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Road work begun between the world wars was not brought to
completion until recent times. The present road system ended the
need to rely on the narrow-gauge railway, which in time was
liquidated. And it is certainly worth taking that drive. The great landed
estates have left an architectural treasure for today's visitor to see. One
,
example is in the village ofSwi
cice.
RACLA WICE - Archeological investigations have confirmed that this
area was settled thousands of years ago. In Raclawice in the 14th
century there was a fortified town on Gorka Kosciejowska Hill. Parts
of its walls are preserved to this day. The first mention of Raclawice
appeared in the historian Jan Dlugosz's Chronicle in the late 15th
century.
In 1794, Tadeusz Kosciuszko and his insurgent army, aided
by peasants armed only with scythes, won a famous victory here
against superior Russian forces. Though the insurrection was
ultimately crushed, the Battle of Raclawice remained an inspiring
symbol of national will for the next two centuries.
Every year, in the panoramic setting of the field below Kosciuszko
Mound there are events and performances commemorating that
combat. These include a national Kosciuszko-themed arts
competition and the Farmer of the Year Contest held on St. Adalbert's
Day.
The municipality of Raclawice, like all the others in Miechow County,
is largely agricultural, with wheat and beets grown on 95% of the
cultivated land. Woodland with unique vegetation is under strict legal
,
protection in the Opalonki, Waly, Dqbie and Sterczow-Scianka nature
reserves.
MIECHOW COUNTY
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Picturesque Miechow County forms the northernmost portion
of Malopolska Province. It includes the Miechow Upland in the
eastern reaches of the Cracow-Cz
stochowa Upland.
Miechow County boasts a varied landscape of uplands crisscrossed by
ravines and glens, with forest and grove abounding in unique
vegetation and wildlife. Land use in this area is mostly agricultural,
and traditional farming practices prevail to this day. The many historic
churches, manors and mansions sprinkled across Miechow County
complete the picture of heritage and nature intertwined. There
is something here for every seeker of leisure and recreation.
For ages this area was the property of the Guardians of the Holy
Sepulchre; for more than six centuries the monks of this order guided
the development of these lands. The eventful history of the Miechow
region recalls the onslaughts of Tartar hordes in medieval times; from
this part of Poland the knight Marcin of Wrocimowice sent an armed
force off to war against the Teutonic Knights; a battle of the January
Uprising took place here; the riflemen of Jozef Pilsudski's First Cadre
Company marched through; and our citizenry witnessed many other
events no less significant. Reminders of glory days and calamities are
visible in the brick and stone of our towns, which saw times of struggle
and oppression, and tragedies that engulfed many victims; one
of these was the destruction, at the hands of the Nazis during
World War II, of the county's large Jewish community.
As Miechow County forges its future in harmony with the natural
environment, it makes effective use of its intrinsic advantages:
proximity to the Cracow and Silesian agglomerations, easy access
by road and rail, the best conditions for agriculture, and an educated,
skilled workforce. Poland's membership in the European Union, and
the resulting inflow of funds, have enabled local leaders to implement
many projects. The energetic efforts of Miechow's farmers and
municipal governments were recognized with the Golden Euro 2005
medal, awarded to Miechow County for its success in putting large
amounts of EU funds to work for community improvement in 2004,
the first year of Poland's EU membership. Through the use of funds
from the Integrated Regional Operational Program (IROP),
in 2006-2007 more than 16 kilometers of county roads were mod-
ernized, increasing the ease and safety of travel; also, the surgery and
sterilization facilities of Miechow's hospital were remodeled and
MIECHOW COUNTY
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Historic larch-built house in Miechow
South side of Main Square in Miechow
Miechow panorama
Battle of Raclawice Monument
Mirow Palace in Ksiqz Wielki
MIECHOW COUNTY
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,
KOZLOW - For many years, Kozlow and its surrounding lands
belonged to the Comes family, the castellans of Kozlow, who managed
a farm estate. Tartar invasions in the 13th century utterly devastated
the area, but after those events Kozlow was spared further destruction.
