Przemysl
Encyclopedia
Przemyśl is a city in south-eastern Poland
with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship
.
Przemyśl owes its long and rich history to the advantages of its geographic location. The city lies in the Przemyśl Gate, an area connecting mountains and lowlands, with open lines of communication, and fertile soil. It also lies on the navigable San River
. Important trade routes passed through Przemyśl and ensured the city's importance.
(Pshemishl);;; (Peremyshl); (Peremyshl); (Pshemishl).
), appears to date from as early as the 8th century. The region subsequently became part of the 9th-century Great Moravia
n state. Archeological remains testify to the presence of a monastic settlement as early as the 9th century. Upon the invasion of the Hungarian tribes into the heart of the Great Moravian Empire around 899, the Lendians
of the area declared allegiance to the Hungarian authorities. The Przemyśl region then became a site of contention between Poland, Kievan Rus and Hungary
beginning in at least the 9th century. The area was mentioned for the first time in 981 by Nestor
, when Vladimir I
of Kievan Rus took it over on the way into Poland. In 1018 Przemyśl returned to Poland, and in 1031 it was retaken by Rus. Between the 11th and 12th century the city was a capital of the Principality of Peremyshl
, one of the principalities that made up the Kievan Rus'
state. Sometime before 1218 an Eastern Orthodox eparchy
was founded in the city.
Przemyśl later became part of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia.
and became part of the Polish kingdom. Around this time the first Roman Catholic diocese was founded in the city, and Przemyśl was granted city rights based on Magdeburg law, confirmed in 1389 by king Władysław II Jagiełło. During the 13th - 15th century the Hungarian Royal House of Aba made the city and the area their place of influence.
The city prospered as an important trade centre during the Renaissance
period. Like nearby Lviv
(Lwów in Polish), the city's population consisted of a great number of nationalities, including Ukrainians
, Poles
, Jews, Germans, Czechs, Armenians
and Lipka Tatars
. The long period of prosperity enabled the construction of such handsome public buildings as the Old Synagogue
of 1559. A Jesuit college was founded in the city in 1617. The prosperity came to an end in the middle of the 17th century, due to wartime destruction during The Deluge
and the general decline of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
at this time. The city decline lasted for over a hundred years, and only at the end of the 18th century did it recover its former levels of population. In 1754, the Roman Catholic bishop founded Przemyśl's first public library, which was only the second public library in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
(Warsaw's Załuski Library was founded 7 years earlier). Przemyśl's importance at that time was such that when Austria annexed eastern Galicia in 1772
the Austrians considered making Przemyśl their provincial capital, before deciding on Lviv
.
, Przemyśl became part of the Austrian empire
, in what the Austrians called the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
. According to the Austrian census of 1830, the city was home to 7,538 people of whom 1,508 were members of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
, a significantly larger number of Ukrainians than in most Galician cities. In 1804 a Ruthenian (Ukrainian) library was established in Przemyśl. By 1822 its collection had over 33,000 books and its importance for Ukrainians was comparable to that held by the Ossolineum
library in Lviv for Poles. Przemyśl also became the center of the revival of Byzantine choral music in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
. Until eclipsed by Lviv in the 1830s, Przemyśl was the most important city in the Ruthenian/Ukrainian cultural awakening in the nineteenth century.
In 1861 railways were built to connect Przemyśl with Kraków to the west and Lwów (Lemberg) to the east. In the middle of the 19th century, due to the growing conflict between Austria
and Russia over the Balkans
, Austria grew more mindful of Przemyśl's strategic location near the border with the Russian Empire
. During the Crimean War
, when tensions mounted between Russia and Austria
, a series of massive fortresses, 15 km in circumference, were built around the city by the Austrians.
during the second half of the 19th century, the old fortifications rapidly became obsolete. The longer range of rifled artillery necessitated the redesign of fortresses so that they would be larger and able to resist the newly available guns. To achieve this, between the years 1888 and 1914 Przemyśl was turned into a first class fortress, the third largest in Europe out of about 200 that were built in this period. Around the city, in a circle of circumference 45 km, 44 forts of various sizes were built. The older fortifications were modernised to provide the fortress with an internal defence ring. The fortress was designed to accommodate 85,000 soldiers and 956 cannon
s of all sorts, although eventually 120,000 soldiers were garrisoned there.
