Przemyśl

Przemyśl
Przemyśl Cathedral with the city in the background
Flag Coat of arms
Przemyśl
Coordinates: 49°47′N 22°46′E / 49.783°N 22.767°E / 49.783; 22.767
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Subcarpathian
Powiat	city county
Established	10th century
Town rights	1389
Government
• Mayor	Robert Choma
Area
• Total	44 km2 (17 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Total	66,715
• Density	1,500/km2 (3,900/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	37-700 to 37-720
Area code(s)	+48 016
Car plates	RP
Website	http://www.przemysl.pl

Przemyśl [ˈpʂɛmɨɕl] (Ukrainian: Пере́мишль, Peremyshl', German: Premissel) is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009.^[1] In 1999, it became part of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship.

Przemyśl owes its long and rich history to the advantages of its geographic location. The city lies in an area connecting mountains and lowlands known as the Przemyśl Gate, with open lines of transportation, and fertile soil. It also lies on the navigable San River. Important trade routes that connected the Middle Europe and Eastern Europe passed through Przemyśl and ensured the city's importance, thus creating the glorious Polish city.

Names

Different names in various languages have identified the city throughout its history. Selected languages include: Bulgarian: Пшемишъл (Pshemishǎl); Czech: Přemyšl; German: Premissel; Latin: Premislia; Russian: Перемышль (P^jer^jemyshl^j); Ukrainian: Перемишль (Peremyshl^j); and Yiddish: פּשעמישל‎ (Pshemishl).

History

Royal Casimir castle

Przemyśl, the second-oldest city in southern Poland (after Kraków), appears to date from as early as the 8th century. The region subsequently became part of the 9th-century Great Moravian state. Archeological remains testify to the presence of a monastic settlement as early as the 9th century. Upon the invasion of the Hungarian tribes into the heart of the Great Moravian Empire around 899, the Lendians of the area declared allegiance to the Hungarian authorities. The Przemyśl region then became a site of contention between Poland, Kievan Rus and Hungary beginning in at least the 9th century. The area was mentioned for the first time in 981 by Nestor, when Vladimir I of Kievan Rus took it over on the way into Poland.^[2][3] In 1018 Przemyśl returned to Poland, and in 1031 it was retaken by Rus. The palatium complex was built during the rule of Bolesław I Chrobry.^[4] Between the 11th and 12th century the city was a capital of the Principality of Peremyshl, one of the principalities that made up the Kievan Rus' state. Sometime before 1218 an Eastern Orthodox eparchy was founded in the city.^[5] Przemyśl later became part of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia.

Within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Early 17th century graphics with Latin writing Premislia celebris Rvssiae civitas

In 1340 Przemyśl was taken by Casimir III of Poland and became part of the Polish kingdom as result of the Galicia–Volhynia Wars. Around this time the first Roman Catholic diocese was founded in the city,^[5] and Przemyśl was granted city rights based on Magdeburg rights, confirmed in 1389 by king Władysław II Jagiełło.

The city prospered as an important trade centre during the Renaissance period. Like nearby Lwów (Lviv in Ukrainian), the city's population consisted of a great number of nationalities, including Poles, Ruthenians, Jews, Germans, Czechs, Armenians and Lipka Tatars. The long period of prosperity enabled the construction of such handsome public buildings as the Old Synagogue of 1559. A Jesuit college was founded in the city in 1617.^[5] The prosperity came to an end in the middle of the 17th century, due to wartime destruction during The Deluge and the general decline of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at this time. The city decline lasted for over a hundred years, and only at the end of the 18th century did it recover its former levels of population. In 1754, the Roman Catholic bishop founded Przemyśl's first public library, which was only the second public library in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (Warsaw's Załuski Library was founded 7 years earlier). Przemyśl's importance at that time was such that when Austria annexed eastern Galicia in 1772 the Austrians considered making Przemyśl their provincial capital, before deciding on Lwów.^[5]

