Augustów Explained

Augustów
Settlement Type:Town
Pushpin Map:Poland#Poland Podlaskie Voivodeship
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Coordinates:53.8436°N 22.9794°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Voivodeship
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Augustów County
Subdivision Type3:Gmina
Subdivision Name3:Augustów (urban gmina)
Established Title:First mentioned
Established Date:1496
Established Title2:Established
Established Date2:1546
Established Title3:Town rights
Established Date3:1557
Government Footnotes:[1]
Leader Title:Mayor
Area Footnotes:[2]
Area Total Km2:80.90
Population Footnotes:[3] [4]
Population As Of:30 June 2022
Population Total:29305
Population Density Km2:362
Timezone:CET
Utc Offset:+1
Timezone Dst:CEST
Utc Offset Dst:+2
Postal Code Type:Postal codes[5]
Postal Code:16-300 to 16-303
Area Code Type:Area code[6]
Area Code:+48 87
Registration Plate Type:Number plates[7]
Registration Plate:BAU
Blank Name:National roads
Blank1 Name:Voivodeship roads
Website:http://urzad.augustow.pl/

Augustów (formerly known in English as Augustovo or Augustowo) is a town in north-eastern Poland. It lies on the Netta River and the Augustów Canal. It is the seat of Augustów County and of Gmina Augustów in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Augustów has an area of 80.9sqkm,[2] and as of June 2022 it has a population of 29,305.[3]

In 1970, Augustów became officially recognized as a health and relaxation resort. In 1973, surrounding settlements were named a part of it, forming a popular resort town.

History

A settlement in the area was first mentioned in 1496. Augustów was established around 1540 by Bona Sforza and granted Magdeburg rights in 1557 by Sigismund II Augustus,[8] after whom it was also named.[9] It was laid out in a very regular manner, with a spacious market-place.

Until 1569 Augustów belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1569 it became part of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, while its cemetery was left in the Grand Duchy, both countries formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as a result of the Union of Lublin. Augustów was a royal city, located in the Podlaskie Voivodeship in the Lesser Poland Province. Tatar invaders destroyed Augustów in 1656, and the second half of the 17th century saw the town afflicted by plague. The 4th Polish National Cavalry Brigade was stationed in Augustów in 1790.[10]

In 1795 Prussia annexed Augustów in the Third Partition of Poland. In 1807, it became part of the Duchy of Warsaw, followed by incorporation into the Russian-controlled Kingdom of Poland in 1815. It was made a county seat in 1842. The local populace took part in the large Polish January Uprising of 1863–1864 against Russia. Following Russia's full annexation of the Polish kingdom in the 1860s, it was administered from Suwałki. With a population around 9400 , it carried a large trade in cattle and horses, and manufactured linen and huckaback. Its canal connects the Vistula and Neman rivers and the railway reached the town in 1899, when its population was around 12,800.During World War I, the Russian Army successfully counterattacked the German Army in the Battle of Augustów, in the lead-up to the better-known Battle of the Vistula River. In the aftermath of World War I, it was a site of fighting during the Battle of Augustów in 1920.

Following the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland, which started World War II in September 1939, Augustów was occupied by the Soviet Union until 1941. Many inhabitants were sent to exile in Kazakhstan, from where some were able to return after 6 years. On June 22, 1941, just before the Germans captured the town, the Soviets murdered around 30–34 Polish prisoners in Augustów as part of the NKVD prisoner massacres.[11] The Nazi German forces occupied Augustów until 1944, and operated a forced labour camp in the town.[12] World War II brought the destruction of about 70% of the town and death or departure of most of its residents, amongst them a community of several thousand Jews who were imprisoned in the ghetto situated between the canal and the river. The Germans executed practically all of them before they left. In 1945 the Soviets conducted the nearby Augustów roundup – a special operation against former Armia Krajowa anticommunist fighters. They are presumed to have been executed and buried in an unknown location in present-day Russia or Belarus.[13] Polish Institute of National Remembrance has declared the 1945 Augustów roundup "the largest crime committed by the Soviets on Polish lands after World War II".[14]

After the war, the recreational base of the city was further expanded. In 1946, the city had 7.2 thousand inhabitants. In 1954, several rural settlements were excluded from the city area, but in 1973, the city expanded to include several villages, forests and six lakes. In the years 1975–1998, the city was located in the Suwałki Voivodeship. In 1999, the city became part of newly created Podlaskie Voivodeship, and the seat of the Augustów district and the Augustów urban gmina.

