| Alwernia | |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Pushpin Map: | Poland |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Coordinates: | 50.0619°N 19.5411°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Voivodeship |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Chrzanów |
| Subdivision Type3: | Gmina |
| Subdivision Name3: | Alwernia |
| Established Title: | Town rights[1] |
| Established Date: | 1 October 1993 |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Beata Nadzieja-Szpila |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 8.88 |
| Elevation M: | 312 |
| Population Footnotes: | [3] [4] |
| Population As Of: | 30 June 2022 |
| Population Total: | 3284 |
| Population Density Km2: | 370 |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code[5] |
| Postal Code: | 32-566 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code[6] |
| Area Code: | +48 12 |
| Registration Plate Type: | Number plates[7] |
| Registration Plate: | KCH |
| Website: | http://www.alwernia.pl |
Alwernia is a town situated some 360NaN0 west of Kraków in the Chrzanów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland. The town has an area of 8.88sqkm,[2] and as of June 2022 it has a population of 3,284.[3]
The name of the town is taken from that of the Franciscan hermitage of La Verna (Latin: Alvernia) in Tuscany, Italy. It was bestowed on the locality in 1616 by the castellan Krzysztof Koryciński. A monastery of the order of the Stigmata of Saint Francis of Assisi was built on high ground between 1625 and 1656. The church dates from the period between 1630 and 1676.
Below the monastery a settlement developed which in 1776 received the right to hold a market. In 1796 Alwernia is mentioned as being a small commercial and administrative centre.
After the Third Partition of Poland, the town became a part of the Austrian Empire, and since 1867 of Austria-Hungary. In the newly-reborn Poland, Alwernia administratively belonged to Kraków Voivodeship. After World War II, the town once again became a part of Kraków Voivodeship until 1998.
On 15 September 1993 Alwernia received its town charter.[1]
Chemical works "Alventa" is located in the town. The works was built in 1923–1924, in the interwar period. It mainly focuses on producing phosphorus and chromium compounds, as well as fertilizers.[8]
Voivodeship road 780 directly passes through the town. The A4 motorway, which is a part of the European route E40, passes through the village of Rudno, located about 4km (02miles) north of the town.
The Trzebinia–Wadowice railway, opened in 1899, passes through the town, however in October 2002 passenger service ceased.[9] In 2017, a tourist draisine started operating on the closed railway.[10] The railway infrastructure manager in Poland, PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe, is planning to reconstruct the railway.[11]
Alwernia's tourist attractions and monuments include: