Suwalki
Encyclopedia
Suwałki AUD is a town in northeastern Poland
with 69,340 inhabitants (2008). The Czarna Hańcza river flows through the town. It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centres of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship
. Until 1999 the town was the capital of Suwałki Voivodeship. Suwałki is located about 30 km from the southwestern Lithuania
n border. The town gives its name to the Polish protected area
known as Suwałki Landscape Park.
The area of Suwałki had been populated by local Yotvingian and Prussian
tribes since the early Middle Ages
. However, with the arrival of the Teutonic Order to Yotvingia
, their lands were conquered and remained largely depopulated in the following centuries.
17th Century
The village was founded by Camaldolese monks
, who in 1667 were granted the area surrounding the future town by the Grand Duke of Lithuania and the King of Poland John II Casimir
. Soon afterward the monastic order built its headquarters in Wigry, where a monastery
and a church were built. The new owners of the area started fast economic exploitation and development of the forest
s and brought enough settlers (mainly from overpopulated Masovia) to build several new villages in the area. Also, production of wood, lumber
, tar
and iron ore was started. The village was first mentioned in 1688; two years later it was reported to have two houses.
18th Century
However, the growth of the village was fast and by 1700 it was split into Małe Suwałki and Wielkie Suwałki (Lesser and Greater Suwałki). The village was located almost exactly in the center of Camaldolese estates and lay on the main trade route linking Grodno and Merkinė
with Königsberg
.
In 1710 King Augustus II the Strong
granted the village a privilege to organize fairs and markets. Five years later, in 1715, the village was granted town rights
by the grand master of the order, Ildefons. The town was divided into 300 lots for future houses and its inhabitants were granted civil rights and exempted from taxes for seven years. In addition, the town was granted 18.03 square kilometers of forest that was to be turned into arable land
. On May 2, 1720, the town rights were approved by King August II, and the town was allowed to organize one fair a week and four markets a year. In addition, a coat of arms
was approved, depicting Saint Roch and Saint Romuald.
After the Partitions of Poland
in 1794 the area was annexed by Prussia
. In 1796 the monastery in Wigry was dissolved and its property confiscated by the Prussian
government. The following year a seat of local powiat
authorities was moved to the town, as well as a military garrison. By the end of the 18th century, Suwałki had 1,184 inhabitants and 216 houses. A large part of the population was Jewish.
19th Century
In 1807 Suwałki became part of the newly formed Duchy of Warsaw
and one of the centres of the department of Łomża. After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte
and the Congress of Vienna
, the area was incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland
. The status of a powiat
capital was briefly withdrawn, but it was reintroduced on January 16, 1816, when the Augustów Voivodeship
was created and its government was gradually moved to Suwałki. Soon afterwards the older town hall was demolished and replaced with a new one, and General Józef Zajączek
financed the paving of most of the town's streets. The cemetery was moved to the outskirts from the town centre, and that area became a town park. Also, the Russian authorities built the Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway
, which added to the town's prosperity.
In 1820 a new church was built and the following year the first synagogue
was opened. In 1829 a permanent post office
was opened in Suwałki. Between 1806 and 1827 the town's population almost tripled and reached 3,753 people living in 357 houses. During the November Uprising
of 1831 the town's population took part in the struggles against Russia, but the town was pacified by the Russian army on February 11, 1830. In 1835 the government of Tsar
Nicholas I
decided not to move the capital of the voivodeship to Augustów
. Two years later the Voivodeships of Poland
were re-designated as gubernias and the town became the capital of the Augustów Gubernia.
In 1826 an investment plan was passed and new buildings were started by the Russian authorities. In 1835 a police
station was built, in 1844 a new town hall and Orthodox and Protestant churches were completed. Soon afterward a new marketplace was opened, as well as St. Peter's and Paul's hospital and a gymnasium
. In addition, between 1840 and 1849 the main Catholic
church was refurbished by many of Poland's most notable architects of the era, including Piotr Aigner, Antonio Corazzi
and Enrico Marconi
. To change the town's architecture and break with its rural past, the town council passed a decree banning the construction of new wooden houses in 1847.