In 1934 the Cracow-Warsaw rail line was built. To this day Kozlow
is an important rail junction linking major urban centers.
Within the municipality are two large forest complexes, with nature
reserves and the county's highest hill, Biala Gora, rising 415 meters
above sea level. The majority of the land is cultivated, and farming
is the main source of income here. Kozlow's unpolluted environment
and its wealth of forests offer excellent opportunities to develop leisure
and recreational businesses, agriculture and the food industry.
KSI1\Z WIELKI - The town of Ksiqz Wielki was once the county seat,
and served as such until the last partitioning of Poland. It is
acknowledged to be one of the Cracow region's oldest towns. In 1381,
the Church of the Holy Spirit was erected here, part of the monastery
of the Augustinian monks who were settled in Ksiqz Wielki by J an
Melsztynski, castellan of Cracow. In 1585-1595, Bishop Piotr
Myszkowski of the Cracow diocese built a palatial residence on a hill on
the east side of the town, under the direction of the Italian architect
Santi Gucci. This monumental building can be admired today. It is
known as Mirow Palace or Mirow Castle and is used as a school
building. The municipality also has the largest forested area in the
county. In Chrusty Forest there are two nature reserves, Lipny Dol
("Linden Glen") and Kwiatowka ("Flowerville"). There is also
a nature/forest trail by Route 7, open to tourists all year round.
Ksiqz Wielki's accessibility by road and the beauty of its surroundings
have made it an attractive destination for tourism. There are stocked
ponds for fishing enthusiasts. People who enjoy hiking or picking
mushrooms will enjoy many relaxing hours in the local countryside.
,
SLABOSZOW - This is one of Miechow County's only municipalities
that once belonged to a landowning knight, Slawosz. Slaboszow also
had one of the first Knights Templar churches. The present church was
erected in 1854-1876, founded by Jozef Bzowski, the squire
of Nieszkow and Slaboszow. Until early in the last century, poor roads
made this area inaccessible, especially during the spring thaw and
autumn rains.
MIECHOW COUNTY
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Nature graces the landscape of Miechow County
MIECHOW COUNTY
/p0003_1.djvu
reequipped, raising the standard of regional medical care. Thanks to
intelligent use of European Social Fund resources earmarked for
employment activation programs, joblessness has been reduced
to one of the lowest levels in Malopolska Province. In recent years,
county schools have received a financial boost for equipment, and the
most needy secondary school and university students have been
granted aid in the form of stipends.
With the increasing requirements of the local community in mind, the
county authorities have already made far- reaching plans for the future.
The plans call for further modernization of the road network, the
construction of a school sports hall, and a host of administrative and
infrastructure improvements to accommodate business growth.
All this progress owes much of its impetus to the county and municipal
executives' pro-active strategy, which extends internationally. This is
reflected injoint initiatives with local governments abroad: with Veroli
in the Lazio region of Italy, and Mostiska in Ukraine. There are
cooperative projects to reduce unemployment, improve government
administration, and carry out exchange programs for schools and
in the arts.
MIECHOW COUNTY MUNICIP ALITIES
Miech6w County owes its present organization to the 1999 national
administrative reform. The county consists of seven municipalities
administered from their principal towns.
,
MIECHOW - This is the county seat, a town of almost 12,000 residents
in the north of Malopolska Province on Route 7, the international road
leading from Poland's southern border through Cracow and all the way
to Gdansk. The town's architectural gem, visible from afar, is the
massive church with its characteristic tower crowned with a huge
globe-shaped cupola, upon which stands a majestic statue of Christ.
The 19th-century writer J 6sefWislicki described it this way: "Miech6w
enfolded itself in the hills and, along with its marvelous collegiate
church, has not been keen to look out beyond them; only now and then
the great sphere with its double cross, like an immense head, emerges
from behind the heights and then vanishes, like a lighthouse beacon,
the traveller's only guide."
