Szydłowiec

Szydłowiec

Town panorama

Coat of arms
Motto: Dla Boga, Ojczyzny i społeczności
For God, Country and community
Szydłowiec
Coordinates: 51°14′N 20°51′E / 51.233°N 20.850°E / 51.233; 20.850Coordinates: 51°14′N 20°51′E / 51.233°N 20.850°E / 51.233; 20.850
Country  Poland
Voivodeship Masovian
County Szydłowiec County
Gmina Gmina Szydłowiec
Established 12th century
Town rights 1427
Government
 • Mayor Artur Ludew
Area
 • Total 21.93 km2 (8.47 sq mi)
Elevation 260 m (850 ft)
Population (2006)
 • Total 12,030
 • Density 550/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 26–500
Area code(s) +48 48
Car plates WSZ
Website http://www.szydlowiec.pl

Szydłowiec [ʂɨˈdwɔvjɛt͡s] (Hebrew: שידלוביץ, Yiddish: שידלָאווצע) is a town in Szydłowiec County, Mazovian Voivodeship, Poland, with 15,243 inhabitants (December 31, 2005). It is the seat of Szydłowiec Commune (Gmina Szydłowiec). Previously, from 1975 to 1998, it was in the Radom Voivodeship. Szydłowiec historically belongs to Lesser Poland, from its beginnings until 1795, it was part of Lesser Poland's Sandomierz Voivodeship.

History

Szydłowiec in the 18th century;
by Zygmunt Vogel.

From the 12th century the environs of Szydłowiec belonged to the powerful knightly family of Odrowąż, who were descended from Moravian-Bohemian Baworowic family.

In the 13th century the site of the present castle was occupied by a stronghold on an artificial island with wood and earth defences and by a village called Szydłowiec. The present town came into being in the early 15th century and together with the neighbouring estate was the property of the Szydłowiecki and Radziwiłł families until the 19th century.

The town flourished in the 16th and the first half of 17th centuries. It was then an important centre of trade and crafts, mainly stone-masonry based on the exploatition of the local sandstone which was easy to work. This stone was used to carve architectural sculptural elements and to make tools for agriculture. It was also a building material for the local Saint Sigsmunt Church, Castle in Szydłowiec and the Town hall in Szydłowiec; moreover, it was sent to Kielce, Cracow and Warsaw.

Among the goods traded in were agricultural products.

The period of wars 1648–1717 and numerous epidemics and fires brought about a decline of Szydłowiec, which persisted for centuries, its state being yet aggravated after the partitions of Poland. The town owes this present character to transformations in urban design and architecture which took place in the second half of the 19th century and in the 20th century.

Szydłowiec also had a strong Jewish community until World War II.

At one point it had a population that was of a Jewish majority. It was home to Grand Rabbi Nathan David Rabinowitz (d. 1865), the grandson of Grand Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak of Peshischa, and the father of the Biala Hasidic dynasty.

References

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