Limanowa

Limanowa
Limanowa

Flag

Coat of arms
Limanowa
Coordinates:
Country  Poland
Voivodeship Lesser Poland
County Limanowa County
Gmina Limanowa (urban gmina)
Government
 • Mayor
Area
 • Total 18.64 km2 (7.2 sq mi)
Elevation 400 m (1,312 ft)
Population (2006)
 • Total 14,632
 • Density 785/km2 (2,033.1/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 34-600, 34-601, 34-651
Car plates KLI
Website http://miasto.limanowa.pl/

Limanowa [limaˈnɔva] (German: Ilmenau, Yiddish: לימינוב Liminuv) is a small town (population 14,624 as of 2005) in southern Poland, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is the capital of Limanowa County.

Limanowa aspires to be a local administrative, economic, and cultural center. The town, located in the mountains, is well-prepared to receive tourists. Traveling to Limanowa is easy as it has connections with the main southern cities of Poland.

Contents

History

Mentions of the town date back to 1496, when it was documented as Ilmanowa, a rural estate that belonged to members of the szlachta. In 1520, ownership of the estate was passed from the Słupski family to Achacy Jordan, who subsequently established a judiciary.

Limanowa became a township in 1565, after being granted city rights by King Zygmunt August. The residents were not required to pay taxes to the Crown for a period of thirty years, throughout which the town rapidly developed. However, its economic strength declined due to the plague, and destruction caused by the Swedish invasion of 1655.

While the town was constantly damaged by fire because of its wooden buildings, much of its infrastructure was destroyed by the fire of 1759. It was not until the Polish Partitions, and Limanowa's incorporation into the Austrian province of Galicia, that it was rebuilt. The town began to flourish as a trading hub, hosting over eighteen markets per year.

During World War I, Limanowa was located at the Eastern Front. In the early months of the war, it was the site of the Battle of Limanowa between December 1 and December 9, 1914 in which the Austro-Hungarian Army repelled a Russian breakthrough southwestwards between Limanowa and Kraków.

The Second World War saw invasion by German soldiers, and the establishment of a ghetto in Limanowa. The town suffered heavy casualties as a result of the occupation; 472 people were shot as hostages and conspiracy participants, 123 as concentration camp prisoners, 91 people died in the Third Reich, 47 died fighting in the war, and 3,053 people from Limanowa's Jewish population were murdered.

Education

Sports

People

Twin towns

References

  1. ^ "Niles Sister Cities". Official website. The Village of Niles. 2010. http://www.vniles.com/Content/templates/?a=149. Retrieved 4 January 2010. 

External links