In the mid-eighteenth century, people of Jewish faith constituted 55.6% (1692) of the population, Roman Catholics 39.5% (1202), and Greek Catholics 4.8% (147).^[6]

As part of Austrian Poland

Austrian KK Postal card in Polish version sent in 1881

In 1772, as a consequence of the First Partition of Poland, Przemyśl became part of the Austrian empire, in what the Austrians called the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. According to the Austrian census of 1830, the city was home to 7,538 people of whom 1,508 (20%) were members of the Greek Catholic Church, a significantly larger number of Ruthenians than in most Galician cities.^[5] In 1804 a Ruthenian library was established in Przemyśl. By 1822 its collection had over 33,000 books and its importance for Ruthenians was comparable to that held by the Ossolineum library in Lwów for Poles. Przemyśl also became the center of the revival of Byzantine choral music in the Greek Catholic Church. Until eclipsed by Lwów in the 1830s, Przemyśl was the most important city in the Ruthenian cultural awakening in the nineteenth century.^[5]

In 1861 railways were built to connect Przemyśl with Kraków to the west and Lwów (Lemberg) to the east. In the middle of the 19th century, due to the growing conflict between Austria and Russia over the Balkans, Austria grew more mindful of Przemyśl's strategic location near the border with the Russian Empire. During the Crimean War, when tensions mounted between Russia and Austria, a series of massive fortresses, 15 km (9 mi) in circumference, were built around the city by the Austrians.

The census of 1910 showed that the city had 54,078 residents. Roman Catholics were the most numerous – 25,306 (46,8%), followed by Jews – 16,062 (29,7%) and Greek Catholics – 12,018 (22,2%).^[7]

Przemyśl Fortress

Fort 15 "Borek", 1896–1900

With technological progress in artillery during the second half of the 19th century, the old fortifications rapidly became obsolete. The longer range of rifled artillery necessitated the redesign of fortresses so that they would be larger and able to resist the newly available guns. To achieve this, between the years 1888 and 1914 Przemyśl was turned into a first class fortress, the third largest in Europe out of about 200 that were built in this period. Around the city, in a circle of circumference 45 km (28 mi), 44 forts of various sizes were built. The older fortifications were modernised to provide the fortress with an internal defence ring. The fortress was designed to accommodate 85,000 soldiers and 956 cannons of all sorts, although eventually 120,000 soldiers were garrisoned there.^[8]

German illustration of the second Siege of Przemyśl, from the January 13, 1915 Illustrated War News.

In August 1914, at the start of the First World War, Russian forces defeated Austro-Hungarian forces in the opening engagements and advanced rapidly into Galicia. The Przemyśl fortress fulfilled its mission very effectively, helping to stop a 300,000 strong Russian army advancing upon the Carpathian Passes and Kraków, the Lesser Poland regional capital. The first siege was lifted by a temporary Austro-Hungarian advance. However, the Russian army resumed its advance and initiated a second siege of the fortress of Przemyśl in October, 1914. This time relief attempts were unsuccessful. Due to lack of food and exhaustion of its defenders, the fortress surrendered on March 22, 1915. The Russians captured 126,000 prisoners and 700 big guns. Before surrender, the complete destruction of all fortifications was carried out. The Russians did not linger in Przemyśl. A renewed offensive by the Central Powers recaptured the destroyed fortress on June 3, 1915. During the fighting around Przemyśl, both sides lost up to 115,000 killed, wounded, and missing.^[8]

After World War I

The train station.

At the end of World War I, Przemyśl became disputed between renascent Poland and the West Ukrainian People's Republic. On November 1, 1918, a local provisional government was formed of representatives of Polish, Jewish, and Ruthenian inhabitants of the area. However, on November 3 a Ukrainian army overthrew the government, arrested its leader, and captured the eastern part of the city. The Ukrainian army was checked by a small Polish self-defence unit formed of World War I veterans and Orlęta, an organisation of young volunteers from Przemyśl high schools. The battlefront divided the town, with the western borough of Zasanie in Polish hands. Since neither side could cross the San River, both opposing forces awaited relief from the outside. That race was won by the Polish relievers: the volunteer expeditionary unit formed in Kraków arrived in Przemyśl on November 10. When the Polish ultimatum to the Ukrainians remained unanswered, on November 11 and November 12 the Polish forces crossed the San and expelled the outnumbered Ukrainian army in what became known as the Battle of Przemyśl.

