Mińsk Mazowiecki

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CoA of Mińsk Mazowiecki

Mińsk Mazowiecki ([,miɲsk mazɔ'vi̯eʦki] (help·info)) (Yiddish: נאוואמינסק) is a town in central Poland with 36,791 inhabitants (as of 2003). It is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Siedlce Voivodeship (1975-1998). It is the capital of Mińsk County.

[edit] History

Mińsk Mazowiecki is one of the oldest cities of eastern Mazovia. Since 14th century, Mińsk had been a market settlement and it was then known as Mieńsk, Mensko or Mińsk. The name probably derives from The River Mienia (from the Polish verb "mienić" meaning, "shimmer"), which is connected with its shimmering and silvery waters owing their colour to iron ore deposits found in the neighbouring areas. On 29th May 1421, Mińsk was granted both foundation and city charter by Janusz I Starszy, the Prince of Mazovia. It was one of the first foundations of a private city in Mazovia by virtue of which Jan of Gościeńczyce, a knight bearing the Prus Trzeci Coat of Arms, was granted a permission to establish a town according to the Chełm Law.

In the Middle Ages, the city developed on the left bank of the Srebrna River and grew into an important centre of the Czersk land with significant educational, trade and craft centres. A rectangular town market (The Old Market) with the streets radiating at its corners is the only relic of those times. On the northern side of the market, a parish building was erected in 1422 at the wooden church by the first owner of the town.

The town of the Mińscy Family, ("Mińscy" being the name assumed by the owners of the town), enjoyed its moments of glory in the 16th century. It was then that the city of Sendomierz was founded on the right bank of the Srebrna River in 1549, which, with time, became part of Mińsk. Two separate town units survived, which can be divided into two markets: the medieval market of Mińsk (the Old Market), and the renaissance market of Sendomierz (Kiliński Square).

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the city experienced economic crisis. Its ownership was transferred to a group of noble families from the hands of the Mińscy family, for whom the greatest building of the city was ereceted, a classical and baroque palace. The city had all the family estate pass on to the hands of the Hlebowicze family bearing the Leliwa Coat of Arms (thus the leliwa in the city's coat of arms), the Opalińscy family bearing the Łodzia Coat of Arms and the Borzęccy family bearing the Półkozic Coat of Arms. After Poland had lost its independence, Mińsk became part of the Austran annexed territory and in 1815, became a part of the Russian annexed territory. In 1868, the authorities of the annexed territories changed the city's name from Mińsk to Nowomińsk. In the period of national upbringings, the city and surrounding areas witnessed many skirmishes, battles and marches of insurgent and Russian troops from 1830-31 and 1863-64. In one incident, insurgents of Marcin Borelowski's unit fighting in the January Upbringing of 1863 were hung by the Russians on the trees along Siennicka Street.

Due to the rebuilding of the Brześć Route and the construction of Warsaw–Terespol railway line in 19th century, the city experienced an economic boom. In the southern part of the city, the branch of Warsaw company, Joint Stock Association of Machine and Cast Plant, K. Rudzki was established. The company gained international fame owing to the construction of the first welded road bridges in Europe. Michał Elwiro Andriolli, a graphic artist and painter, whose life and works are connected with the history of the city, lived and created works of art in the 2nd half of the 19th century. In 1870, the last family to own the Miński family estate was the Dernałowicz family bearing the Lubicz Coat of Arms until 1944. In 1916, the city was officially named Mińsk Mazowiecki.

On 11th of November 1918, Mińsk was freed by the Polish Army Organization. Two years later, the city witnessed the last episode of the Battle of Warsaw in the period of Polish-Soviet War. The battle, which took place on 17th August 1920 and led to the liberation of the city, is referred to as “Miracle at the Vistula". It was then that the city was the host to Józef Haller de Hallenburg and Józef Piłsudski.

In the interwar period of the 1920s, the city underwent development including the introduction of electricity, development of education and the establishment of many cultural institutions.

On September 13, 1939, the areas close to Mińsk Mazowiecki witnessed the battle fought by The Operational Group of General Władysław Anders's cavalry. Under the German occupation from 1939-1945, the city and its neighbouring areas were the site of underground activity conducted both by civilians and soldiers (ZWZ/AK underground organizations code-named "Mewa-Jamnik-Kamień"). Mińsk did not sustain many material losses. However, the local population sustained heavy losses, especially due to the extermination of the Jews. The city was liberated by the AK (National Polish Army) soldiers as part of operation code-named "Burza" ("Storm") on July 30, 1944.

After the Second World War, the city was developed and modernised and it became a significant administrative, industrial, trade, culture and education centre. Pursuant to administrative reform of 1st January 1999, Mińsk Mazowiecki was again, after 24 years' interval, the seat of Mińsk county authorities and a part of Mazovia province. Today, Minsk is a dynamically developing city with a still growing population. In Mińsk, one can find a wide range of attractions, from numerous relics of the past to modern things. Since 1936, the city's Coat of Arms has been the Leliwa with an eight-pointed star, which can be seen on the red and blue flag of the city. Since the 1990s, John the Baptist has been the patron saint of the city.