| Kurów | |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Voivodeship |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Puławy |
| Subdivision Type3: | Gmina |
| Subdivision Name3: | Kurów |
| Coordinates: | 51.3897°N 22.1861°W |
| Pushpin Map: | Poland |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Elevation M: | 157 |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Maria Wiejak |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | probably 12th century |
| Established Title3: | City rights |
| Established Date3: | 1442–1870 |
| Area Total Km2: | 11.33 |
| Population As Of: | 31.12.2018 |
| Population Total: | 2,725 |
| Population Density Km2: | 241 |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 24-170 |
| Area Code: | +48 81 |
| Blank Name: | Car plates |
| Blank Info: | LPU |
Kurów is a village in south-eastern Poland, located in the historic province of Lesser Poland, between Puławy and Lublin, on the Kurówka River. It is capital of a separate gmina (municipality) called Gmina Kurów, within Lublin Voivodeship. The village has 2,725 inhabitants .
Kurów was probably firstly mentioned in the Gesta principum Polonorum of Gall Anonim as castrum Galli, what is interpreted as the Castle of the Kurowie. The earliest historical mention of Kurów comes from a document issued in 1185, which mentions a church dedicated to Saint Giles already existing in the place. Sometime between 1431 and 1442 the village was granted city rights based on the Magdeburg Law. As a private town, it was the centre for the trade in food from the surrounding area. Several fur and leather factories were also located here. In the 16th century, Kurów was one of the centres of Calvinism, since many of the Polish Brethren settled there. By 1660, most of the inhabitants had converted to Arianism. At that time, Kurów was one of the most important urban centers of Lublin Voivodeship, one of three voivodeships of historic Lesser Poland.
After 1660, the town shares its history with the rest of the region. In 1795, after the third partition of Poland, Kurów was annexed by Austria. In 1809, it became part of the Duchy of Warsaw. In 1815, Kurów became part of the Kingdom of Poland. During the November Uprising, in February 1831, the minor Battle of Kurów took place, when the Polish forces under general Józef Dwernicki defeated a Russian army. In 1870, a few years after the January Uprising, the town finally lost its city charter, which has not yet been regained. Since 1918, Kurów was once more part of Poland.
On September 9, 1939, during the Polish Defensive War, which is the name in Poland for the start of World War II, the town was heavily bombed by the German Luftwaffe. Among the targets destroyed was a civilian hospital (marked with red crosses), where many victims perished. During World War II, Germany set up two slave labour camps in the town. In 1942, a minor ghetto was established. However, most of the Poles imprisoned in Kurów escaped and joined the Polish Home Army units operating from the nearby forests.
About 2,600 Jews lived in Kurów when the Second World War began. The Jewish population of Kurów was decimated during the ethnic cleansing following the invasion by the Wehrmacht. The synagogue suffered heavy damages. In June 1941, a ghetto was formed and Jews were forbidden to leave Kurów. In April or May 1942, most of Kurów's Jews were marched to Konskowola, some liquidated along the way, then the next day to the train station near Pulawy and forced into trains. They were taken to Sobibor. Several of the Kurów Jews managed to survive the selections of the first day in that camp and those Jews were able to help organize and execute the revolt in Sobibor which resulted in the destruction of the camp by the Germans themselves. Though some Polish Christians denounced Jews to the Germans, others helped shelter and save several of Kurów's Jews: Mieczysław Kutnik, Adam Turczyk, Wacław Mańko, and Andrzej and Katarzyna Zarzycki, the latter whom were recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem after the war.[1] Several Jews of the pre-war Jewish population of 2,600 survived the war.[2]
Many former Jewish residents of Kurów emigrated to America, Israel, Argentina, France before World War II and other points elsewhere, wherever they could find refuge. There was a Kurów burial society in New York.[3]
The S12 and S17 expressways run through the north of Kurów since 2013, allowing Lublin–Warsaw traffic to bypass the village.