After the Polish-Bolshevik War, the town became a part of new Second Polish Republic. Although the capital of the voivodship was Lwów (see: Lwów Voivodeship), Przemyśl recovered its nodal position as a seat of local church administration, as well as the garrison of the 10th Military District of the Polish Army - a staff unit charged with organising the defence of roughly 10% of Poland. As of 1931 the town had a population of 62,272.

Second World War

After the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, the border between the two invaders ran through the middle of the city along the San river until June, 1941. As the result of Soviet occupation Przemyśl was incorporated by the Soviets to the Ukrainian SSR within the newly established Drohobych Oblast.^[9] In 1940 the city became an administrative center of Peremyshl Uyezd within which before the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union was established the Peremyshl Fortified District.^[10]

The town's population increased due to a large influx of Jewish refugees from the General Government who sought to cross the border into the Soviet Union. It is estimated that by mid-1941 the Jewish population of the city had grown to roughly 16,500. In the 1941 Operation Barbarossa, the eastern (Soviet) part of the city was also occupied by Germany. On June 20, 1942, the first group of 1,000 Jews was transported from the Przemyśl area to the Janowska concentration camp, and on July 15, 1942 a ghetto was established for all Jewish inhabitants of Przemyśl and its vicinity – some 22,000 people altogether. Local Jews were given 24 hours to enter the Ghetto. Jewish communal buildings, including the Tempel Synagogue and the Old Synagogue were destroyed; the New Synagogue, Zasanie Synagogue, and all commercial and residential real estate belonging to Jews were expropriated.

The ghetto in Przemyśl was sealed off from the outside on July 14, 1942. By that time, there may have been as many as 24,000 Jews in the ghetto. On July 27, the Gestapo notified Judenrat about the forced resettlement program and posted notices that an "Aktion" (roundup for deportation) was to be implemented involving almost all occupants. Exceptions were made for some essential, and Gestapo workers, who would have their papers stamped accordingly. On the same day, Major Max Liedtke, military commander of Przemyśl, ordered his troops to seize the bridge across the San river that connected the divided city, and halt the evacuation. The Gestapo were forced to give him permission to retain the workers performing service for the Wehrmacht (up to 100 Jews with families). For the actions undertaken by Liedtke and his adjutant Albert Battel in Przemyśl, Yad Vashem later named them "Righteous Among the Nations".^[11] The process of extermination of the Jews resumed thereafter. Until September 1943 almost all Jews were sent to the Auschwitz or Belzec extermination camps. The local branches of the Polish underground and the Żegota managed to save 415 Jews. According to a postwar investigation in German archives, 568 Poles were executed by the Germans for sheltering Jews in the area of Przemyśl, including Michał Kruk, hanged along with several others on September 6, 1943 in a public execution. Among the many Polish rescuers there, were the Banasiewicz, Kurpiel, Kuszek, Lewandowski, and Podgórski families.^[12][13]

The Red Army retook the town from German forces on July 27, 1944. On 16 August 1945, a border agreement between the government of the Soviet Union and the Polish Provisional Government of National Unity, installed by the Soviets, was signed in Moscow. According to the so-called Curzon Line, the postwar eastern border of Poland has been established several kilometres to the east of Przemyśl.

After the war

In the postwar territorial settlement, the new border between Poland and the Soviet Union placed Przemyśl just within the Polish People's Republic. The border now ran only a few kilometers to the east of the city, cutting it off from much of its economic hinterland. Due to the murder of Jews in the Nazi Holocaust and the postwar expulsion of Ukrainians (in 1947's Operation Vistula or akcja Wisla), the city's population fell to 24,000, almost entirely Polish. However, the city welcomed thousands of Polish migrants from Eastern Galicia. Their numbers restored the population to its prewar level.

