Nowy Sącz

The title of this article contains the character ą. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Nowy Sacz.

Nowy Sącz
Town Hall
Flag Coat of arms
Nowy Sącz
Coordinates: 49°37′26″N 20°41′50″E / 49.62389°N 20.69722°E / 49.62389; 20.69722
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lesser Poland
County	city county
Established	1292
Town rights	1292
Government
- Mayor	Ryszard Nowak
Area
- Total	57 km2 (22 sq mi)
Elevation	281 m (922 ft)
Population (2006)
- Total	84,594
- Density	1,484.1/km2 (3,843.8/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	33-300 to 33-308, 33-310, 33-320
Area code(s)	+48 18
Car plates	KN
Website	http://www.nowysacz.pl

Nowy Sącz [ˈnɔvɨ ˈsɔnt​͡ʂ] (known also by other names) is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County, but is not included within the powiat.

Names

The town has been known in German as Neu Sandez and in Hungarian as Újszandec. The Rusyn (Galician) name was Novyj Sanc. Its Yiddish names include צאנז (Tsanz) and נײ-סאנץ (Nay-Sants).

Other Polish noun forms:Nowego Sącza: “of Nowy Sącz”, w Nowym Sączu: “in Nowy Sącz”; adjective forms: nowosądeck-i/a/iego/iej/ie/ich and for the region sądeck-i/a/iego/iej/ie/ich.

Geography

Nowy Sącz is at the confluence of the Kamienica River into the Dunajec, about 20 km north of the Slovak border, in the Sądecka Valley (Kotlina Sądecka) at an altitude of 381 m (1,250.00 ft). It is surrounded by ranges of the eastern Outer Western Carpathian Mountains: Beskid Sądecki to the south, Beskid Wyspowy to the west, Beskid Niski to the southeast, and the foothills of Pogórze Rożnowskie to the north. The geological basis is Carpathian flysch – an undifferentiated grey-banded sandstone – with alluvial sediment from the Dunajec, Poprad, and Kamienica rivers in the valley basin. The climate is temperate, with an average annual rainfall of about 700 millimetres.

Nowy Sącz is the governmental seat of powiat nowosądecki (county or governmental district) part of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Województwo Małopolskie since 1999. Between 1975 and 1998 it was the provincial seat of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship. Before that and during the Second Polish Republic Nowy Sącz was a county seat in the Kraków Voivodeship. In 1951 it became a town with the rights of a county. It is the historic and tourist center of Sądecczyzna, the Sądecki district.

History

Nowy Sącz was founded on 8 November 1292 by the Bohemian king Wenceslaus II, on the site of a village named Kamienica. An ancient trade route called the Amber Road passed through the town, connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Baltic. The town benefited during that time from its proximity on the trade route to Hungary due to privileges granted by King Władysław I the Elbow-high, and later his son, Kazimierz the Great, for supporting him during a rebellion in 1311. In the 15th century it produced steel and woolen products, and nearly rivaled Kraków in visual arts. In 1611 a great fire destroyed much of the town, and the 17th century the town declined in importance after "The Deluge".

Nowy Sącz was in the central part of West Galicia from the First Partition of Poland, 1772, to Polish independence,1918. Nowy Sącz rose to a new prominence in the 19th century when the Austrian authorities built a railway connecting it with Vienna, the capital. The town is important in Hasidic Jewish history for the founding of the Sanz Hasidic dynasty during the 19th century, the precursor to the Bobov dynasty founded in nearby Bobowa (with a synagogue with occasional services by Kraków congregation) and the Klausenberg dynasty. At the beginning of World War I, Nowy Sącz was occupied by the Russian Army. The Russians were driven back by the Central powers in December 1914. Briefly after the end of the war, it was associated with the independence movement of the Lemko (a Ukrainian related group, native to the Beskid Niski), the Lemko-Rusyn Republic. The inter-war Poland saw industrial expansion and the railroad factory expanded.

During the invasion of Poland starting World War II, Nowy Sącz was occupied by Nazi Germany on 6 September 1939. Because of its proximity to Slovakia, it lay on a major route for resistance fighters of the Polish Home Army. The Gestapo was active in capturing those trying to cross the border, including the murder of several Polish pilots. In June 1940, the resistance rescued Jan Karski from a hospital there, and a year later 32 people were shot in reprisal for the escape; several others were sent to concentration camps.

The regional Jewish community numbered about 25,000 before the World War II, and nearly a third of the town's population had been Jewish; ninety percent of them died or did not return.^[1] A ghetto of around 20,000 people was established near the castle, and was liquidated at Belzec extermination camp over three days in August 1942. Across the river in the Jewish Cemetery, 300-500 people were executed for their part in sheltering Jews. The Red Army fought its way into the city on 20 January 1945, and at war’s end, about 60% of the city had been destroyed. Nowy Sącz was honored for its heroism with the Cross of Grunwald, third class in 1946. In 1947 much of the Lemko population, living in villages southeast of the town, was deported in Action Vistula (mostly to land recently annexed from Germany) in reaction to the anti-communist activity in the region.

Economy

Regional dress of the Lachy Sądeckie in Sądecki Ethnographic Park

Galician town in Sądecki Ethnographic Park

Ruins of Royal Castle in Nowy Sącz Castle

Basilica of St. Margaret behind the Dom Gotycki

St. Kazimierz Church

During the Polish communist regime, Nowy Sącz was the capital of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship (1975–98). In the 1950s the Polish authorities applied a special economic programme for the town, called the Nowy Sacz Experiment. The plan was to provide improvement and acceleration of the region's economic development, but it was only partially completed. The town was an important centre of the railway industry, and now contains one of the biggest railway engineering works in Poland. Since the social and political changes in Poland that started in 1989, the industry has faced economic problems.

