Pulawy
Encyclopedia
Puławy p is a town in eastern Poland
, in Lublin Province
, on the Wisła
and Kurówka
rivers. According to the 2006 (GUS
) census estimate, the town had a total population of 49,839. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. It was known as Nowa Aleksandria from 1846 to 1918.
Close by is Kazimierz Dolny
, a charming medieval village with a little market square surrounded by ancient houses, shops, churches and a synagogue.
, then the Sieniawski, noble families. In 1784 it became the property of Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski and his wife Izabela Czartoryska, née Fleming. Under their stewardship, after the loss of Poland's independence in 1795 the palace became a museum of Polish national memorabilia and a major cultural and political centre. After the suppression of the November Uprising
of 1830–31, the estate was taken over by the Russia
n government. The palace collections that had been saved became the nucleus of the present Czartoryski Museum
in Kraków
.
In 1869 an Agricultural and Forestry Institute was founded in Puławy. One of its first students, briefly, was the future Polish writer Bolesław Prus (who had also spent part of his early childhood in Puławy). Prus would set his stunning 1884 micro-story
, "Mold of the Earth
," at the Temple of the Sibyl
in Puławy.
The town was incorporated in 1906.
On 13 August 1920, Józef Piłsudski, Poland's Chief of State
, left Warsaw
and established a military headquarters in Puławy. The Soviet Union
's Red Army
held most of eastern Poland and was besieging Warsaw. Piłsudski's radio-monitoring, cryptological and intelligence services had detected a gap in the Soviet flanks in the Puławy region, and he ordered a concentration of Polish forces in the surrounding area around the Wieprz River
. On 18 August 1920 the Polish Army launched a counter-attack
directed from Puławy that encircled and defeated a 177,000-strong Soviet force. The attack drove the Red Army from Poland and established Poland's security for two decades, until the German invasion of 1939
.
During World War II
, three German
concentration camps operated around Puławy. The town's Jewish population of some 3,600 was first confined to a ghetto
, then murdered at the Sobibór
camp.
Since 1966, a large chemical plant (Zakłady Azotowe Puławy) north of the town has been producing nitrate
fertilizer
. Recently the plant has become the world's largest producer of melamine
.
The most valuable landmark in Puławy is the baroque-classicist palace and park complex, dating from 1676–79, remodeled 1722-36 and by Chrystian Piotr Aigner
ca. 1800. It includes classicist park pavilions dating from the early 19th century. One of these, the colonnade
d round Temple of the Sibyl
, is the setting of Bolesław Prus' striking micro-story, "Mold of the Earth
."
with:
{| cellpadding="10"
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| Nieuwegein
, Netherlands
Castelo Branco
, Portugal
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...
, in 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....
, on the Wisła
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 ....
and Kurówka
Kurówka River
Kurówka is a river in South-East Poland, a right tributary of Vistula River. Its length is approximately 50 kilometres and its basin covers roughly 395,4 km². Its source is located near the village of Piotrowice Wielkie and it joins Vistula in Puławy...
rivers. According to the 2006 (GUS
Central Statistical Office
Central Statistical Offices:*Central Statistical Office *Central Statistical Office *Central Statistics Office *Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia...
) census estimate, the town had a total population of 49,839. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. It was known as Nowa Aleksandria from 1846 to 1918.
Close by is Kazimierz Dolny
Kazimierz Dolny
Kazimierz Dolny is a small town in Central Poland, on the right 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...
, a charming medieval village with a little market square surrounded by ancient houses, shops, churches and a synagogue.
History
From the 17th century Puławy was the location of a rural residence of the LubomirskiLubomirski
Lubomirski family is a Polish szlachta family. The family used the "Szreniawa without a cross" arms and their motto was: Nil conscire sibi ....
, then the Sieniawski, noble families. In 1784 it became the property of Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski and his wife Izabela Czartoryska, née Fleming. Under their stewardship, after the loss of Poland's independence in 1795 the palace became a museum of Polish national memorabilia and a major cultural and political centre. After the suppression of the November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
of 1830–31, the estate was taken over by the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n government. The palace collections that had been saved became the nucleus of the present Czartoryski Museum
Czartoryski Museum
The Czartoryski Museum and Library is a museum located in Kraków, Poland, founded in Puławy in 1796 by Princess Izabela Czartoryska. The Puławy collections were partly destroyed after the November uprising of 1830–1831 and the subsequent confiscation of the Czartoryskis' property by the Russians...
in Kraków
Kraków
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...
.
In 1869 an Agricultural and Forestry Institute was founded in Puławy. One of its first students, briefly, was the future Polish writer Bolesław Prus (who had also spent part of his early childhood in Puławy). Prus would set his stunning 1884 micro-story
Flash fiction
Flash fiction is a style of fictional literature or fiction of extreme brevity. There is no widely accepted definition of the length of the category...
, "Mold of the Earth
Mold of the Earth
"Mold of the Earth" is one of the shortest micro-stories by the Polish writer Bolesław Prus.The story was published on 1 January 1884 in the News Year's Day issue of the Warsaw Courier . The story comes from a several years' period of pessimism in the author's life...
