Lesko
Encyclopedia
Lesko '; is a town
in south-eastern Poland
with a population of 5,755 (02.06.2009). situated in the Bieszczady
mountains. It is located in the heartland of the Doły (Pits), and its average altitude is 390 metres (1,280 ft) above sea level
, although there are some hills located within the confines of the city. Since 2002 it has been the capital of Lesko County
.
Lesko is situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship
(since 1999); previously it was in Krosno Voivodeship
(1975–1998).
.
In 1772, following the First Partition of Poland
, the town was located in the Austrian Empire
(from 1867 Austria-Hungary
) until Poland regained its independence in 1918.
In 1872 a railway line passing just 3 km north of the town was built.
In 1890 the Jewish population of Lesko was 2,425.
In September 1939, following the territorial division of Poland by the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, the border between German and Soviet occupation zones ran along the river San in the area of Lesko. Thus the town ended up in the Soviet zone, as it was located on the eastern bank of the river. In 1940-1941, as part of the construction of the Molotov Line
along the new border, the Soviets constructed a line of bunkers along the river to defend the river crossings, some of them right in the town. During Operation Barbarossa
the Germans destroyed the bunkers in the initial days of their invasion (their ruins exist to this day). The town was liberated from the Germans by the Red Army in September, 1944. In 1945 the border between Poland and the Soviet Union was moved somewhat eastwards from the San river, so Lesko ended up in Poland following the postwar territorial rearrangements. Nevertheless it remained very close to the Soviet border until the 1951 Polish–Soviet territorial exchange which moved the border further eastward.
During the war, after the town was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1941, its Jewish community (about 60% of the town's population) perished in the Holocaust.
In the immediate postwar years the area was the scene of the fighting between Polish military forces and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. The fighting ended after the Ukrainian population was expelled in the course of Operation Vistula in 1947. The city and its economy only started to recover in the 1950s, after a government program encouraging people from other areas of Poland to settle there.
Currently Lesko is a gateway to the Bieszczady Mountains. The city has numerous outdoor recreational clubs.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in south-eastern Poland
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...
with a population of 5,755 (02.06.2009). situated in the Bieszczady
Bieszczady Mountains
Bieszczady is the Polish name for a mountain range in the extreme south-east of Poland, extending into Ukraine and Slovakia...
mountains. It is located in the heartland of the Doły (Pits), and its average altitude is 390 metres (1,280 ft) above sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
, although there are some hills located within the confines of the city. Since 2002 it has been the capital of Lesko County
Lesko County
Lesko County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, south-eastern Poland, on the Slovak border. It was created in 2002 out of five gminas which previously made up the western part of Bieszczady County...
.
Lesko is situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship
Subcarpathian Voivodeship
Podkarpackie Voivodeship , or Subcarpathian Voivodeship, is a voivodeship, or province, in extreme-southeastern Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów...
(since 1999); previously it was in Krosno Voivodeship
Krosno Voivodeship
Krosno Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in years 1975–1998, superseded by Subcarpathian Voivodeship . Its capital city was Krosno....
(1975–1998).
History
Lesko was probably founded in the fourteenth century; records first mention it in 1436. It was granted its town charter in approximately 1469, when it was owned by the Kmita family. In the seventeenth century, the town was quite an important centre of trade and craftsmanship, with approximately 1,500 inhabitants. Its heyday ended in 1704, when it was looted by the Swedish troops during the Great Northern WarGreat Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
.
In 1772, following the First Partition of Poland
First Partition of Poland
The First Partition of Poland or First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. Growth in the Russian Empire's power, threatening the Kingdom of Prussia and the...
, the town was located in the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
(from 1867 Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
) until Poland regained its independence in 1918.
In 1872 a railway line passing just 3 km north of the town was built.
In 1890 the Jewish population of Lesko was 2,425.
In September 1939, following the territorial division of Poland by the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, the border between German and Soviet occupation zones ran along the river San in the area of Lesko. Thus the town ended up in the Soviet zone, as it was located on the eastern bank of the river. In 1940-1941, as part of the construction of the Molotov Line
Molotov Line
The so-called Molotov Line was a system of border fortifications built by the Soviet Union in the years 1940–1941 along its new western borders. These borders where the result of the Occupation of the Baltic States, Eastern Poland and Bessarabia in 1940....
along the new border, the Soviets constructed a line of bunkers along the river to defend the river crossings, some of them right in the town. During Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
the Germans destroyed the bunkers in the initial days of their invasion (their ruins exist to this day). The town was liberated from the Germans by the Red Army in September, 1944. In 1945 the border between Poland and the Soviet Union was moved somewhat eastwards from the San river, so Lesko ended up in Poland following the postwar territorial rearrangements. Nevertheless it remained very close to the Soviet border until the 1951 Polish–Soviet territorial exchange which moved the border further eastward.
