Kazimierz Dolny
Encyclopedia
Kazimierz Dolny k is a small town in Central Poland
, on the right (eastern) bank of the Vistula
river in Puławy County, Lublin Province
.
It is a considerable tourist attraction as one of the most beautifully situated little towns in Poland. It 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 its Renaissance
urban plan and appearance. Since the 19th century it has become a popular 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, and fine-art paintings. In the market, folk art is for sale at unbeatable prices
When John 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 the Hasidic dynasty of Kuzmir
in the town.
Between the First and Second World Wars, the Jewish population was about 1,400, half the total population of the town.
During the Holocaust era, a Judenrat
was established in the town, where the Nazi Germans forced the town's Jews to perform forced labor and to pave roads using tombstones from the local Jewish cemetery. After the Holocaust, a memorial wall was erected using the pieces that survived. In 1940, the Nazis established a ghetto
, bringing all the Jews from the surrounding Puławy County to live in the ghetto. In 1942, the Jews that survived the starvation, disease and slave labor were taken to Belzec
to be "exterminated". At the end of 1942, the town was officially declared "free of Jews".
One of the most famous Jewish residents of the town was the painter and sculptor Chaim Goldberg
. Another was the noted journalist S. L. Shneiderman, who wrote about Kazimierz Dolny in his book The River Remembers.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, on the right (eastern) bank of the Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
river in Puławy County, Lublin Province
Lublin Voivodeship
- Administrative division :Lublin Voivodeship is divided into 24 counties : 4 city counties and 20 land counties. These are further divided into 213 gminas....
.
It is a considerable tourist attraction as one of the most beautifully situated little towns in Poland. It 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 its Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
urban plan and appearance. Since the 19th century it has become a popular 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, and fine-art paintings. In the market, folk art is for sale at unbeatable prices
Jewish life
A small Jewish community was present in the city from the time of Casimir 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.When John III Sobieski
John III Sobieski
John III Sobieski was one of the most notable monarchs of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, from 1674 until his death King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Sobieski's 22-year-reign was marked by a period of the Commonwealth's stabilization, much needed after the turmoil of the Deluge and...
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"
Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin
Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin, also Jacob Isaac of Lublin, or Y. Y. Horowitz , known as "The Chozeh of Lublin" , or simply as the "Chozeh", was a Hasidic rebbe from Poland....
, founded the Hasidic dynasty of Kuzmir
Kuzmir (Hasidic dynasty)
Kuzmir is the name of a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rebbe Yechezkel Taub. Kuzmir is the Yiddish name of Kazimierz Dolny, a town in present-day Poland....
in the town.
Between the First and Second World Wars, the Jewish population was about 1,400, half the total population of the town.
During the Holocaust era, a Judenrat
Judenrat
Judenräte were administrative bodies during the Second World War that the Germans required Jews to form in the German occupied territory of Poland, and later in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union It is the overall term for the enforcement bodies established by the Nazi occupiers to...
was established in the town, where the Nazi Germans forced the town's Jews to perform forced labor and to pave roads using tombstones from the local Jewish cemetery. After the Holocaust, a memorial wall was erected using the pieces that survived. In 1940, the Nazis established a ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
, bringing all the Jews from the surrounding Puławy County to live in the ghetto. In 1942, the Jews that survived the starvation, disease and slave labor were taken to Belzec
Belzec extermination camp
Belzec, Polish spelling Bełżec , was the first of the Nazi German extermination camps created for implementing Operation Reinhard during the Holocaust...
to be "exterminated". At the end of 1942, the town was officially declared "free of Jews".
One of the most famous Jewish residents of the town was the painter and sculptor Chaim Goldberg
Chaim Goldberg
Chaim Goldberg was a Jewish artist, painter, sculptor, and engraver. He is best known for being a chronicler of Jewish life in the small Polish village where he was born, Kazimierz Dolny in eastern Poland; and as a painter of Holocaust era art.-Early life:Chaim Goldberg grew up in Kazimierz-Dolny...
. Another was the noted journalist S. L. Shneiderman, who wrote about Kazimierz Dolny in his book The River Remembers.
External links
- Information from About.com: Eastern Europe Travel
- Picture of the Holocaust memorial wall
- Pictures of the town from the site of Yad VashemYad VashemYad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
, the Jewish Holocaust memorial organization - Home page for noted journalist, S. L. Shneiderman