| Brańsk | |
| Pushpin Map: | Poland |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Voivodeship |
| Subdivision Name1: | Podlaskie |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Bielsk |
| Subdivision Type3: | Gmina |
| Subdivision Name3: | Brańsk (urban gmina) |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Eugeniusz Tomasz Koczewski |
| Established Title3: | Town rights |
| Established Date3: | 18 January 1493 |
| Area Total Km2: | 32.43 |
| Population As Of: | 30 June 2021[1] |
| Population Total: | 3667 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Coordinates: | 52.75°N 72°W |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 17-120 |
| Area Code: | +48 085 |
| Blank Name: | Car plates |
| Blank Info: | BBI |
| Blank Name Sec2: | National roads |
| Blank1 Name Sec2: | Voivodeship roads |
| Website: | http://www.bransk.podlaskie.pl |
Brańsk (Podlachian language: Бранськ, Branśk, Belarusian: Бранск, Lithuanian: Branskas) is a town in eastern Poland. It is situated within Podlaskie Voivodeship (province).
The name of the town comes from the river Bronka, a nearby tributary of the Nurzec River.
Brańsk is located in the geographical region of Europe known as the Wysoczyzny Podlasko–Białoruskie (English: Podlaskie and Belarus Plateau) and the mesoregion known as the Bielsk Plain (Polish: Równina Bielska). The Nurzec River, a tributary of the Bug River, passes through Brańsk. The town covers an area of 32.43km2.
It is located approximately:
The region has a continental climate characterized by high temperatures during summer and long and frosty winters. The average annual rainfall exceeds 550mm.
On 23–25 June 1264 the Battle of Brańsk was fought in the town's vicinity. Polish forced led by Duke Boleslaw V the Chaste defeated the forces of Yotvingia led by Komata (Kumata).
On 18 January 1493, Brańsk received a town charter based on Magdeburg rights from the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Alexander Jagiellon. It was the first town in Podlachia to receive such a charter.
Brańsk was a royal town of Poland, administratively located in the Podlaskie Voivodeship in the Lesser Poland Province. The 3rd Polish National Cavalry Brigade was stationed in Brańsk before the Third Partition of Poland.[2] In 1795, as a result of the Third Partition of Poland, Brańsk was annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia and administered as a part of the newly formed Białystok Department. In 1807, as a result of the Treaties of Tilsit, Brańsk was annexed to the Russian Empire and administered at first as a part of Belostok Oblast and from 1842 on as a part of Grodno Governorate. The town was reintegrated with Poland, after the country regained independence following World War I in 1918.
On 1 September 1939 Germany attacked Poland and started World War II. Within days of the war's beginning, Brańsk suffered German bombardment. On 17 September 1939 the Soviet Union attacked Poland from the east, and in partnership with Nazi Germany, partitioned Poland under the terms of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of August 23. Brańsk along with all areas of Poland east of the Bug River was then occupied by the Soviet Union. All Polish and Jewish businesses of substance were confiscated by the Communist State. Several Poles from Brańsk were murdered by the Russians in the large Katyn massacre in 1940.[3] The Soviets remained in control of Brańsk until June 1941 when the Germans invaded their erstwhile Soviet allies.
The German Army occupied the town and ordered the Jewish community to build a ghetto surrounded by barbed wire, to which the Jewish population (some 65% of the town) was confined. On 8 November 1942 the Jews of Brańsk were ordered to report to the town center, forced to march to the nearby town of Bielsk, and then transported by train to Treblinka. Within weeks, the vast majority were murdered by gassing at the Treblinka extermination camp.[4] [5] Several local Jews were hidden and rescued by Poles (including the local parish priest) in Brańsk and nearby villages.[6] Some hiding places in nearby villages were discovered by the Germans, who then murdered captured Jews.[7] Their Polish rescuers were either also murdered or managed to hide from the Germans until the end of the German occupation.[7]
On 1 August 1944 the town was captured by Soviet forces. On 4 August 1944 the Russians arrested 12 officers of the Polish underground Home Army in Brańsk, after they were deceitfully gathered for a supposed formal meeting with the command of the Soviet 65th Army.[8] The town was soon restored to Poland.
According to the 1921 census, the town was inhabited by 3,739 people, among whom 1,474 were Roman Catholic, 100 Orthodox, and 2,165 Jewish. At the same time, 1,530 inhabitants declared Polish nationality, 2,165 Jewish, 32 Belarusian and 12 Russian. There were 493 residential buildings in the village.[9]
Detailed data as of 30 June 2021:
| Total | Women | Men | |||||
| Unit | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Population | 3,667 | 100 | 1,808 | 49.3 | 1,859 | 50.7 | |
| Population Density (persons/km2) | 113.1 | 55.8 | 57.3 | ||||
It is the seat of Gmina Brańsk, but is not part of Gmina Brańsk.
The chief executive of the government is the Mayor (Polish: Burmistrz).
The legislative portion of the government is the Council (Polish: Rada) composed of the President (Polish: Przewodniczšcy), the Vice President (Polish: Wiceprzewodniczšcy) and thirteen councilors.
Brańsk is bordered by Gminy Rudka and Brańsk.
Brańsk is at the intersection of a National Road and a Voivodeship Road:
The major streets (Polish: Ulica) in Brańsk are:
Regular bus service is provided by Państwowa Komunikacja Samochodowa (State Car Communication, PKS) via PKS Bielsk Podlaskie, PKS Białystok and PKS Siemiatycze
The closest passenger train service is provided by Polskie Koleje Państwowe (Polish State Railways, PKP) SA from the following stations:
The land-use is as follows:[10]