During the war, after the town was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1941, its Jewish community (about 60% of the town's population) perished in the Holocaust.
In the immediate postwar years the area was the scene of the fighting between Polish military forces and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. The fighting ended after the Ukrainian population was expelled in the course of Operation Vistula in 1947. The city and its economy only started to recover in the 1950s, after a government program encouraging people from other areas of Poland to settle there.
Currently Lesko is a gateway to the Bieszczady Mountains. The city has numerous outdoor recreational clubs.
Sites of interest
- Parish Church of the Visitation of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary (Kościół parafialny pw. Nawiedzenia Najświętszej Maryi Panny) - built in 1539 by Piotr Kmita SobieńskiPiotr Kmita SobieńskiPiotr Kmita Sobieński, Piotr Kmita Sobiński of the Kmita noble family, Count of Wiśnicz, Szreniawa, Piotr Kmita Sobieński, Piotr Kmita Sobiński of the Kmita (Kmitowie) noble family, Count of Wiśnicz, Szreniawa, Piotr Kmita Sobieński, Piotr Kmita Sobiński of the Kmita (Kmitowie) noble family,...
of the Kmita (Kmitowie) noble family that dominated the area. Built in the late gothicGothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style, from stone and brick. Damaged by a Swedish attack during the Deluge, reconstructed. A BaroqueBaroqueThe Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
interior from 1759 has survived. Reconstructed again in 1889, with a neogothic tower added. Next to the church a Baroque bell tower built in 1725-1764. Franciszek Pułaski (died 1769), cousin of general Kazimierz Pułaski, is buried in the church. - Castle of the Kmita family, built in the sixteenth century, then reconstructed, partially destroyed and rebuilt. At one time, it was the home of the Polish poet Wincenty PolWincenty PolWincenty Pol was a Polish poet and geographer.-Life:Pol was born in Lublin , to Franz Pohl , a German in the Austrian service, and his wife Eleonora Longchamps de Berier, from a French family living in Poland. Pol fought in the Polish army in the November 1830 Uprising and participated in the 1848...
. It now houses many works of notable European painters and writers. - Lesko SynagogueLesko SynagogueLesko Synagogue is a synagogue in Lesko, Poland. The synagogue had functioned as a place of worship until World War II.-History:The synagogue was built during the years 1626-1654. During the Second World War the interior was devastated by the Germans. For almost two decades after the war, it was...
- built in the first half of the 17th century, to replace an older wooden building. Its interior was destroyed during World War II by the Nazis. After the war, with no Jewish community left in Lesko, it fell into ruin. Gradually restored from 1960s onwards, it currently houses an art gallery. - Kirkut (Jewish cemetery), with graves dating back to the sixteenth century. One of Poland's oldest Jewish cemeteries, it contains over 2,000 headstones.
- Town Hall building, which dates back to 1896.
- Lesko StoneLesko StoneThe Lesko Stone is a distinctive rock formation in the forest near the city of Lesko in the Bieszczady Mountains in Poland. It is most likely a result of glacial movements in the area and the whole formation is believed to have been carried to the present site by a glacier. The stone is over tall...
, a popular geological formation.
People
- Franciszek Ksawery Abancourt - writer, scientist
- Janusz Gołda - novelist, publicist
- Korneliusz Pacuda - musician, Honorary Citizen
- Franciszek Pułaski, cavalry captain, cousin of general Kazimierz Pułaski, died in Lesko
Hiking trails
- European walking route E8European walking route E8The E8 European long distance path or E8 path is one of the European long-distance paths, leading 4700km across Europe, from Cork in Ireland to Istanbul in Turkey....
Literature
- Prof. Adam FastnachtAdam FastnachtAdam Fastnacht doctor hab., historian, editor . He was a distinguished a Polish historian, researcher of the history of the town and the district of Sanok Land, one of the most renowned Polish historians of his time. Adam Fastnacht was born 1913, in Sanok to a German family who setteled in the east...
. Slownik Historyczno-Geograficzny Ziemi Sanockiej w Średniowieczu (Historic-Geographic Dictionary of the Sanok District in the Middle Ages), Kraków, 2002, ISBN 83-88385-14-3.