Gorlice (pronounced [ɡɔrˈlʲit͡sɛ], Ukrainian: Горлиці, Horlytsi; Yiddish: גאָרליץ-Gurlitz) is a city and an urban municipality ("gmina") in south eastern Poland with around 29,500 inhabitants (2008). It is situated south east of Kraków and south of Tarnów between Jasło and Nowy Sącz in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Nowy Sącz Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Gorlice County.
Geography [edit]
The city lies in the Ropa and Sękówka River Valleys, surrounded by several mountain ranges of the Carpathian Mountains, namely their part called Beskid Niski (Low Beskids) massive. It is located in the heartland of the Doły (Pits), and its average elevation above sea level is 380 metres (1,247 ft), although there are some more considerable hills located within the confines of the city. The city is nowadays situated in a heavily populated region 14.6 miles from Jasło, 21.2 miles from Nowy Sącz, 25.5 miles from Tarnów, and 62.6 miles from Kraków.
History [edit]
Gorlice was founded during the reign of Casimir the Great in 1354 by German settlers from Görlitz (see also Walddeutsche).
As a result of the first Partition of Poland (Treaty of St-Petersburg dated 5 July 1772), the town area was attributed to the Habsburg Monarchy[1] (for more details, read the article Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria). Until 1918, the town was part of the Austria side (Cisleithania) after the compromise of 1867, head of the district with the same name, one of the 78 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in Austrian Galicia province (Crown land) [2].
Austrian KK stamp issue 1861, cancelled GORLICE
The city was the focal point of the German Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive during World War I, in May 1915. Hence the "Gorlice fair" or "Gorlice days" held every year during the May Bank Holidays and adjoining days, which are enjoyed by many visitors both domestic and from abroad.
Sources [edit]
- ^ Atlas des peuples d'Europe centrale, André et Jean Sellier, 1991, p.88
- ^ Die postalischen Abstempelungen auf den österreichischen Postwertzeichen-Ausgaben 1867, 1883 und 1890, Wilhelm KLEIN, 1967
External links [edit]
|
|
|
|
Seat: Gorlice (urban gmina)
|
|
| Urban-rural gminas |
|
|
|
| Rural gminas |
|
|
|
|
|
| Seat (not part of the gmina) |
|
|
|
| Villages |
|
|
Coordinates: 49°40′N 21°10′E / 49.667°N 21.167°E / 49.667; 21.167
Poland