Nowy Sącz is also important in the food industry, specializing in processing fruits, especially apples. Most of the factories were in the Biegonice district. Now the local government is trying change the structure of the industry, restructuring old factories and encouraging new companies to start up. This initiative also includes a move to hi-tech industry. Nowy Sącz had one of the first computer companies in Poland, with the largest assembly plant in Europe, but this has closed due to ownership friction with the government. The building trade is also represented in the town, which has a major European window-manufacturer. Like all the bigger towns in Lesser Poland, it has seen a significant influx of the largest European grocery chains.

A main economic problem now is the high level of unemployment which, officially about 20%, is one of the highest in the European Union. Recently the local government has tried to address the persistent economic and social problems of the local Roma community, including access to utilities and education.

Tourism

The town has many historic features, including:

• One of the largest marketplaces in Europe, after Kraków, the largest rynek in Poland. The late 19th century Ratusz (city hall) is centered in the square.
• Saint Margaret's basilica, Bazylika kolegiacka Św. Małgorzaty (15th century). The coat of arms shows St. Margaret and a dragon; her name day is July 20
• A 15th-century house Dom Gotycki containing a regional museum
• A gothic Franciscan church.
• The Great Synagogue, dating from 1746, now the Galeria Dawna Synagoga, a gallery with some historical displays. There is a memorial tablet on the front in Polish, Hebrew, and Yiddish. Across the Kamienica River is the Jewish cemetery.
• Saint Roch, a church of wooden construction from the 15th century, in the Dąbrówka district. The old cemetery chapel St. Helen's Church is another example.
• The partially restored ruins of a mediæval Royal Castle from the 14th century during the reign of Kazimierz the Great. It was destroyed in 1945 at the end of World War II when it was used as a German ammunition store and was the site of mass executions. There are also the remains of the city walls nearby.
• An open air museum or skansen (Sądecki Park Etnograficzny), containing a village of relocated authentic structures recreating indigenous architecture, customs, and folk culture from the region. Of particular note are the wooden churches, including an Orthodox church and the Roma (Gypsy) village.
• Stary Sącz (Old Sącz) 10 km to the south, founded in 1163 but smaller than Nowy (New) Sącz, has a charming cobbled market square, with a convent of Poor Clares to the east.
• There are also several routes emphasizing wooden churches in the region of note.

The mountainous country around Nowy Sącz is also popular with tourists, hikers and skiers, especially the Beskid Sądecki mountains (part of the Carpathians), of which the highest peak is Radziejowa (1,262 m (4,140.42 ft) above sea level). Nearby popular mountain resorts include Krynica-Zdrój and Piwniczna-Zdrój ("Zdrój" means "health spa"). 15 km north of Nowy Sącz is Jezioro Rożnowskie, a reservoir (22 km long, covering an area of 16 km², and a capacity of 193,000,000 m³), with many dachas and camping sites. Also to the north is Ciężkowicko-Rożnowski National Park. An annual festival of dance featuring children from highland regions from around the world in July Święto Dzieci Gór.

Sports

• Sandecja Nowy Sacz - a football team, currently in the Polish First Division
• Dunajec Nowy Sacz - a football team, playing in local league
• Beskid Nowy Sącz - a handball team, playing in the Polish First Division
• Olimpia Nowy Sacz - a handball team, p;aying in the Polish First Division
• Dwojka Nowy Sacz - a handball team, playing in the Polish Second Division
• RC Czarno Biali - a rugby team, playing in the Polish Second Division

Education

• Wyższa Szkoła Biznesu - National-Louis University — a business college with a strong emphasis on English. It has American accreditation.
• Wyższa Szkoła Przedsiębiorczości
• Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Zawodowa

People

• Arthur Berson, Austrian meteorologist (1859–1942)
• Bolesław Barbacki, Painter, Actor, Director (1891-1941)
• Chaim Halberstam, Hasidic rebbe
• Władysław Hasior, Artist
• Majka Jeżowska, Singer
• Adam Kossowski, Artist
• Aleksander Michał Lubomirski Starost
• Jerzy Aleksander Lubomirski Starost
• Stanisław Lubomirski Starost
• Carl Menger, Austrian Economist(1840–1921),
• Józef Oleksy Polish Prime Minister
• Zygmunt Tarło Kasztelan
• Dawid Janczyk, Polish international football player
• Piotr Świerczewski, Polish international football player
• Władysław Kiełbasa, Lieutenant Colonel in the Polish Army

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland

Twin towns — Sister cities

Nowy Sącz is twinned with:^[2]

Columbia County in United States [2] Elbląg in Poland [2] Kiskunhalas in Hungary [2]

Netanya in Israel [2] Prešov in Slovakia [2] Molise in Italy

Schwerte in Germany [2] Stará Ľubovňa in Slovakia [2] Stryi in Ukraine [2]

Tarnów in Poland [2] Trakai in Lithuania [2] Narvik in Norway [2]

See also

• Galicia

References

Notes

1. ^ ORNAK. "Dia-pozytyw: Ślady i Judaica". Diapozytyw.pl. http://www.diapozytyw.pl/pl/site/slady_i_judaica/nowy_sacz. Retrieved 2009-05-06. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} "Nowy Sącz - Partner Cities". © 2008 Urząd Miasta Nowego Sącza, Rynek 1, 33-300 Nowy Sącz. http://www.nowysacz.pl/?p=1&p2=167&main=inc-miastapar. Retrieved 2008-12-07. 

External links

• English version of official webpage

Coordinates: 49°38′N 20°43′E / 49.633°N 20.717°E / 49.633; 20.717