In August 1914, at the start of the First World War
, Russian forces defeated Austro-Hungarian
forces in the opening engagements and advanced rapidly into Galicia. The Przemyśl fortress fulfilled its mission very effectively, helping to stop a 300,000 strong Russian army advancing upon the Carpathian
Passes and Kraków, the Lesser Poland
regional capital. The first siege
was lifted by a temporary Austro-Hungarian advance. However, the Russian army resumed its advance and initiated a second siege of the fortress of Przemyśl
in October, 1914. This time relief attempts were unsuccessful. Due to lack of food and exhaustion of its defenders, the fortress surrendered on March 22, 1915. The Russians captured 126,000 prisoners and 700 big guns. Before surrender, the complete destruction of all fortifications was carried out. The Russians did not linger in Przemyśl. A renewed offensive by the Central Powers
recaptured the destroyed fortress on June 3, 1915. During the fighting around Przemyśl, both sides lost up to 115,000 killed, wounded, and missing.
After the Polish-Bolshevik War, the town became a part of new Second Polish Republic
. Although the capital of the voivodship was Lwów (see: Lwów Voivodeship
), Przemyśl recovered its nodal position as a seat of local church administration, as well as the garrison of the 10th Corps of the Polish Army - a staff unit charged with organising the defence of roughly 10% of Poland. As of 1931 the town had a population of 62,272.
and the Soviet Union
, the border between the two invaders ran through the middle of the city along the San river
until June, 1941. The town's population increased due to a large influx of Jewish refugees from the General Government
who sought to cross the border into the Soviet Union. It is estimated that by mid-1941 the Jewish population of the city had grown to roughly 16,500. In the German invasion of the USSR
in 1941, the eastern (Soviet) part of the city was also occupied by Germany. On June 20, 1942, the first group of 1,000 Jews was transported from the Przemyśl area to the concentration camp at Janów
and on July 15 a ghetto
was established for all Jewish inhabitants of Przemyśl and its vicinity - some 22,000 people altogether. Jewish communal buildings, including the Tempel Synagogue
and the Old Synagogue
were destroyed; the New Synagogue
, Zasanie Synagogue
, and all commercial and residential real estate belonging to Jews were confiscated.
The ghetto in Przemyśl was sealed on July 14, 1942. Local Jews were given 24 hours to enter the Ghetto. By the next day, there may have been as many as 24,000 Jews in the ghetto. On July 27, the Gestapo
notified the Judenrat
and posted notices that an "Aktion" (forced resettlement) was to be implemented, and that it would include almost all occupants. Exceptions were made for some essential, and Gestapo workers who would have their papers stamped accordingly. The extermination of Jews started soon thereafter. Until September 1943 almost all Jews were sent to the Auschwitz or Belzec
extermination camps. The local branches of the Polish underground and the Żegota
managed to save 415 Jews. According to a postwar investigation in German archives, 568 Poles were executed by the Germans for helping the Jews in the area of Przemyśl.
The Red Army
retook the town from German forces on July 27, 1944.
Holocaust and the postwar expulsion of Ukrainians (in 1947's Operation Vistula or akcja Wisla), the city's population (after the loss of the two other ethnic groups, now overwhelmingly Polish) fell to a 24,000, almost entirely Polish. However, the city welcomed thousands of Polish migrants from Eastern Galicia. Their numbers restored the population to its prewar level.
