Kurów

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For the place of similar name in New Zealand see: Kurow


Kurów

	(Coat of arms)


Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lublin Voivodeship
Municipal government	Gmina Kurów
Mayor	Stanisław Wójcicki
Area	11,3 km²
Population - city - urban - density	2811 (2005) 3927 (with Kurów) 248/km²
Founded	before 1185
City rights	ca. 1442-1870
Latitude Longitude	51°23′ N 22°11′ E
Area code	+48 81
Car plates	LPU
Twin towns	none
Municipal Website

Kurów (['kuruf] (help·info)) is a village in South-Eastern Poland, located between Puławy and Lublin, on the Kurówka River. It is capital of a separate gmina, a municipality, within the Lublin Voivodeship and has 2811 inhabitants (as of 2005).

Sometime between 1431 and 1442 the village was granted city rights based on the Magdeburg Law. As a private town, it was the centre for the trade in food from the surrounding area. Several fur and leather factories were also located here. In 16th century, Kurów was one of the centres of Calvinism, since many of the Polish Brethren settled there. By 1660, most of the inhabitants had converted to Arianism.

After 1660, the town shares its history with the rest of the region. In 1795, after the third partition of Poland, Kurów was annexed by Austria. In 1809, it became part of the Duchy of Warsaw. In 1815, Kurów became part of the Kingdom of Poland. During the November Uprising, in February 1831, the minor Battle of Kurów took place, when the Polish forces under general Józef Dwernicki defeated a Russian army. In 1870, during the January Uprising, the town finally lost its city charter, which has not yet been regained. Since 1918, Kurów is once more part of Poland.

On September 9, 1939, during the Polish Defensive War, which is the name in Poland for the start of World War II, the town was heavily bombed by the German Luftwaffe. Among the targets destroyed was a civilian hospital (marked with red crosses), where many victims perished. During World War II, Germany set up two slave labour camps in the town. In 1942, a minor ghetto was established. However, most of the Poles imprisoned in Kurów escaped and joined the Polish Home Army units operating from the nearby forests.

Notable tourist attractions include the Renaissance church (refurbished in 1692) with the grave of the Zbąski family and sculptures by Santi Gucci (1587). Kurów is also known as the birthplace of general Wojciech Jaruzelski.