The town's population continued to grow rapidly. In 1857 it had 11,273 inhabitants and in 1872 almost 20,000. Newly built factories needed workers and these were brought from all over the world. Because of that, the mixed Lithuania-Polish-Jewish population was soon joined by people of almost all denominations that worshiped in the Russian Empire
. Soon Suwałki became the fourth most populous town in the Kingdom of Poland
. After the January Uprising
of 1863, the new administrational reform was passed to unify the Polish lands with Russia completely. In 1866 the gubernia of Augustów was finally renamed to Suwałki Gubernia. However, the newly built Warsaw-Petersburg railway passed by Suwałki and the town's prosperity diminished. It was not until the early 20th century that the arrival of a new Russian army garrison
brought the economy back to life. Also a railway line linking Suwałki with Grodno was finally completed.
20th Century
After the spring of 1905, when the Russians were forced to accept a limited liberalization, the period of Polish cultural revival started. Although the Polish language
was still banned from official use, new Polish schools were opened, as well as a Polish-language Tygodnik Suwalski weekly and a library. After the Great War broke out, heavy fights for the area erupted. Finally in 1915, the Germans broke the Russian front and Suwałki was put under German occupation. The town and surrounding areas were detached from the rest of the Polish lands and were directly administered by the German military commander of the Ober-Ost Army. Severe laws imposed by the German military command and the tragic economic situation of the civilians led to the creation of various secret social organisations. Finally, in 1917, local branches of the Polska Organizacja Wojskowa
were created.
After the collapse of the Central Powers
in November 1918, the local commander of the Ober-Ost signed an agreement with the Temporary Council of the Suwałki Region and de facto allowed for the region to be incorporated into Poland. However, the German army remained in the area and continued its economic exploitation. In February 1919 the local inhabitants took part in the first free elections to the Polish Sejm
, but soon afterwards the German commanders changed their mind and expelled the Polish military units from the area and in May passed it to Lithuanian authority. By the end of July the Paris Peace Conference
granted the town to Poland and the Lithuanians withdrew from the town, but some of the Polish-inhabited lands were left on the Lithuanian side of the border while several Lithuanian villages were left on the Polish side of the so-called Foch Line
. This led to the outbreak of the Sejny Uprising
on August 23, 1919. To secure the town, the following day the first regular units of the Polish Army entered Suwałki. A short Polish-Lithuanian War
erupted and for several days limited fights were fought for the control over Suwałki, Sejny
and other towns in the area. The war ended on the insistence of the Entente
in mid-September (negotiations took place in Suwałki in early October). During the Polish-Bolshevik War the town was captured by the Communists and after the Battle of Warsaw
it was again passed to the Lithuanians, but it was retaken by the Polish Army with negligible losses soon afterwards.
In the interbellum Suwałki became an autonomous town within the Białystok Voivodeship (1919-1939). This led to yet another period of prosperity, with the town's population rising from 16,780 in 1921 to almost 25,000 in 1935. The main source of income shifted from agriculture to trade and commerce. Also, in 1931 the new water works
and a power plant were built. Also, Suwałki continued to serve as one of the biggest garrisons in Poland, with two regiments of the Polish 29th Infantry Division
and almost an entire Suwałki Cavalry Brigade stationed there. Beginning in 1928 Suwałki was also the headquarters of one of the battalion
s of the Border Defence Corps.