," at the Temple of the Sibyl
Temple of the Sibyl
The Temple of the Sibyl is a colonnaded round monopteral temple-like structure at Puławy, Poland, built in the late 18th century as a museum by Izabela Czartoryska.-History:...
in Puławy.
The town was incorporated in 1906.
On 13 August 1920, Józef Piłsudski, Poland's Chief of State
Naczelnik panstwa
Naczelnik Państwa was the title of Poland's head of state in the early years of the Second Polish Republic. This office was held only by Józef Piłsudski, from 1918 to 1922. Until 1919 it was called tymczasowy naczelnik państwa...
, left Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
and established a military headquarters in Puławy. 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....
's 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...
held most of eastern Poland and was besieging Warsaw. Piłsudski's radio-monitoring, cryptological and intelligence services had detected a gap in the Soviet flanks in the Puławy region, and he ordered a concentration of Polish forces in the surrounding area around the Wieprz River
Wieprz River
The Wieprz is a river in central-eastern Poland, a tributary of the Vistula. It is the country's ninth longest river, with a total length of 303 km and a catchment area of 10,415 km², all within Poland...
. On 18 August 1920 the Polish Army launched a counter-attack
Counter-Attack
Counter-Attack is a 1945 war film starring Paul Muni and Marguerite Chapman as two Russians trapped in a collapsed building with seven enemy German soldiers during World War II...
directed from Puławy that encircled and defeated a 177,000-strong Soviet force. The attack drove the Red Army from Poland and established Poland's security for two decades, until the German invasion of 1939
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, three German
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...
concentration camps operated around Puławy. The town's Jewish population of some 3,600 was first confined to 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...
, then murdered at the Sobibór
Sobibór extermination camp
Sobibor was a Nazi German extermination camp located on the outskirts of the town of Sobibór, Lublin Voivodeship of occupied Poland as part of Operation Reinhard; the official German name was SS-Sonderkommando Sobibor...
camp.
Since 1966, a large chemical plant (Zakłady Azotowe Puławy) north of the town has been producing nitrate
Nitrate
The nitrate ion is a polyatomic ion with the molecular formula NO and a molecular mass of 62.0049 g/mol. It is the conjugate base of nitric acid, consisting of one central nitrogen atom surrounded by three identically-bonded oxygen atoms in a trigonal planar arrangement. The nitrate ion carries a...
fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
. Recently the plant has become the world's largest producer of melamine
Melamine
Melamine is an organic base and a trimer of cyanamide, with a 1,3,5-triazine skeleton. Like cyanamide, it contains 66% nitrogen by mass and, if mixed with resins, has fire retardant properties due to its release of nitrogen gas when burned or charred, and has several other industrial uses....
.
The most valuable landmark in Puławy is the baroque-classicist palace and park complex, dating from 1676–79, remodeled 1722-36 and by Chrystian Piotr Aigner
Chrystian Piotr Aigner
Chrystian Piotr Aigner was a Polish architect and theoretician of architecture.-Life:...
ca. 1800. It includes classicist park pavilions dating from the early 19th century. One of these, the colonnade
Colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building....
d round Temple of the Sibyl
Temple of the Sibyl
The Temple of the Sibyl is a colonnaded round monopteral temple-like structure at Puławy, Poland, built in the late 18th century as a museum by Izabela Czartoryska.-History:...
, is the setting of Bolesław Prus' striking micro-story, "Mold of the Earth
Mold of the Earth
"Mold of the Earth" is one of the shortest micro-stories by the Polish writer Bolesław Prus.The story was published on 1 January 1884 in the News Year's Day issue of the Warsaw Courier . The story comes from a several years' period of pessimism in the author's life...
."
Notable residents
- Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski
- Princess Izabela Czartoryska
- Adam Jerzy CzartoryskiAdam Jerzy CzartoryskiPrince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski was a Polish-Lithuanian noble, statesman and author. He was the son of Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski and Izabela Fleming....
- Maria Wirtemberska
- Adam of WürttembergAdam of WürttembergAdam Karl Wilhelm Nikolaus Paul Eugen von Württemberg was a Duke of Württemberg and General in Russian and Polish-Russian service....
(1792–1847), Duke of Württemberg, grandson of Princess Izabela Czartoryska. - Bolesław Prus
- Beata SzymańskaBeata SzymańskaBeata Szymańska is a Polish poet and writer.- Biography :Beata Szymańska left the philosophy department of the Jagiellonian University and received her doctorate in philosophy in 1977. Several years she worked as research associate at the Jagiellonian University...
Science
- The Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation - State Research Institute
- The National Veterinary Research Institute
- The Institute of Artificial Fertilizers
- The Research Institute of Pomology and Floriculture, Division of Apiculture
Twin towns — sister cities
Puławy 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:
{| cellpadding="10"
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| Nieuwegein
Nieuwegein
Nieuwegein is a municipality and city in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is bordered on the north by the city of Utrecht, the provincial capital...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
- Douai
Douai-Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Castelo Branco
Castelo Branco
Castelo Branco Municipality is located in Castelo Branco District, in Centro Region, Portugal. The name means "white castle". It contains the city of Castelo Branco....
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...