As a result of all these events, the growth of the city in the years after 1945 was stunted. In the 1990s, economic reforms in Ukraine
after the fall of the Soviet Union allowed the border to be opened, improving the city's opportunities for trade.
elected from Krosno/Przemyśl constituency
with:
Eger
, Hungary
South Kesteven
, United Kingdom
Paderborn
, Germany
Lviv
, Ukraine
Truskavets
, Ukraine Kamyanets-Podilskyi, Ukraine
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 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship
Przemysl Voivodeship
Przemyśl Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by the Podkarpackie Voivodeship. Its capital city was Przemyśl.-See also:* Voivodeships of Poland...
.
Przemyśl owes its long and rich history to the advantages of its geographic location. The city lies in the Przemyśl Gate, an area connecting mountains and lowlands, with open lines of communication, and fertile soil. It also lies on the navigable San River
San River
The San is a river in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine, a tributary of the Vistula River, with a length of 433 km and a basin area of 16,861 km2...
. Important trade routes passed through Przemyśl and ensured the city's importance.
Names
Historically, several names in various languages have identified the city. Some are still in use today.(Pshemishl);;; (Peremyshl); (Peremyshl); (Pshemishl).
Early history
Przemyśl, the second-oldest city in southern Poland (after KrakówKraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
), appears to date from as early as the 8th century. The region subsequently became part of the 9th-century Great Moravia
Great Moravia
Great Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe and lasted for nearly seventy years in the 9th century whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. It was a vassal state of the Germanic Frankish kingdom and paid an annual tribute to it. There is some controversy as...
n state. Archeological remains testify to the presence of a monastic settlement as early as the 9th century. Upon the invasion of the Hungarian tribes into the heart of the Great Moravian Empire around 899, the Lendians
Lendians
The Lendians were a Lechitic eastern Wends tribe recorded to have inhabited the ill-defined area in East Lesser Poland and Cherven Towns between the 7th and 11th centuries....
of the area declared allegiance to the Hungarian authorities. The Przemyśl region then became a site of contention between Poland, Kievan Rus and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
beginning in at least the 9th century. The area was mentioned for the first time in 981 by Nestor
Nestor the Chronicler
Saint Nestor the Chronicler was the reputed author of the Primary Chronicle, , Life of the Venerable Theodosius of the Kiev Caves, Life of the Holy Passion Bearers, Boris and Gleb, and of the so-called Reading.Nestor was a monk of the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev from 1073...
, when Vladimir I
Vladimir I of Kiev
Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, , Vladimir, , Volodymyr, was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in .Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty...
of Kievan Rus took it over on the way into Poland. In 1018 Przemyśl returned to Poland, and in 1031 it was retaken by Rus. Between the 11th and 12th century the city was a capital of the Principality of Peremyshl
Principality of Peremyshl
The Principality of Peremyshl was a medieval petty principality centred on Peremyshl in the Cherven lands .-First mentioning:...
, one of the principalities that made up the Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
state. Sometime before 1218 an Eastern Orthodox eparchy
Eparchy
Eparchy is an anglicized Greek word , authentically Latinized as eparchia and loosely translating as 'rule over something,' like province, prefecture, or territory, to have the jurisdiction over, it has specific meanings both in politics, history and in the hierarchy of the Eastern Christian...
was founded in the city.
Przemyśl later became part of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia.
Within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
In 1340 Przemyśl was taken by Casimir III of PolandCasimir III of Poland
Casimir III the Great , last King of Poland from the Piast dynasty , was the son of King Władysław I the Elbow-high and Hedwig of Kalisz.-Biography:...
and became part of the Polish kingdom. Around this time the first Roman Catholic diocese was founded in the city, and Przemyśl was granted city rights based on Magdeburg law, confirmed in 1389 by king Władysław II Jagiełło. During the 13th - 15th century the Hungarian Royal House of Aba made the city and the area their place of influence.
The city prospered as an important trade centre during the 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...
period. Like nearby Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
(Lwów in Polish), the city's population consisted of a great number of nationalities, including Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
, Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
, Jews, Germans, Czechs, Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
and Lipka Tatars
Lipka Tatars
The Lipka Tatars are a group of Tatars who originally settled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the beginning of 14th century. The first settlers tried to preserve their shamanistic religion and sought asylum amongst the non-Christian Lithuanians...