During the later stages of the Polish Defensive War
of 1939 the town was briefly captured by the Red Army
. However, on October 12 of the same year the Soviets withdrew and transferred the area to the Germans, in accordance with the Nazi-Soviet Alliance. The town was renamed to Sudauen and incorporated directly into the German Reich's East Prussia
. Severe laws and terror that erupted led to the creation of several resistance organisations. Although most of them were at first destroyed by the Gestapo
, by 1942 the area had one of the strongest ZWZ
and AK
networks. Despite the resistance, almost all of the town's once 7,000-strong Jewish community was murdered in Nazi concentration camps
. Also, in Suwałki's suburb of Krzywólka a POW camp for almost 120,000 Soviet prisoners of war
was established. On October 23, 1944, the town was captured by the forces of the Soviet 3rd Belarusian Front. The fights for the town and its environs lasted for several days and took the lives of almost 5,000 Soviet soldiers. The anti-Soviet resistance of former Armia Krajowa
members lasted in the forests surrounding the town until the early 1950s.
After the war, Suwałki remained a capital of the powiat
. However, the heavily damaged town recovered very slowly and the Communist economic system could not solve the town's problems. This period came to an end in 1975, when a new administrative reform was passed and Suwałki yet again became the capital of a separate Suwałki Voivodeship. The number of inhabitants rose rapidly and by the end of the 1970s it was over 36,000. Large factories were built in the town and it became one of the important industrial and commercial centres of Eastern Poland.
After the peaceful dissolution of the Communist system in Poland in 1989 Suwałki experienced a period of economic difficulties. Most of the town's major factories were inefficient and went bankrupt. However, the creation of the Suwałki Special Economic Zone
and the proximity of the Russian and Lithuanian borders opened new possibilities for the local trade and commerce. In addition, the ecologically clean region started to attract many tourists from all around the world.
. It is characterized by cold winters and fairly warm summers. During the winter nights temperature often falls below -25 °C, but in summer the temperature increases above 30 °C (86 °F). Snow in Suwałki remains for the longest period among Polish municipalities, i.e. for more than 100 days . Suwałki is called the "Polish pole of cold" because it has the lowest average temperature in the whole of Poland, excepting mountain resorts.
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 69,340 inhabitants (2008). The Czarna Hańcza river flows through the town. It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centres of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
. Until 1999 the town was the capital of Suwałki Voivodeship. Suwałki is located about 30 km from the southwestern Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n border. The town gives its name to the Polish protected area
Protected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
known as Suwałki Landscape Park.
History
Old Prussians
The Old Prussians or Baltic Prussians were an ethnic group, autochthonous Baltic tribes that inhabited Prussia, the lands of the southeastern Baltic Sea in the area around the Vistula and Curonian Lagoons...
tribes since the early Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. However, with the arrival of the Teutonic Order to Yotvingia
Yotvingia
Yotvingia was a region where the Baltic tribe known as Yotvingians lived. It was located in the area of Sudovia and Dainava; south west from the upper Neman, between Marijampolė, Merkinė , Slonim, Kobryn , Białystok, and Ełk ;...
, their lands were conquered and remained largely depopulated in the following centuries.
17th Century
The village was founded by Camaldolese monks
Camaldolese
The Camaldolese monks and nuns are part of the Benedictine family of monastic communities which follow the way of life outlined in the Rule of St. Benedict, written in the 6th century...
, who in 1667 were granted the area surrounding the future town by the Grand Duke of Lithuania and the King of Poland John II Casimir
John II Casimir of Poland
John II Casimir was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania during the era of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Duke of Opole in Upper Silesia, and titular King of Sweden 1648–1660. In Poland, he is known and commonly referred as Jan Kazimierz. His parents were Sigismund III Vasa and...
. Soon afterward the monastic order built its headquarters in Wigry, where a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
and a church were built. The new owners of the area started fast economic exploitation and development of the forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s and brought enough settlers (mainly from overpopulated Masovia) to build several new villages in the area. Also, production of wood, lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
, tar
Tar
Tar is modified pitch produced primarily from the wood and roots of pine by destructive distillation under pyrolysis. Production and trade in tar was a major contributor in the economies of Northern Europe and Colonial America. Its main use was in preserving wooden vessels against rot. The largest...
and iron ore was started. The village was first mentioned in 1688; two years later it was reported to have two houses.
