Kazimierz Dolny | |
|---|---|
 Kazimierz Dolny - View of the town | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Kazimierz Dolny | |
| Coordinates:51°19′20″N21°56′51″E / 51.32222°N 21.94750°E /51.32222; 21.94750 | |
| Country |  Poland |
| Voivodeship |  Lublin |
| County | Puławy |
| Gmina | Kazimierz Dolny |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Artur Pomianowski (Ind.) |
| Area | |
• Total | 30.44 km2 (11.75 sq mi) |
| Population (2019) | |
• Total | 2,530 |
| • Density | 83.1/km2 (215/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 24-120 |
| Car plates | LPU |
| Website | kazimierzdolny.pl |
| Designated | 1994-09-08 |
| Reference no. | M.P. z 1994 r. Nr 50, poz. 417[1] |
Kazimierz Dolny (Polish pronunciation:[kaˈʑimjɛʐ ˈdɔlnɨ]) is a small historic town in easternPoland, on the right (eastern) bank of theVistula river, 50 km (31 mi) from Lublin, inPuławy County,Lublin Voivodeship.[2] Historically it belongs toLesser Poland, and in the past it was one of the most important cities of the province.
Now a tourist destination, the town enjoyed its greatest prosperity in the 16th and the first half of the 17th century, due to the trade in grain conducted along the Vistula. It became an economic backwater after that trade declined, and this freeze in economic development enabled the town to preserve itsRenaissance urban plan and appearance. Since the 19th century it has become a holiday destination, attracting artists and summer residents.
Kazimierz Dolny is an art center in Poland. Many painters retreat to this small town to paint and sell their work. Galleries can be found in almost every street, offering for sale sculptures,stained-glass,folk art, andfine art.
The town is one of Poland's official nationalHistoric Monuments (Pomnik historii), as designated September 16, 1994 and tracked by theNational Heritage Board of Poland.
Kazimierz Dolny is located on the eastern bank of the Vistula (Wisła), at the edge of historicalLublin Upland extending further east fromMałopolska Upland to the west. It owes its picturesque location to theLesser Polish Gorge of the Vistula. The town is part of the so-called "tourist triangle":Puławy – Kazimierz Dolny –Nałęczów. It does not have a rail connection, the nearest station is located in Puławy (Puławy - Miasto).[3]
The history of Kazimierz Dolny dates back to the 11th century, when on one of the local hills there was a Benedictine settlement called Wietrzna Gora. In 1181, PrinceCasimir II the Just handed the settlement to Norbertine nuns fromKraków’s district of Zwierzyniec. The nuns changed its name to Kazimierz, in honor of the prince.[4] For the first time, the name Kazimierz appears in chronicles in 1249. Later on, the adjective Dolny (Lower) was added, to distinguish the town from the Jewish townKazimierz - now a district of Kraków. In the early 14th century, the village became a royal possession, and KingWładysław I the Elbow-high founded there a parish church in 1325.[5]
The foundation of the town is attributed to Władysław's son, KingCasimir III the Great, who granted the town rights in the first half of the 14th century. Later, KingWładysław II Jagiełło modernized Kazimierz Dolny, creating a modern town, with a market square and streets. At that time, the decision was taken not to build any houses on the northern side of the market square, so as not to obstruct the view of the church and thecastle.
In 1501, Kazimierz Dolny became the home of astarosta, and the town was passed over to the noble Firlej family, remaining in its hands until 1644. The Firlejs twice rebuilt the town and thecastle, after the fires of 1561 and 1585. They cared about privileged status of Kazimierz Dolny, as a merchant town, located along the busy waterway of the Vistula. In 1628, Franciscan friars settled in Kazimierz, building a monastery and expanding the church.[6]
The town's golden age ended in February 1656 (seeDeluge), when Swedish troops under KingCharles X Gustav burned and ransacked it. The number of inhabitants declined, and KingJohn III Sobieski tried to improve the situation, by allowing in 1677 Armenian, Greek and Jewish merchants to settle there. Meanwhile, the profitable Vistula river trade came to an end, as there was no demand for Polish grains in Western Europe. In the late 18th century, as a result of thePartitions of Poland, Kazimierz Dolny was cut from the port ofGdańsk and turned into a town of minor importance.[7]
From the late 19th century, more affluent residents of Lublin and Warsaw started to build properties in the area. Spas and villas were constructed, and in 1927, already in theSecond Polish Republic, Kazimierz Dolny once again became a town. Partly destroyed inWorld War II, it was rebuilt, and on September 8, 1994, its center was officially recognized as a historical monument.[8]
In 2024, Kazimierz Dolny was placed byTravel + Leisure magazine on the list of Europe's 22 most beautiful small towns and villages.[9]
_(cropped).jpg)
._1914_(69699023)_(cropped).jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
%2c_Market_square_in_Kazimierz_Dolny%2c_watercolor_and_pencil_on_cardboard%2c1899.jpeg)
A smallJewish community was present in the city from the time ofCasimir III the Great in the 14th century. The king granted the Jews a writ of rights which caused the town to become a focal point for Jewish immigration. WhenJohn III Sobieski became King in 1674, he granted the Jews of Poland a respite from taxes. Sobieski also reconfirmed for the Jews all the rights they had been granted by previous kings. During his reign, the housing restrictions were abolished and the Jewish community began to flourish again.
In the 19th century,Yehezkel Taub, a disciple of the"Seer of Lublin", founded theHasidic dynasty ofKuzmir in the town.[10]
Between the First and Second World Wars, the Jewish population was about 1,400, half the total population of the town. The town's picturesque surroundings were chosen to film scenes for theshtetl-based 1937Yiddish filmThe Dybbuk. It was also a location for the similar 1936 filmYiddle With His Fiddle.
The Germans invaded Kazimierz Dolny in September 1939. The population at that time included about 1800 Jews, slightly less than 40 percent of the population. During the occupation, aJudenrat (Jewish Council) was established in the town which was forced to oversee the German requirements of forced labor of the town's Jews. This included road reconstruction, rock quarrying, and menial tasks serving theNazis. They were forced to pave roads using tombstones from the local Jewish cemetery. In 1940, the Germans established aghetto, bringing all the Jews from the surroundingPuławy County to live in the ghetto. In 1942, those Jews who had survived hunger, disease and slave labor were taken toBelzec where they were gassed on arrival. At the end of 1942, the town was officially declared "free of Jews". Fewer than twenty of Kazimierz Dolny's Jewish inhabitants are thought to have survived the war. After the Holocaust, a memorial wall was erected using tombstones from the Jewish cemetery that survived.[11]
One of the most famous Jewish residents of the town was the painter and sculptorChaim Goldberg. Another Jewish scion of the city was Polish-American journalistSamuel Leib Shneiderman.
In 2013, the Pardes Festival, which celebrates Jewish culture, was inaugurated in Kazimierz Dolny.[12]
Notable historical buildings located in Kazimierz Dolny include:[13][14]
Kazimierz Dolny is also a place of a prominent Two Riversides Film and Art Festival ("Festiwal Filmu i Sztuki Dwa Brzegi") which is held every year during the month of August drawing many film lovers from around the world.[15] The town has been the location of several films.
%2c_ob._kino_Ma%25C5%2582y_Rynek_6_miasto_Kazimierz_Dolny_2.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Kazimierz Dolny istwinned with:[16]
Szklarska Poręba (Poland)
Hortobágy (Hungary)
Staufen im Breisgau (Germany)Berlin-Steglitz (Germany)
Pahiatua (New Zealand)
| Town and seat | | |
|---|---|---|
| Villages | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