. The long period of prosperity enabled the construction of such handsome public buildings as the Old Synagogue
Old Synagogue (Przemysl)
The Old Synagogue, , was a large structure in Przemyśl, Poland. It was completed in 1594. It was damaged in 1939 when the Germans were retreating from the eastern bank of the San River and destroyed by the Nazis in 1941....
of 1559. A Jesuit college was founded in the city in 1617. The prosperity came to an end in the middle of the 17th century, due to wartime destruction during The Deluge
The Deluge (Polish history)
The term Deluge denotes a series of mid-17th century 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, thus comprising the Polish–Lithuanian theaters of the Russo-Polish and...
and the general decline of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
at this time. The city decline lasted for over a hundred years, and only at the end of the 18th century did it recover its former levels of population. In 1754, the Roman Catholic bishop founded Przemyśl's first public library, which was only the second public library in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
(Warsaw's Załuski Library was founded 7 years earlier). Przemyśl's importance at that time was such that when Austria annexed eastern Galicia in 1772
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 Austrians considered making Przemyśl their provincial capital, before deciding on Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
.
As part of Austria
In 1772, as a consequence of the First Partition of PolandPartitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
, Przemyśl became part of the Austrian empire
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, in what the Austrians called the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria was a crownland of the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire, and Austria–Hungary from 1772 to 1918 .This historical region in eastern Central Europe is currently divided between Poland and Ukraine...
. According to the Austrian census of 1830, the city was home to 7,538 people of whom 1,508 were members of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , Ukrainska Hreko-Katolytska Tserkva), is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with the Holy See, and is directly subject to the Pope...
, a significantly larger number of Ukrainians than in most Galician cities. In 1804 a Ruthenian (Ukrainian) library was established in Przemyśl. By 1822 its collection had over 33,000 books and its importance for Ukrainians was comparable to that held by the Ossolineum
Ossolineum
The Ossolineum or Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich a meritorious department for Polish science and culture , which was founded for the Polish Nation in 1817 by Józef Maksymilian Ossoliński, and was opened in 1827 in Lviv.It was one of the most important Polish...
library in Lviv for Poles. Przemyśl also became the center of the revival of Byzantine choral music in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , Ukrainska Hreko-Katolytska Tserkva), is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with the Holy See, and is directly subject to the Pope...
. Until eclipsed by Lviv in the 1830s, Przemyśl was the most important city in the Ruthenian/Ukrainian cultural awakening in the nineteenth century.
In 1861 railways were built to connect Przemyśl with Kraków to the west and Lwów (Lemberg) to the east. In the middle of the 19th century, due to the growing conflict between Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Russia over the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, Austria grew more mindful of Przemyśl's strategic location near the border with the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. During the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, when tensions mounted between Russia and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, a series of massive fortresses, 15 km in circumference, were built around the city by the Austrians.
Przemyśl Fortress
With technological progress in artilleryArtillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
during the second half of the 19th century, the old fortifications rapidly became obsolete. The longer range of rifled artillery necessitated the redesign of fortresses so that they would be larger and able to resist the newly available guns. To achieve this, between the years 1888 and 1914 Przemyśl was turned into a first class fortress, the third largest in Europe out of about 200 that were built in this period. Around the city, in a circle of circumference 45 km, 44 forts of various sizes were built. The older fortifications were modernised to provide the fortress with an internal defence ring. The fortress was designed to accommodate 85,000 soldiers and 956 cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s of all sorts, although eventually 120,000 soldiers were garrisoned there.