18th Century
However, the growth of the village was fast and by 1700 it was split into Małe Suwałki and Wielkie Suwałki (Lesser and Greater Suwałki). The village was located almost exactly in the center of Camaldolese estates and lay on the main trade route linking Grodno and Merkinė
Merkine
Merkinė is a town in Dzūkija National Park in Lithuania, located at the confluence of the Merkys and Neman Rivers.First mentioned in 1359, Merkinė is one of the oldest Lithuanian settlements. It received the Magdeburg rights in 1569. The town is the location of The Mount of Queen Bona, a mound...
with Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
.
In 1710 King Augustus II the Strong
Augustus II the Strong
Frederick Augustus I or Augustus II the Strong was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania ....
granted the village a privilege to organize fairs and markets. Five years later, in 1715, the village was granted town rights
Town privileges
Town privileges or city rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium.Judicially, a town was distinguished from the surrounding land by means of a charter from the ruling monarch that defined its privileges and laws. Common privileges were related to trading...
by the grand master of the order, Ildefons. The town was divided into 300 lots for future houses and its inhabitants were granted civil rights and exempted from taxes for seven years. In addition, the town was granted 18.03 square kilometers of forest that was to be turned into arable land
Arable land
In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...
. On May 2, 1720, the town rights were approved by King August II, and the town was allowed to organize one fair a week and four markets a year. In addition, a coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
was approved, depicting Saint Roch and Saint Romuald.
After the Partitions of Poland
Partitions 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...
in 1794 the area was annexed by Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
. In 1796 the monastery in Wigry was dissolved and its property confiscated by the Prussian
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
government. The following year a seat of local powiat
Powiat
A powiat is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture in other countries. The term powiat is most often translated into English as "county", although other terms are also sometimes used...
authorities was moved to the town, as well as a military garrison. By the end of the 18th century, Suwałki had 1,184 inhabitants and 216 houses. A large part of the population was Jewish.
19th Century
In 1807 Suwałki became part of the newly formed Duchy of Warsaw
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
and one of the centres of the department of Łomża. After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
and the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
, the area was incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
. The status of a powiat
Powiat
A powiat is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture in other countries. The term powiat is most often translated into English as "county", although other terms are also sometimes used...
capital was briefly withdrawn, but it was reintroduced on January 16, 1816, when the Augustów Voivodeship
Augustów Voivodeship
Augustów Voivodeship was created in 1816 from the Łomża Department. Its capital was in Łomża until 1818, when it was transferred to Suwałki. In 1837 it was transformed into Augustów Governorate.-Administrative divisions:It was divided into 7 counties:...
was created and its government was gradually moved to Suwałki. Soon afterwards the older town hall was demolished and replaced with a new one, and General Józef Zajączek
Józef Zajaczek
Prince Józef Zajączek , was a Polish general and politician.His first important military post was that of an aide-de-camp to hetman Franciszek Ksawery Branicki...
financed the paving of most of the town's streets. The cemetery was moved to the outskirts from the town centre, and that area became a town park. Also, the Russian authorities built the Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway
Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway
The Saint Petersburg – Warsaw Railway, Russian "Санкт-Петербурго-Варшавская железная дорога" is a long railway, built in the 19th century by the Russian Empire to connect Russia with Central Europe. At the time the entire railway was within Russia, as Warsaw was under a Russian partition of Poland...
, which added to the town's prosperity.