Demographics

valign=top2002 – 29,705 inhabitants, by nationality:[15]
  • Poles – 96.5% (28,668);
  • Russians – 0.2% (64);
  • Roma people – 0.1% (41);
  • Other – 3.1% (932).
valign=top1921 – 8,762 inhabitants, by nationality:[16]
  • Poles – 76.6% (6,715);
  • Jews – 22.4% (1,962);
  • Russians – 0.6% (51);
  • Belarusians – 0.1% (8);
  • Germans – 0.1% (6);
  • Other – 0.2% (20).
valign=top1897 – 12,743 inhabitants, by language:[17]
  • Polish – 46.2% (5,882);
  • Jewish – 28.5% (3,630);
  • Russian – 18.7% (2,381);
  • Belarusian – 2.8% (357);
  • Mari – 1.2% (156);
  • German – 1.0% (131);
  • Tatar – 0.9% (117);
  • Lithuanian – 0.2% (20);
  • Other – 0.5% (69).

Transport

Road transport

National roads 8 (Kudowa-ZdrójBudzisko), 16 (Dolna GrupaOgrodniki and 61 (Warsaw–Augustów), as well as voivodeship roads 664 (Augustów–Lipszczany) and 672 (Augustów–Suwałki) pass through the town.

Augustów ring road controversyThe construction of the Augustów bypass called Via Baltica, through the wetlands of the Rospuda Valley, attracted great controversy in 2007. The work was halted after the European Commission applied for an immediate injunction.[18]

Rail transport

Railway line 40 (Sokółka–Suwałki) passes through the town. Augustów has a railway station.

Tourism

The town, although small, has many attractions for the visitors. Oficerski Yacht Club Hotel, built in the 1930s, is an army yacht club that has been restored and converted into a resort.[19] It is located on the edge of one of many lakes in the region. Pope John Paul II has a memorial chair from the first and last time he visited the town right outside the club. Boat tours are also popular and the old town square still has its original cobblestone streets.

Every year hundreds of bikers come to Augustowskie Motonoce bikers festival.[20] [21] Bands that over years participated in celebration include, AGE, ZZ Top Czech Revival Band, AC/DC Show Ukraina, Kraków Street Band, etc.

Cuisine

Among the popular traditional dishes of north-eastern Poland, including Augustów, are kartacze and potato babka. Popular regional cakes are sękacz and mrowisko (lit. transl. "anthill"). Officially protected traditional foods from Augustów and its surroundings include the Augustów honey (miód augustowski) which comes in several variants,[22] and augustowska jagodzianka, a local yeast roll stuffed with blueberries and topped with streusel, a popular dessert.[23]

Sports

The main sports club of the town is with football and canoeing sections.

International relations

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

Twin towns – sister cities

Augustów is twinned with:[24]

Former twin towns:

On 7 March 2022, partnership with Belarusian cities was terminated due to Belarus's involvement in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[25]