MIECHOW COUNTY
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The owner of the land on which the town stood was Jaksa Gryfita,
Prince of Pomerania. The town's growth truly began when, in 1163,
monks - Guardians of the Holy Sepulchre - moved to Miech6w. They
founded a school at the monastery, which gained in fame for its high
standard of education. J an Kanty, later sainted, taught there
in 1421-1429. In 1457, one of Miech6w's most celebrated native sons
was born - Maciej Karpiga, later known as Maciej Miechowita; he was
a priest, physician, astrologer, historian, geographer, and several
times rector of the Cracow Academy, the forerunner of the J agiellonian
University. At the beginning of the 16th century the Holy Sepulchre
Chapel was erected. It is a faithful copy of the tomb in Jerusalem. Since
that time, not only regular pilgrims but crowned heads from all Europe
have made pilgrimages to this town. In 1819 the Holy Sepulchre order
was disbanded in the Russian sector of partitioned Poland, and the last
monks abandoned Miech6w, led by Tomasz Nowinski, the parish
priest of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, who was also the
monastery's last prior (or general, as he was called in the order of
Guardians). Jews from Russian-ruled territory in the east began
to settle in large numbers here from the middle of the 19th century, and
they soon built a synagogue in Miech6w close by the main square. This
bustling community included representatives of every walk of life,
from farmer to physician. In the days of the Russian occupation there
was also an Orthodox church, built for Russian officials and soldiers.
It was located in the center of Miech6w at the present-day Kosciuszko
Square, where the Partisans' Monument, erected after World War II,
now stands.
Miech6w's history is filled with tragic moments, such as the almost
complete burning of the town by the tsar's army after the failure of the
January Uprising in 1863. The military action of the First World War
did not wreak such damage; in 1914 the Austrians entered this area
without meeting Russian resistance. The Second World War did not
physically damage the town but halted development as a result of the
deportation of almost 30,000 people "for labor", 15% of whom never
returned. The large Jewish community was almost completely
destroyed.
Today Miech6w is a dynamically growing center, with its beautifully
preserved basilica and an architecturally interesting town square.
Miech6w's convenient location, easy-going atmosphere and ever-
MIECHOW COUNTY
/p0004_1.djvu
higher standard of living draw more and more people eager to relocate
to a town with all the urban amenities yet surrounded by a patchwork
of forest, farm, field and meadow. The residents' open, friendly
attitude makes that all the easier. Commercial and residential real
estate prices are still considerably below the levels in Cracow, our close
neighbor to the south.
CHARSZNICA - This area once belonged to the Guardians of the
Holy Sepulchre. It grew in importance after the construction of
the Iwanogr6d-D q browa rail line in 1885, thanks to which the
Miech6w-Charsznica train station was built. Soon thereafter, in 1916,
the Austrians commissioned a narrow-gauge railway running from
Kazimierza Wielka through Miech6w to Charsznica. Having a railroad
junction for both standard and narrow-gauge rail lines significantly
boosted the area's growth and the construction of factories.
The future of Charsznica, the "Cabbage Capital of Poland", is firmly
tied to agriculture. Cabbage cultivation and the associated food
industry have become the municipality's calling card, and the town's
annual Cabbage Fest draws revelers to this friendly place from far
corners of the country. The town has an indoor swimming pool and
a hotel. The local community is an active one, investing in roads,
a waste treatment plant, and improvements to help business
development.
GOLCZA - This historic locality dates from 1325. The local parish was
part of the estate of St. Florian's Chapter in Cracow. In time the village
became an asset of the Cracow Academy. After the third partitioning
of Poland, Golcza found itself in the Austrian sector, in Western
Galicia; thus it was separated from Miech6w, which remained within
the Russian sector. After Poland regained its independence, Polish
schools were established here, as was the volunteer fire department
and a community center. After the Second World War the rural
economy quickly recovered.
The municipality now has a good road network, water supply to all its
villages, and gas mains to the majority of them. Work on construction
of sanitary sewers serving the entire municipality is in progress.
Already Golcza's main road is one of the county's most modern
highways, thanks to ED funds and substantial support from the county
authorities.
MIECHOW COUNTY