In 1820 a new church was built and the following year the first synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
was opened. In 1829 a permanent post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
was opened in Suwałki. Between 1806 and 1827 the town's population almost tripled and reached 3,753 people living in 357 houses. During 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 1831 the town's population took part in the struggles against Russia, but the town was pacified by the Russian army on February 11, 1830. In 1835 the government of Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Nicholas I
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
decided not to move the capital of the voivodeship to Augustów
Augustów
Augustów is a town in north-eastern Poland with 29,600 inhabitants . It lies on the Netta River and the Augustów Canal. It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship , having previously been in Suwałki Voivodeship . It is the seat of Augustów County and of Gmina Augustów.In 1970 Augustów became...
. Two years later the Voivodeships of Poland
Voivodeships of Poland
The voivodeship, or province, called in Polish województwo , has been a high-level administrative subdivision of Poland since the 14th century....
were re-designated as gubernias and the town became the capital of the Augustów Gubernia.
In 1826 an investment plan was passed and new buildings were started by the Russian authorities. In 1835 a police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
station was built, in 1844 a new town hall and Orthodox and Protestant churches were completed. Soon afterward a new marketplace was opened, as well as St. Peter's and Paul's hospital and a gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
. In addition, between 1840 and 1849 the main Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
church was refurbished by many of Poland's most notable architects of the era, including Piotr Aigner, Antonio Corazzi
Antonio Corazzi
Antonio Corazzi was an Italian architect who designed a number of buildings in Warsaw, the capital of Poland.He was born in Livorno.Amongst the buildings he designed are:* Staszic Palace...
and Enrico Marconi
Enrico Marconi
Enrico Marconi, known in Poland as Henryk Marconi , was an Italian architect who spent most of his life in Congress Poland....
. To change the town's architecture and break with its rural past, the town council passed a decree banning the construction of new wooden houses in 1847.
The town's population continued to grow rapidly. In 1857 it had 11,273 inhabitants and in 1872 almost 20,000. Newly built factories needed workers and these were brought from all over the world. Because of that, the mixed Lithuania-Polish-Jewish population was soon joined by people of almost all denominations that worshiped in 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...
. Soon Suwałki became the fourth most populous town in the Kingdom of Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
. After the January Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
of 1863, the new administrational reform was passed to unify the Polish lands with Russia completely. In 1866 the gubernia of Augustów was finally renamed to Suwałki Gubernia. However, the newly built Warsaw-Petersburg railway passed by Suwałki and the town's prosperity diminished. It was not until the early 20th century that the arrival of a new Russian army garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
brought the economy back to life. Also a railway line linking Suwałki with Grodno was finally completed.
20th Century
After the spring of 1905, when the Russians were forced to accept a limited liberalization, the period of Polish cultural revival started. Although the Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
was still banned from official use, new Polish schools were opened, as well as a Polish-language Tygodnik Suwalski weekly and a library. After the Great War broke out, heavy fights for the area erupted. Finally in 1915, the Germans broke the Russian front and Suwałki was put under German occupation. The town and surrounding areas were detached from the rest of the Polish lands and were directly administered by the German military commander of the Ober-Ost Army. Severe laws imposed by the German military command and the tragic economic situation of the civilians led to the creation of various secret social organisations. Finally, in 1917, local branches of the Polska Organizacja Wojskowa
Polish Military Organisation
Polish Military Organisation, PMO was a secret military organization created by Józef Piłsudski in August 1914, and officially named in November 1914, during World War I. Its tasks were to gather intelligence and sabotage the enemies of the Polish people...
were created.
After the collapse of 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...
in November 1918, the local commander of the Ober-Ost signed an agreement with the Temporary Council of the Suwałki Region and de facto allowed for the region to be incorporated into Poland. However, the German army remained in the area and continued its economic exploitation. In February 1919 the local inhabitants took part in the first free elections to the Polish Sejm
Sejm
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 ....
, but soon afterwards the German commanders changed their mind and expelled the Polish military units from the area and in May passed it to Lithuanian authority. By the end of July the Paris Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
granted the town to Poland and the Lithuanians withdrew from the town, but some of the Polish-inhabited lands were left on the Lithuanian side of the border while several Lithuanian villages were left on the Polish side of the so-called Foch Line
Foch Line
The Foch Line was a temporary demarcation line between Poland and Lithuania proposed by the Entente in the aftermath of World War I. The line was proposed by Marshal of France Ferdinand Foch and was accepted by the Conference of Ambassadors in 1919. With small adjustments the line formed the basis...