In August 1914, at the start of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Russian forces defeated Austro-Hungarian
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...
forces in the opening engagements and advanced rapidly into Galicia. The Przemyśl fortress fulfilled its mission very effectively, helping to stop a 300,000 strong Russian army advancing upon the Carpathian
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
Passes and Kraków, the Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland is one of the historical regions of Poland, with its capital in the city of Kraków. It forms the southeastern corner of the country, and should not be confused with the modern Lesser Poland Voivodeship, which covers only a small, southern part of Lesser Poland...
regional capital. The first siege
Siege of Przemysl
The Siege of Przemyśl was one of the greatest sieges of the First World War, and a crushing defeat for Austria-Hungary. The investment of Przemyśl began on September 24, 1914 and was briefly suspended on October 11 due to an Austro-Hungarian offensive...
was lifted by a temporary Austro-Hungarian advance. However, the Russian army resumed its advance and initiated a second siege of the fortress of Przemyśl
Siege of Przemysl
The Siege of Przemyśl was one of the greatest sieges of the First World War, and a crushing defeat for Austria-Hungary. The investment of Przemyśl began on September 24, 1914 and was briefly suspended on October 11 due to an Austro-Hungarian offensive...
in October, 1914. This time relief attempts were unsuccessful. Due to lack of food and exhaustion of its defenders, the fortress surrendered on March 22, 1915. The Russians captured 126,000 prisoners and 700 big guns. Before surrender, the complete destruction of all fortifications was carried out. The Russians did not linger in Przemyśl. A renewed offensive by the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
recaptured the destroyed fortress on June 3, 1915. During the fighting around Przemyśl, both sides lost up to 115,000 killed, wounded, and missing.
After World War I
At the end of World War I, Przemyśl became disputed between renascent Poland and the West Ukrainian People's Republic. On November 1, 1918, a local provisional government was formed of representatives of Polish, Jewish, and Ukrainian inhabitants of the area. However, on November 3 a Ukrainian army overthrew the government, arrested its leader, and captured the eastern part of the city. The Ukrainian army was checked by a small Polish self-defence unit formed of World War I veterans and Orlęta, an organisation of young volunteers from Przemyśl high schools. The battlefront divided the town, with the western borough of Zasanie in Polish hands. Since neither side could cross the San River, both opposing forces awaited relief from the outside. That race was won by the Polish relievers: the volunteer expeditionary unit formed in Kraków arrived in Przemyśl on November 10. When the Polish ultimatum to the Ukrainians remained unanswered, on November 11 and November 12 the Polish forces crossed the San and expelled the outnumbered Ukrainian army in what became known as the Battle of Przemyśl.After the Polish-Bolshevik War, the town became a part of new Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
. Although the capital of the voivodship was Lwów (see: Lwów Voivodeship
Lwów Voivodeship
Lwów Voivodeship was an administrative unit of interwar Poland . According to Nazis and Soviets it ceased to exist in September 1939, following German and Soviet aggression on Poland . The Polish underground administration existed till August 1944.-Population:Its capital, biggest and most...
), Przemyśl recovered its nodal position as a seat of local church administration, as well as the garrison of the 10th Corps of the Polish Army - a staff unit charged with organising the defence of roughly 10% of Poland. As of 1931 the town had a population of 62,272.
Second World War
After the invasion of Poland by Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the border between the two invaders ran through the middle of the city along the San river
San River
The San is a river in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine, a tributary of the Vistula River, with a length of 433 km and a basin area of 16,861 km2...
until June, 1941. The town's population increased due to a large influx of Jewish refugees from the General Government
General Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
who sought to cross the border into the Soviet Union. It is estimated that by mid-1941 the Jewish population of the city had grown to roughly 16,500. In the German invasion of the USSR
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...
in 1941, the eastern (Soviet) part of the city was also occupied by Germany. On June 20, 1942, the first group of 1,000 Jews was transported from the Przemyśl area to the concentration camp at Janów
Janów
Janów is a very common placenames in Poland. It may refer to:* Janów Lubelski - town in Poland* Janów Poleski - the Polish name for Ivanava, a town in Belarus...
and on July 15 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...
