Kolbuszowa

Kolbuszowa

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Coat of arms
Kolbuszowa
Coordinates:
Country  Poland
Voivodeship Subcarpathian
County Kolbuszowa County
Gmina Gmina Kolbuszowa
Established 1503
Town rights 1700
Government
 • Mayor Jan Zuba
Area
 • Total 7.94 km2 (3.1 sq mi)
Population (2007)
 • Total 9,510
 • Density 1,197.7/km2 (3,102.1/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 36-100
Area code(s) +48 17
Car plates RKL
Website http://www.kolbuszowa.pl/

Kolbuszowa [kɔlbuˈʂɔva] is a small town in south-eastern Poland, with 9,190 inhabitants (02.06.2009).[1] Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodship (since 1999), it is the capital of Kolbuszowa County.

Contents

History

The name of the town comes from the land owner Kolbusz. It appeared for the first time in 1503 in place where Poręby Wielkie used to exist.

The town was probably founded before 1683, when it was mentioned in a trade regulating document of Józef Karol Lubomirski. Kolbuszowa was on an important trade route Sandomierz-Przemyśl.

As the owners of the area were the Leliwa Tarnowski, Kolbuszowa belonged to the Sandomierz County. With regards to the Roman Catholic Church Kolbuszowa was under the Kraków diocese but in 1786 it was moved under the jurisdiction of the Tarnów diocese.

During the partitions of Poland the town was in the Rzeszów district of the Austrian partition and in 1867 it became the seat of its own county (powiat).

Before World War II, half of Kolbuszowa's population was Jewish. During the war, German troops burned down part of the town and about half of the Jewish population perished. In September 1941 Germans established a ghetto and interned 2500 people. In September 1942 the ghetto was emptied and its entire population was moved to a ghetto in Rzeszów.

On September 9, 1939 a 2 day battle[2] between the Polish Army (121st light tank company) and the German 2nd Panzer Division took place here. During the war units of Polish Armia Krajowa (AK) and BCh (Polish Peasants' Battalions) operating in this area discovered testing sites for the German V-1 and V-2 rockets in the nearby towns of Blizna/Pustkow. The Red Army entered Kolubuszowa in July 1944 and local Polish AK units (as part of Operation Tempest) attacked retreating German units; several dozen partisans died in the operation.

After World War II, Kolbuszowa was rebuilt. New school districts were created, as well as a library and Museum of Culture.

In 1964 a new rail link was established: RzeszówGłogów Małopolski – Kolbuszowa. In 1971 it was extended to Nowa Dęba and Tarnobrzeg. This connected Kolbuszowa to all the major cities in Poland including the capital, Warsaw. It was a culmination of decades of preparations which started when this part of Poland was under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Notable people

Jan Bytnar, Scoutmaster, Polish Scouting resistance activist and Second Lieutenant of Armia Krajowa

Marian Krzaklewski, Polish politician, was born in Kolbuszowa.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kolbuszowa is twinned with:

References

Notes