As a result of all these events, the growth of the city in the years after 1945 was stunted. In the 1990s, economic reforms in Ukraine after the fall of the Soviet Union allowed the border to be opened, improving the city's opportunities for trade.

Climate

Main sights

Due to long and rich history of the city, there are many sights in and around Przemyśl, of special interest to tourists, including the Old Town with Rynek, the main market square. Among the historic buildings and museums, opened to visitors, are:

Statue of the good soldier Švejk in Przemyśl

• Muzeum Narodowe (the National Museum) - this has a splendid collection of icons, second only to the one in Sanok. It is free on Wednesdays.
• Muzeum Dzwonów i Fajek (the Museum of Bells and Pipes) - free on Wednesdays.
• Muzeum Diecezjalne (the diocesan museum)
• Reformed Franciscan church and monastery, founded in 1627
• Franciscan Church, from mid 18th-century in a baroque style
• Uniate Cathedral, former 17th-century Jesuit church, now a Uniate cathedral with a nice iconostasis
• Carmelite Church, 17th century late-Renaissance church
• The Great Przemyśl Cathedral
• Castle, built by Casimir III the Great in the 14th century.
• Zasanie Synagogue
• New Synagogue (Przemyśl)
• Lubomirski Palace, an eclectic style palace of the Lubomirski family constructed in 1885.
• Kopiec Tatarski - a mound to the south of the city where a 16th-century Tatar khan was supposedly buried.
• WWI cemeteries (Cmentarz Wojskowy)

Education

• Wyższa Szkoła Administracji i Zarządzania
  • Wydział zamiejscowy w Rzeszowie
• Wyższa Szkoła Gospodarcza
• Wyższa Szkoła Informatyki i Zarządzania
• Nauczycielskie Kolegium Języków Obcych
• Nauczycielskie Kolegium Języka Polskiego

Sport

• Czuwaj Przemyśl - football club
• AZS Czuwaj Przemyśl - handball club
• Polonia Przemyśl - football club

Politics

Krosno/Przemyśl constituency

Members of Sejm elected from Krosno/Przemyśl constituency

• Andrzej Ćwierz, Law and Justice
• Marian Józef Daszyk, League of Polish Families
• Mieczysław Golba, Law and Justice
• Mieczysław Kasprzak, PSL
• Janusz Adam Kołodziej, Polish Families League
• Marek Kuchciński, Law and Justice
• Tomasz Kulesza, Civic Platform
• Elżbieta Łukacijewska, Civic Platform
• Janusz Roman Maksymiuk, Self-Defence
• Wojciech Tadeusz Pomajda, Democratic Left Alliance
• Stanisław Zając, Law and Justice

Twin towns

Przemyśl is twinned with:

• Eger, Hungary
• South Kesteven, United Kingdom
• Paderborn, Germany
• Lviv, Ukraine
• Truskavets, Ukraine
• Kamyanets-Podilskyi, Ukraine

Notable people

See also

• Old Synagogue in Przemyśl destroyed by the Nazis in 1941

References and external links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Przemyśl.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Przemyśl.

Coordinates: 49°47′10″N 22°46′26″E / 49.78611°N 22.77389°E / 49.78611; 22.77389

Counties of Podkarpackie Voivodeship City counties Rzeszów (capital) Krosno Przemyśl Tarnobrzeg Land counties Bieszczady Brzozów Dębica Jarosław Jasło Kolbuszowa Krosno Łańcut Lesko Leżajsk Lubaczów Mielec Nisko Przemyśl Przeworsk Ropczyce-Sędziszów Rzeszów Sanok Stalowa Wola Strzyżów Tarnobrzeg

Przemyśl County Seat (not part of the county): Przemyśl Rural gminas Gmina Bircza Gmina Dubiecko Gmina Fredropol Gmina Krasiczyn Gmina Krzywcza Gmina Medyka Gmina Orły Gmina Przemyśl Gmina Stubno Gmina Żurawica