was established for all Jewish inhabitants of Przemyśl and its vicinity - some 22,000 people altogether. Jewish communal buildings, including the Tempel Synagogue
Tempel Synagogue (Przemysl)
The Tempel Synagogue was a reform Jewish synagogue in Przemyśl, Poland. The name Tempel was widely bestowed on Reform synagogues in Poland.-History:...
and the Old Synagogue
Old Synagogue (Przemysl)
The Old Synagogue, , was a large structure in Przemyśl, Poland. It was completed in 1594. It was damaged in 1939 when the Germans were retreating from the eastern bank of the San River and destroyed by the Nazis in 1941....
were destroyed; the New Synagogue
New Synagogue (Przemysl)
The Przemyśl New Synagogue, also known as the Scheinbach Synagogue was an orthodox synagogue in Przemyśl, Poland. Since World War II, the synagogue, which is still standing, has been used as the Ignacy Krasicki Przemyśl Public Library....
, Zasanie Synagogue
Zasanie Synagogue
Zasanie Synagogue, , located in Przemyśl, Poland, was the only synagogue in Przemyśl built on the western bank of the San River. It served as a house of prayer for 30 years until the Second World War. Today it is one of the two remaining synagogue buildings in Przemyśl...
, and all commercial and residential real estate belonging to Jews were confiscated.
The ghetto in Przemyśl was sealed on July 14, 1942. Local Jews were given 24 hours to enter the Ghetto. By the next day, there may have been as many as 24,000 Jews in the ghetto. On July 27, the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
notified the 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...
and posted notices that an "Aktion" (forced resettlement) was to be implemented, and that it would include almost all occupants. Exceptions were made for some essential, and Gestapo workers who would have their papers stamped accordingly. The extermination of Jews started soon thereafter. Until September 1943 almost all Jews were sent to the Auschwitz or 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...
extermination camps. The local branches of the Polish underground and the Żegota
Zegota
"Żegota" , also known as the "Konrad Żegota Committee", was a codename for the Polish Council to Aid Jews , an underground organization of Polish resistance in German-occupied Poland from 1942 to 1945....
managed to save 415 Jews. According to a postwar investigation in German archives, 568 Poles were executed by the Germans for helping the Jews in the area of Przemyśl.
The Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
retook the town from German forces on July 27, 1944.
After the war
In the postwar territorial settlement, the new border between Poland and the Soviet Union placed Przemyśl just within the Polish People's Republic. The border now ran only a few kilometers to the east of the city, cutting it off from much of its economic hinterland. Due to the murder of Jews in the NaziNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
Holocaust and the postwar expulsion of Ukrainians (in 1947's Operation Vistula or akcja Wisla), the city's population (after the loss of the two other ethnic groups, now overwhelmingly Polish) fell to a 24,000, almost entirely Polish. However, the city welcomed thousands of Polish migrants from Eastern Galicia. Their numbers restored the population to its prewar level.
As a result of all these events, the growth of the city in the years after 1945 was stunted. In the 1990s, economic reforms in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
after the fall of the Soviet Union allowed the border to be opened, improving the city's opportunities for trade.
Climate
Main sights
Due to long and rich history of the city, there are many sights in and around Przemyśl, of special interest to tourists, including the Old Town with Rynek, the main market square. Among the historic buildings and museums, opened to visitors, are:- Muzeum Narodowe (the National Museum) - this has a splendid collection of icons, second only to the one in SanokSanokSanok is a town in south-eastern Poland with 39,110 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. It's the capital of Sanok County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. Previously, it was in the Krosno Voivodeship and in the Ruthenian Voivodeship , which was part of the Lesser Poland province...
. It is free on Wednesdays. - Muzeum Dzwonów i Fajek (the Museum of Bells and Pipes) - free on Wednesdays.
- Muzeum Diecezjalne (the Diocesan museum)
- Reformed Franciscan church and monastery, founded in 1627
- Franciscan Church, from mid 18th-century in 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...
style - Uniate CathedralUniate Cathedral (Przemysl)The Greek Catholic Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Przemyśl serves as the mother church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Peremyshl-Warsaw. It is located at the Ulica Katedralna in Przemyśl, in southern Poland....
