Zwoleń

Not to be confused with Zvolen.

See also: Zwoleń, Gostynin County

Zwoleń
15th century church in Zwoleń
Coat of arms
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Masovian
County	Zwoleń County
Gmina	Gmina Zwoleń
Established	1425
Town rights	1425
Government
• Mayor	Bogusława Jaworska
Area
• Total	15.78 km2 (6.09 sq mi)
Population  (2006)
• Total	8,176
• Density	520/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	26-700
Area code	+48 48
Car plates	WZW
Website	http://www.zwolen.pl

Zwoleń [ˈzvɔlɛɲ] (Yiddish: זוואלין Zvolin) is a town in Poland, in Mazowsze Voivodeship, about 30 km east of Radom. It is the capital of Zwoleń County. Population is 8048 (2009). Zwolen belongs to Sandomierz Land of historic province of Lesser Poland, and is located on the Zwolenka river.

The history of the town dates back to the early 15th century, when Zwoleń was founded on a privillege issued by King Władysław Jagiełło. In the 16th century, it already was a center of local trade, located along the road from Lublin to Radom and Greater Poland. In 1566-1575, Jan Kochanowski worked at a local Roman-Catholic parish. The town belonged then to Sandomierz Voivodeship.

During the Swedish invasion of Poland (see Deluge), Zwoleń was devastated and destroyed to such a degree, that the town never recovered. In late 18th century, during Partitions of Poland, Zwoleń was annexed by the Austrian Empire. Later on, it was part of Duchy of Warsaw, which in 1815 was a protectorate of the Russian Empire. After January Uprising, Russian authorities deprived Zwoleń of its town rights, as a punishment for residents' support of the rebels. The village of Zwoleń stagnated for years, and did not regain its town rights until 1925.

In 1921 Zwoleń had 8,544 residents, of which 3,787 were Jews. World War Two was disastrous for the town. Houses around the market square and a local synagogue were burned, German occupiers carried out numerous mass executions of underground resistance fighters (Home Army and Bataliony Chlopskie). In March 1941, Jews from Przytyk were transferred to Zwoleń ghetto, which in February 1942 had some 6,000 residents. Later on, Germans brought to the ghetto Jews from other locations, and their number grew to 10,000. In September 1942, all Jewish residents were transported to Treblinka.

In 1954, Zwoleń County of Kielce Voivodeship was created, which was a great boost to the town. Factories and schools were opened - Meat Plant and a branch of Radom’s Łucznik Arms Factory. In 1975, after administrative reform of Poland, all counties were dismissed, and Zwoleń became part of Radom Voivodeship. Zwoleń County returned in 1999.

The town is located in southeastern corner of Mazovian Voivodeship, at the crossroads of two national roads: 79th (Warsaw - Sandomierz - Kraków - Bytom), and 12th (Łęknica - Dorohusk). Zwoleń does not have a rail station, but maintains bus connections with several towns and cities. The town has a sports club Zwolenianka and other sports associations. Every year in late June, The "Name day of Pan Jan" ("Imieniny Pana Jana") festival takes place there, in memory of Jan Kochanowski. The poet himself is buried at local church of Holy Cross

People

• Stanisław Chomętowski
• Jan Karol Tarło
• Stanisław Tarło
• Rabbi Shmuel Eliyohu Taub of Zvolin, Modzitz (Hasidic dynasty)
• Jan Kochanowski

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland

Twin towns — Sister cities

Zwoleń is twinned with:

• Zvolen in Slovakia

External links

• Official town webpage
• Map, via mapa.szukacz.pl
• Jewish Community in Zwoleń on Virtual Shtetl