Szydłowiec | |
|---|---|
 Panorama of Szydłowiec with the iconicTown Hall on the left and theSaint Sigismund Church on the right | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto(s): Dla Boga, Ojczyzny i społeczności For God, Country and community | |
  Szydłowiec | |
| Coordinates:51°14′N20°51′E / 51.233°N 20.850°E /51.233; 20.850 | |
| Country |  Poland |
| Voivodeship | Masovian |
| County | Szydłowiec |
| Gmina | Szydłowiec |
| Established | 12th century |
| Town rights | 1427 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Artur Ludew |
| Area | |
• Total | 21.93 km2 (8.47 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 260 m (850 ft) |
| Population (2006) | |
• Total | 2,030 |
| • Density | 93/km2 (240/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 26–500 |
| Area code | +48 48 |
| Car plates | WSZ |
| Highways |  |
| Voivodeship roads |   |
| Website | http://www.szydlowiec.pl |
Szydłowiec (Polish:[ʂɨˈdwɔvjɛt͡s]ⓘ;Yiddish:שידלאָווצע,romanized: Shidlovtse;German:Schiedlowietz) is a town inSzydłowiec County,Mazovian Voivodeship, south-centralPoland,[1] with 5,243 inhabitants (31 December 2005). It is the seat ofGmina Szydłowiec (commune). Szydłowiec is part of the historic region ofLesser Poland.
From the 12th century the environs of Szydłowiec belonged to the powerful knightly family ofOdrowąż, who were descended fromMoravian-Bohemian Baworowic family.[citation needed]
In the 13th century the site of the presentcastle was occupied by a stronghold on an artificial island with wood and earth defences and by a village called Szydłowiec. The present town came into being in the early 15th century. It was aprivate town, administratively located in the Radom County in theSandomierz Voivodeship in theLesser Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland,[2] and together with the neighbouring estate was the property of theSzydłowiecki andRadziwiłł families until the 19th century.
The town flourished in the 16th and the first half of 17th centuries. It was then an important centre of trade and crafts, mainly stone-masonry based on the exploitation of the local sandstone which was easy to work. This stone was used to carve architectural sculptural elements and to make tools for agriculture. It was also a building material for the localSaint Sigismund Church, Castle and theTown Hall; moreover, it was sent toKielce,Kraków andWarsaw. Among the goods traded in were agricultural products.[citation needed]
The period of wars 1648–1717 and numerous epidemics and fires brought about a decline of Szydłowiec, which persisted for centuries, its state being yet aggravated after thepartitions of Poland. The town owes this present character to transformations in urban design and architecture which took place in the second half of the 19th century and in the 20th century.[citation needed]
The town was annexed byAustria in theThird Partition of Poland in 1795. It was regained by Poles following theAustro–Polish War of 1809, and included within the short-livedDuchy of Warsaw. After the duchy's dissolution, in 1815, it fell to theRussian Partition of Poland. On 22–23 January 1863 it was the site of theBattle of Szydłowiec between Polish insurgents and Russian troops during theJanuary Uprising. AfterWorld War I, in 1918, Poland regained independence and control of the town.[citation needed]
Following the joint German-Sovietinvasion of Poland, which startedWorld War II in September 1939, the town wasoccupied by Germany until 1945. The occupiers carried out deportations ofJews toforced labour, and eventually the local Jewish community was destroyed by the Germans inthe Holocaust.[3] Polish villagers and military took advantage of the disorder to plunder the belongings of the Jews in Szydłowiec.[3] There are known cases of local Poles who were arrested and sent toconcentration camps by the Germans for producing and giving false identity cards to Jews tosave them from the Holocaust.[4] Also Jews escaping fromKozienice were directed to Szydłowiec in order to get help from local Poles.[5]
At one point it had a population that was of a Jewish majority. It was home to Grand RabbiNatan David Rabinowitz (d. 1865), the grandson of Grand RabbiYaakov Yitzchak Rabinowicz ofPeshischa, and the father of theBiala Hasidic dynasty.[citation needed]
It was administratively located in theRadom Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998.[citation needed]
The localfootball team isSzydłowianka Szydłowiec [pl]. It competes in the lower leagues.
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