, former 17th-century Jesuit church, now a Uniate cathedral with a nice iconostasisIconostasisIn Eastern Christianity an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church... - Carmelite ChurchCarmelite Church (Przemysl)The Carmelite Church of St. Theresa in Przemyśl is a late-Renaissance church in the city of Przemyśl, in the Subcarpathian Voivodship in southern Poland....
, 17th century late-Renaissance church - The Cathedral
- Castle, built by Casimir III the GreatCasimir III of PolandCasimir III the Great , last King of Poland from the Piast dynasty , was the son of King Władysław I the Elbow-high and Hedwig of Kalisz.-Biography:...
in the 14th century. - Zasanie SynagogueZasanie SynagogueZasanie Synagogue, , located in Przemyśl, Poland, was the only synagogue in Przemyśl built on the western bank of the San River. It served as a house of prayer for 30 years until the Second World War. Today it is one of the two remaining synagogue buildings in Przemyśl...
- New Synagogue (Przemyśl)New Synagogue (Przemysl)The Przemyśl New Synagogue, also known as the Scheinbach Synagogue was an orthodox synagogue in Przemyśl, Poland. Since World War II, the synagogue, which is still standing, has been used as the Ignacy Krasicki Przemyśl Public Library....
- Lubomirski Palace, an eclectic style palace of the Lubomirski family constructed in 1885.
- Kopiec Tatarski - a mound to the south of the city where a 16th century Tatar khanKhan (title)Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
was supposedly buried. - WWI cemeteries (Cmentarz Wojskowy)
Education
- Wyższa Szkoła Administracji i Zarządzania
- Wydział zamiejscowy w Rzeszowie
- Wyższa Szkoła Gospodarcza
- Wyższa Szkoła Informatyki i Zarządzania
- Nauczycielskie Kolegium Języków Obcych
- Nauczycielskie Kolegium Języka Polskiego
Krosno/Przemyśl constituency
Members of SejmSejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
elected from Krosno/Przemyśl constituency
- Andrzej Ćwierz, Law and JusticeLaw and JusticeLaw and Justice , abbreviated to PiS, is a right-wing, conservative political party in Poland. With 147 seats in the Sejm and 38 in the Senate, it is the second-largest party in the Polish parliament....
- Marian Józef Daszyk, League of Polish FamiliesLeague of Polish FamiliesThe League of Polish Families is a right-wing political party in Poland. It was represented in the Polish parliament, forming part of the cabinet of Jarosław Kaczyński, until the latter dissolved in September 2007....
- Mieczysław Golba, Law and Justice
- Mieczysław Kasprzak, PSL
- Janusz Adam Kołodziej, Polish Families League
- Marek Kuchciński, Law and Justice
- Tomasz Kulesza, Civic PlatformCivic PlatformCivic Platform , abbreviated to PO, is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Poland. It has been the major coalition partner in Poland's government since the 2007 general election, with party leader Donald Tusk as Prime Minister of Poland and Bronisław Komorowski as President...
- Elżbieta Łukacijewska, Civic Platform
- Janusz Roman Maksymiuk, Self-DefenceSelf-Defense of the Republic of PolandSelf-Defence of the Republic of Poland , abbreviated to SRP, is an agrarian political party and trade union in Poland led by Andrzej Lepper. Its platform combines left-wing populist economic policies with religious conservative social policies....
- Wojciech Tadeusz Pomajda, Democratic Left AllianceDemocratic Left AllianceDemocratic Left Alliance is a social-democratic political party in Poland. Formed in 1991 as a coalition of centre-left parties, it was formally established as a single party on 15 April 1999. It is currently the third largest opposition party in Poland....
