Dęblin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dęblin (IPA: [ˈdɛmblin]) is a town, population 19,500 (as of 2003), at the confluence of Vistula and Wieprz rivers, in Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. Dęblin is the part of the agglomeration with Ryki and Puławy, and over 100 000 inhabitants.
Since 1927 it has been the home of the chief Polish Air Force academy (Polish: Wyższa Szkoła Oficerska Sił Powietrznych), and as such is one of the most important places associated with aviation in Poland.
[edit] History
Dęblin was first mentioned as a village in historical documents dating from 1397. The village was owned by a series of Polish noble families until 1836 when it was taken over by the government of the Congress Kingdom. It in turn, in 1840, granted the village to field marshal Ivan Paskievich, who played a prominent role in the suppression of the November Uprising. From then on until the end of Russian rule in this part of Poland in 1915 Dęblin was often referred to by its new Russian name of Ivangorod.
In the years after the November Uprising the military significance of the Dęblin site, at the confluence of two important rivers, was noted. In the years 1838-1845 the Ivangorod fortress was constructed, sited to protect a crossing across the river Vistula. After 1859 the fortress was further expanded. In the early 1880s a railway line connecting Lublin with Silesia was built, with a bridge over the Vistula passing near the fortress, further enhancing its importance.
In 1854 the core of the present-day town, at its founding named the Irena colony, was established. It kept its name until 1953 when it was incorporated into the town of Dęblin.
The fortress played a role in World War I. In October, 1914 a significant battle was fought in its vicinity, in which the Russian armies repelled a combined German and Austro-Hungarian offensive. After that battle the defences of the fortress were further improved, and it became even more important as an anchor of the Russian position on the Vistula. However, reverses elsewhere along the front forced the Russians to abandon Ivangorod in August, 1915.
In 1920, the Dęblin area was the starting point for a Polish offensive that decided the fate of the Battle of Warsaw and the entire Polish-Soviet War. In the years 1918-1939, as part of independent Poland, Dęblin continued to have large military significance. The Dęblin fortress was garrisoned by the 15th Infantry Regiment of the Polish Army.
In 1927 the famous Polish Air Force academy was officially moved to Dęblin, after its founding in Grudziądz in 1925. (some pilot training has been conducted in Dęblin since 1920). It continues to function today.
During the Invasion of Poland, Dęblin was captured by the German army on September 15, 1939. Under the German occupation, its Jewish population perished during the Holocaust. A large number of Soviet POWs (as well as those of other nations) died in camps established nearby. The town was liberated by the Red Army on 25-26 July, 1944.
In the postwar years the city was rebuilt and expanded. It received its city charter in 1954.
