II, only to regain it in 1993. From 1975 to 1998, it was administratively located in the former Białystok Voivodeship.

Points of interest

Tykocin contains a preserved historic center listed as a Historic Monument of Poland. Notable heritage sights and points of interest include: *

Tykocin Castle The Tykocin Royal Castle is a 15th-century castle located on the right bank of the river Narew in Tykocin, Poland. It fell into ruin in the 18th century and its reconstruction began in 2002. History The castle – then located on a border area ...

built before 1469, extended in 16th century and partially reconstructed in 2005 *The

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Tykocin Synagogue ''Bejt ha-Kneset ha-Godol'', built in 1642, one of the best preserved in Poland from that period and a major tourist attraction. *A baroque Church of the Holy Trinity and former monastery of Congregation of Mission founded in 1742 by Jan Klemens Branicki *Baroque Bernardine Monastery from 1771–90 *Monument of hetman

from 1763 *Former military hospital from 1633–1647, the ''Alumnat'', one of the oldest of its kind in Europe, now a hotel *Baroque manor house '' Rezydencja ekonomiczna'', currently the Center of Culture, Sport and Tourism *17th-century memorial to Renaissance poet Łukasz Górnicki erected by his sons *Catholic cemetery, dating back to the 18th century *Jewish cemetery – one of the oldest in Poland *Monument of the White Eagle from 1982, referring to the establishment of the Order of the White Eagle in Tykocin in 1705 *Abundance of

white stork The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to en ...

s and their nests in the area File:Tykocin voyage fc02.jpg, 18th-century statue of hetman

File:Tykocin kościół Św. Trójcy 4.JPG, Church of the Holy Trinity and Narew River Bridge File:Tykocin 8299.jpg, Church of the Holy Trinity File:2013 Main altar of Trinity Church in Tykocin - 02.jpg, Main altar at Holy Trinity File:Wielka Synagoga i Dom Talmudyczny (Mała Synagoga).jpg, Great Synagogue and Little Synagogue File:2013 Hotel Alumnat in Tykocin - 01.jpg, Former 17th-century military hospital, now a hotel and restaurant File:Tykocin klasztor 02.jpg, Bernardine Monastery

Transport

The

Voivodeship road According to classes and categories of public roads in Poland, a voivodeship A voivodeship ( ) or voivodate is the area administered by a voivode (governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed sinc ...

671 runs through Tykocin and links it with the S8 highway, which passes nearby, south of the town.

Notable individuals

* Joshua Höschel ben Joseph, a Polish rabbi born in

Wilno Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

* Jan Klemens Branicki, Field Crown Hetman of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

* Bolesław Gebert, Communist Party official * Łukasz Górnicki, Renaissance writer, Chancellor of Sigismund Augustus of Poland * Michał Jankowski (1842–1912), Polish insurgent against Russian rule, sybirak, naturalist *

Mikołaj Ostroróg Mikołaj Ostroróg (1593–1651) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish–Lithuanian szlachcic (nobleman), politician and general. He was Podstoli of the Crown since 1633, Stolnik of the Crown since 1624, Krajczy of the Crown since 1636 ...

, a Polish-Lithuanian

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

* Bogusław Radziwiłł, an Imperial Prince of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

Janusz Radziwiłł (1612–1655) Prince Janusz Radziwiłł, also known as Janusz the Second or Janusz the Younger (, 2 December 1612 – 31 December 1655) was a szlachta, noble and magnate in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Throughout his life he occupied a number of post ...

, Polish prince, magnate and Field Hetman of Lithuania * Paweł Jan Sapieha,

and military commander * Jan Smółko (b. 1907, AK alias Lokalizator), wife Władysława (b. 1908), Polish Righteous among the Nations – produced over a hundred fake IDs for Tykocin Jews during World War II, based on Catholic parish records. * Rebecca bat Meir Tiktiner (d. 1550) * Krzysztof Wiesiołowski, nobleman, starost of Tykocin * Mark Zamenhof (1837–1907), teacher, father of

L. L. Zamenhof L. L. Zamenhof (15 December 185914 April 1917) was the creator of Esperanto, the most widely used constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Zamenhof published Esperanto in 1887, although his initial ideas date back as ...

References

External links

Tykocin on the map of Poland, at www.pilot.pl"Tykocin – news, photos... all about this beautiful town,"
at www.tykocin1425.az.pl.
Plac Czarnieckiego 10
Anthropological project: art, history and heritage of Tykocin.

{{Authority control Historic Jewish communities in Poland Cities and towns in Podlaskie Voivodeship Białystok County Holocaust locations in Poland