- Stanisław Zając, Law and Justice
Twin towns
Przemyśl is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with:
Eger
Eger
Eger is the second largest city in Northern Hungary, the county seat of Heves, east of the Mátra Mountains. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, historic buildings , and red and white wines.- Name :...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
South Kesteven
South Kesteven
South Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. It covers Grantham, Stamford, Bourne and Market Deeping.-History:...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Paderborn
Paderborn
Paderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader, which originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried.-History:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
Truskavets
Truskavets
Truskavets is a city in western Ukraine's Lviv Oblast , near the border with Poland. The city is designated as a separate raion within the oblast....
, Ukraine Kamyanets-Podilskyi, Ukraine
Notable people
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Polish Righteous among the Nations Polish citizens have the world's highest count of individuals awarded medals of Righteous among the Nations, given by the State of Israel to non-Jews who saved Jews from extermination during the Holocaust... Jan Nepomucen Potocki Count Jan Nepomucen Potocki was a Polish nobleman .Jan was owner of Rymanów Zdrój estates. He was married to Róża Maria Wodzicka, married on June 30, 1892 in Kraków and to Maria Szajer, married on October 14, 1905 in Przemyśl.... Teodor Andrzej Potocki Teodor Andrzej Potocki was a Polish nobleman , Primate of Poland, interrex in 1733.Teodor was Rector of Przemyśl and canon of Kraków since 1687, Bishop of Chełmno since 1699 and Bishop of Warmia since 1711... Jaroslav Rudnyckyj Jaroslav Bohdan Rudnyckyj, OC was a Ukrainian Canadian linguist, lexicographer with a specialty in etymology and onomastics, folklorist, bibliographer, travel writer, and publicist. He was one of the pioneers of Slavic Studies in Canada and one of the founding fathers of Canadian "Multiculturalism"... , Ukrainian-Canadian linguist Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context.... Ryszard Siwiec Ryszard Siwiec was a Polish accountant, teacher and former Home Army soldier who was the first person to commit suicide by self-immolation in protest against the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia.- Self-Immolation :... Zeev Sternhell Zeev Sternhell is an Israeli historian and one of the world's leading experts on Fascism. Sternhell headed the Department of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and writes for Haaretz newspaper.-Biography:... Andrzej Trebicki Andrzej Trzebicki was a nobleman and priest in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Deputy Chancellor of the Crown from 1652, bishop of Przemyśl since 1655, bishop of Kraków since 1658.... Anatole Vakhnianyn Anatole Vakhnianyn , was a Ukrainian political and cultural figure, composer, teacher and journalist.-Biography:Vakhnianyn was born in Sieniawa, Przeworsk County, today a part of Poland but at that time a part of the Austrian Empire. He came from a clerical family; his father, Klym Vakhnianyn, and... Jan Wezyk Jan Wężyk , of Wąż Coat of Arms, was the bishop of Przemyśl and archbishop of Gniezno, , Primate of Poland and interrex after the death of king Sigismund III Vasa in 1632, before the royal election of Władysław IV Waza.As the interrerx he supported improving the procedures of the royal elections... Velvel Zbarjer Velvel Zbarjer , birth name Benjamin Wolf Ehrenkrantz , a Galician Jew, was a Brody singer. Following in the footsteps of Berl Broder, his "mini-melodramas in song" were precursors of Yiddish theater.Born in Zbarazh, Galicia, he moved to Romania in 1845... , Brody singer Samuel Zborowski Samuel Zborowski was a Polish military commander and a notable member of the szlachta . He is best remembered for having been executed by supporters of the Polish king Stefan Batory and chancellor Jan Zamoyski; an event which caused much uproar among the contemporary Polish nobility.-Biography:Son... Zyndram z Maszkowic Zyndram z Maszkowic was a Polish 14th and 15th century knight. His coat of arms was Słońce.... |
See also
- Old Synagogue in PrzemyślOld Synagogue (Przemysl)The Old Synagogue, , was a large structure in Przemyśl, Poland. It was completed in 1594. It was damaged in 1939 when the Germans were retreating from the eastern bank of the San River and destroyed by the Nazis in 1941....
destroyed by the Nazis in 1941