Notable residents

See also

References

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Burmistrz Miasta Augustowa . bip.um.augustow.pl . Urząd Miejski w Augustowie . Polish . 26 December 2022.
  2. Web site: Local Data Bank . bdl.stat.gov.pl . Statistics Poland . 6 March 2023. Category K1, group G441, subgroup P1410. Data for territorial unit 2001011.
  3. Web site: Local Data Bank . bdl.stat.gov.pl . Statistics Poland . 6 March 2023. Category K3, group G7, subgroup P1336. Data for territorial unit 2001011.
  4. Web site: Local Data Bank . bdl.stat.gov.pl . Statistics Poland . 6 March 2023. Category K3, group G7, subgroup P2425. Data for territorial unit 2001011.
  5. Web site: Oficjalny Spis Pocztowych Numerów Adresowych . poczta-polska.pl . . 8, 1655 . Polish . PDF . 20 February 2023.
  6. Rozporządzenie Ministra Administracji i Cyfryzacji z dnia 30 października 2013 r. w sprawie planu numeracji krajowej dla publicznych sieci telekomunikacyjnych, w których świadczone są publicznie dostępne usługi telefoniczne . 2013 . 1281 . 2013-10-30.
  7. Rozporządzenie Ministra Infrastruktury z dnia 31 sierpnia 2022 r. w sprawie rejestracji i oznaczania pojazdów, wymagań dla tablic rejestracyjnych oraz wzorów innych dokumentów związanych z rejestracją pojazdów . 2022 . 1847 . 2022-08-31.
  8. Jarmolik . Włodzimierz . 1982 . Rozwój niemieckiego prawa miejskiego na Podlasiu do Unii Lubelskiej 1569 roku . PDF . Przegląd Historyczny . Polish . . 73 . 1–2 . 29 . 0033-2186.
  9. Book: Everett-Heath . John . 2014 . The Concise Dictionary of World Place Names . subscription . . 28 . 9780199580897.
  10. Book: Gembarzewski, Bronisław. Rodowody pułków polskich i oddziałów równorzędnych od r. 1717 do r. 1831. 1925. pl. Towarzystwo Wiedzy Wojskowej. Warszawa. 8.
  11. Book: Popiński . Krzysztof . Кокурин . Александр . Гурьянов . Александр . 1995 . Drogi śmierci: ewakuacja więzień sowieckich z Kresów Wschodnich II Rzeczypospolitej w czerwcu i lipcu 1941 . Polish . Warsaw . Wydawnictwo Karta . 9788390067698 . 34528750.
  12. Web site: Straf- bzw. Arbeitserziehungslager Augustów . bundesarchiv.de . de . 15 May 2021.
  13. Web site: Satelita namierzył groby ofiar Obławy Augustowskiej?. 13 July 2015.
  14. Konferencja IPN "60. rocznica obławy augustowskiej." (IPN Conference: 60th Anniversary of the Augustów roundup) Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, 20 July 2005
  15. Web site: (Polish Census of 2002) Deklaracje narodowościowe w gminach w 2002 roku . dead . old.stat.gov.pl . https://web.archive.org/web/20140701232900/http://old.stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/nsp2002_tabl4.xls . 1 July 2014 . 29 February 2020.
  16. Book: Powiat Augustów . (Polish Census of 1921, Białystok Voivodeship) Skorowidz miejscowości Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej opracowany na podstawie wyników Pierwszego Powszechnego Spisu Ludności z dn. 30 września 1921 r. i innych źródeł urzędowych, Vol. 5, Województwo Białostockie . 1924 . . 1 . Polish.
  17. Web site: Russian Empire Census of 1897 . demoscope.ru . 29 February 2020 . ru.
  18. News: Mardell . Mark . 31 August 2007 . Poland mired in wetlands row . . 26 December 2022.
  19. Web site: Hotel . www.wdw.pl . Oficerski Yacht Club . Polish . 26 December 2022.
  20. Web site: Augustowskie MotoNoce 2018 Official video . http://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/JPguUGETVmk . 21 December 2021 . live . YouTube.
  21. Web site: X Augustowskie MotoNoce 2018 . Mototour . Polish . 26 December 2022.
  22. Web site: Miód augustowski . gov.pl/web/rolnictwo . Polish . 15 May 2021.
  23. Web site: Augustowska jagodzianka . gov.pl/web/rolnictwo . Polish . 15 May 2021.
  24. Web site: Miasta partnerskie . urzad.augustow.pl . Urząd Miejski w Augustowie . Polish . 28 February 2020.
  25. News: Augustów zerwał współpracę z białoruskimi miastami . radio5.com.pl . Radio 5 . Polish . 9 March 2022.