. This led to the outbreak of the Sejny Uprising
Sejny Uprising
The Sejny Uprising or Seinai Revolt refers to a Polish uprising in the ethnically-mixed area surrounding Sejny against the Lithuanian authorities in August 1919. When German forces, which occupied the territory during World War I, retreated from the area, the administration was handed to the...
on August 23, 1919. To secure the town, the following day the first regular units of the Polish Army entered Suwałki. A short Polish-Lithuanian War
Polish-Lithuanian War
The Polish–Lithuanian War was an armed conflict between newly independent Lithuania and Poland in the aftermath of World War I. The conflict primarily concerned territorial control of the Vilnius Region, including Vilnius , and the Suwałki Region, including the towns of Suwałki, Augustów, and Sejny...
erupted and for several days limited fights were fought for the control over Suwałki, Sejny
Sejny
Sejny is a town in north-eastern Poland, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, close to the border with Lithuania and Belarus. It is located in the eastern part of the Suwałki Lake Area , on the Marycha river, being a tributary of Czarna Hańcza...
and other towns in the area. The war ended on the insistence of the Entente
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
in mid-September (negotiations took place in Suwałki in early October). During the Polish-Bolshevik War the town was captured by the Communists and after the Battle of Warsaw
Battle of Warsaw (1920)
The Battle of Warsaw sometimes referred to as the Miracle at the Vistula, was the decisive battle of the Polish–Soviet War. That war began soon after the end of World War I in 1918 and lasted until the Treaty of Riga resulted in the end of the hostilities between Poland and Russia in 1921.The...
it was again passed to the Lithuanians, but it was retaken by the Polish Army with negligible losses soon afterwards.
In the interbellum Suwałki became an autonomous town within the Białystok Voivodeship (1919-1939). This led to yet another period of prosperity, with the town's population rising from 16,780 in 1921 to almost 25,000 in 1935. The main source of income shifted from agriculture to trade and commerce. Also, in 1931 the new water works
Water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...
and a power plant were built. Also, Suwałki continued to serve as one of the biggest garrisons in Poland, with two regiments of the Polish 29th Infantry Division
Polish 29th Infantry Division
29th Grodno Infantry Division was a unit of the Polish Army during the interbellum period. It was created in early 1920s, after the army of Republic of Central Lithuania was absorbed by the Polish Army. The newly created unit took over regiments that had been part of 1st Lithuanian-Belarusian...
and almost an entire Suwałki Cavalry Brigade stationed there. Beginning in 1928 Suwałki was also the headquarters of one of the battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
s of the Border Defence Corps.
During the later stages of the Polish Defensive War
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...
of 1939 the town was briefly captured by 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...
. However, on October 12 of the same year the Soviets withdrew and transferred the area to the Germans, in accordance with the Nazi-Soviet Alliance. The town was renamed to Sudauen and incorporated directly into the German Reich's East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
. Severe laws and terror that erupted led to the creation of several resistance organisations. Although most of them were at first destroyed by 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...
, by 1942 the area had one of the strongest ZWZ
Zwiazek Walki Zbrojnej
Związek Walki Zbrojnej was an underground army formed in Poland following its invasion in September 1939 by Germany and the Soviet Union that opened World War II.The precursor to the ZWZ was the Service...
and AK
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
networks. Despite the resistance, almost all of the town's once 7,000-strong Jewish community was murdered in Nazi concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
. Also, in Suwałki's suburb of Krzywólka a POW camp for almost 120,000 Soviet prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
was established. On October 23, 1944, the town was captured by the forces of the Soviet 3rd Belarusian Front. The fights for the town and its environs lasted for several days and took the lives of almost 5,000 Soviet soldiers. The anti-Soviet resistance of former Armia Krajowa
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
members lasted in the forests surrounding the town until the early 1950s.
After the war, Suwałki remained a capital of the powiat
Powiat
A powiat is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture in other countries. The term powiat is most often translated into English as "county", although other terms are also sometimes used...
. However, the heavily damaged town recovered very slowly and the Communist economic system could not solve the town's problems. This period came to an end in 1975, when a new administrative reform was passed and Suwałki yet again became the capital of a separate Suwałki Voivodeship. The number of inhabitants rose rapidly and by the end of the 1970s it was over 36,000. Large factories were built in the town and it became one of the important industrial and commercial centres of Eastern Poland.
After the peaceful dissolution of the Communist system in Poland in 1989 Suwałki experienced a period of economic difficulties. Most of the town's major factories were inefficient and went bankrupt. However, the creation of the Suwałki Special Economic Zone
Special Economic Zone
A Special Economic Zone is a geographical region that has economic and other laws that are more free-market-oriented than a country's typical or national laws...
and the proximity of the Russian and Lithuanian borders opened new possibilities for the local trade and commerce. In addition, the ecologically clean region started to attract many tourists from all around the world.
Climate
Suwałki has a humid continental climateHumid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
. It is characterized by cold winters and fairly warm summers. During the winter nights temperature often falls below -25 °C, but in summer the temperature increases above 30 °C (86 °F). Snow in Suwałki remains for the longest period among Polish municipalities, i.e. for more than 100 days . Suwałki is called the "Polish pole of cold" because it has the lowest average temperature in the whole of Poland, excepting mountain resorts.
Tourist attractions
- KościuszkoTadeusz KosciuszkoAndrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko was a Polish–Lithuanian and American general and military leader during the Kościuszko Uprising. He is a national hero of Poland, Lithuania, the United States and Belarus...
street with classicist architecture - Romantic 19th-century park
- St. Alexander's Church
- St. Peter's and Paul's Church
- Cemetery complex on Bakałarzewska street (Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim)
- Municipal museum
- Town Hall
- Former gymnasium building
- Museum and monument to Maria KonopnickaMaria KonopnickaMaria Konopnicka nee Wasiłowska , was a Polish poet, novelist, writer for children and youth, a translator, journalist and critic, as well as an activist for women's rights and Polish independence.Maria Konopnicka also composed a poem about the execution of the Irish patriot, Robert...
- 19th century brewery of Wacław Kunc
- Suwałki Plaza, a shopping mall and cinema complex that opened in 2010
Education
- Wyższa Szkoła Służby Społecznej im. Ks. Franciszka Blachnickiego
- Wyższa Szkoła Suwalsko-Mazurska im. Papieża Jana Pawła II
- Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Zawodowa w Suwałkach
Notable Residents
Over the centuries Suwałki has produced a number of persons who have provided unique contributions to the fields of science, language, politics, religion, sports, visual arts and performing arts. A list of recent notable persons includes, but is not limited to:- Henryk MinkiewiczHenryk MinkiewiczHenryk Minkiewicz was a Polish socialist politician and a General of the Polish Army. Former commander of the Border Defence Corps, he was among the Polish officers murdered in the Katyń massacre.-Early life:...
(1880–1940), general, killed in the Katyn MassacreKatyn massacreThe Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of... - Edward SzczepanikEdward SzczepanikEdward Franciszek Szczepanik, was a Polish economist and the last Prime Minister of the Polish Government in Exile...
(1915–2005), economist and the last Polish Prime Minister in ExilePolish government in ExileThe Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which... - Andrzej WajdaAndrzej WajdaAndrzej Wajda is a Polish film director. Recipient of an honorary Oscar, he is possibly the most prominent member of the unofficial "Polish Film School"...
(1926-), film director