Usnarz Górny Explained

Usnarz Górny
Settlement Type:Village
Total Type: 
Image Alt:Road into Usnarz Górny
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Voivodeship
Subdivision Name1:Podlaskie
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Sokółka
Subdivision Type3:Gmina
Subdivision Name3:Szudziałowo
Coordinates:53.3333°N 69°W
Pushpin Map:Poland
Pushpin Label Position:bottom

Usnarz Górny is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Szudziałowo, within Sokółka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland.[1] It is situated close to the border with Belarus. It lies approximately 8km (05miles) north-east of Szudziałowo, 200NaN0 south-east of Sokółka and 470NaN0 north-east of the regional capital Białystok.

The word 'górny' in its name means 'upper',[2] and the village just east of Usnarz Górny, on the Belarusian side of the border, is known in Polish as Usnarz Dolny[3] [4] ('lower Usnarz').

History

Near the end of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Usnarz Górny was owned by Kazimierz and Zuzanna Wiszczyński.[5] [6] From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Białystok Voivodeship.

In 2011, the village was inhabited by 75 people;[7] most of its inhabitants are elderly.[8] Many of its mostly wooden houses are now unoccupied, and although an asphalt road leads to the village, the roads within the village are unpaved.[9]

See main article: 2021 Belarus-European Union border crisis. In August 2021, the village was talked about in the media when a group of 32[8] immigrants from Afghanistan and Iraq camped for a long time near it on the Belarusian side of the border (in the khutor of Dolny Usnar), not allowed to enter Poland by the Polish border guards and military[9] and prevented from returning to Belarus by Belarusian soldiers.[8] They had been led to the border by the Belarusian government as part of the operation codenamed "Sluice".[10] On October 24 of the same year, the Polish border guard reported that a group of about 60 migrants, including some of those trapped on the border since August, tried unsuccessfully to forcibly cross the border into Poland near Usnarz Górny, with the assistance of Belarusian soldiers, who tried to cut through the recently erected border fence; some of the migrants threw stones at the Polish soldiers guarding the border, two of whom were lightly injured.[11] [12] [13]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Central Statistical Office (GUS)  - TERYT (National Register of Territorial Land Apportionment Journal). 2008-06-01. Polish.
  2. Encyclopedia: Collins Polish-English Dictionary . HarperCollins and Polska Oficyna Wydawcza "BGW" . 2nd . Jacek . Fisiak . 79 . górny . 1998 . 1st edition published 1996 . 83-7066-661-2 . górny adj (warga, piętro) upper; (półka) top .
  3. SOKÓŁKA. . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170615200017/http://www.mapywig.org/m/WIG_maps/series/100K/P35_S37_SOKOLKA_1928_600dpi_bcuj298298-287292.jpg . 2017-06-15 . 1928 . . 1:100000 . pl . Longitude 23° 46-48' East, latitude 53° ~20' North.
  4. Google Maps . 2021-10-29 . live . https://archive.today/20211030023414/https://www.google.com/maps/@53.3423195,23.76909,2188m/data=!3m1!1e3 . 2021-10-30 .
  5. Web site: Cerkiew pw. Świętych Apostołów Piotra i Pawła z 1867 r. (Samogród) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210823065204/www.ciekawepodlasie.pl/opis/1401,Cerkiew++pw.+%C5%9Awi%C4%99tych+Aposto%C5%82%C3%B3w+Piotra+i+Paw%C5%82a+z+1867r..htm . 2021-08-23 . pl . Orthodox Church of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul from the year 1867 (Samogród) . CIEKAWE PODLASIE I OKOLICE . Interesting Podlasie and its Surroundings . 2021-09-06.
  6. Drożdżewicz . Leonard . Dziedzictwo historyczno-kulturowe powiatu sokólskiego . pl . . Znad Wilii . 2 . 86 . 60 . 2021 . Stowarzyszenie Użyteczności Publicznej na Rzecz Rozwoju Kultury "Znad Wilii" . 1392-9712 .
  7. Web site: Polska w Liczbach . Poland in Numbers . Wieś Usnarz Górny w liczbach . The village of Usnarz Górny in numbers . 2016-09-12 . pl . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211030003545/https://www.polskawliczbach.pl/wies_Usnarz_Gorny . 2021-10-30.
  8. Web site: Poland-Belarus border stand-off leaves Afghan migrants stuck in limbo . https://archive.today/20210828131729/https://www.ft.com/content/dec6249e-3c8d-492d-960f-c9bc26dea830 . 2021-08-28 . . James . Shotter . Agata . Majos . 2021-08-27 .
  9. Web site: Uchodźcy pomiędzy lufami karabinów . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211030004331/https://www.rp.pl/spoleczenstwo/art18831891-uchodzcy-pomiedzy-lufami-karabinow . 2021-10-30 . Marek . Kozubal . pl . . 2021-08-19 . Refugees between the barrels of rifles .
  10. Web site: Skąd się wzięli imigranci na granicy z Białorusią? Łukaszenka dał zgodę na operację "Śluza" . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210831171423/https://wyborcza.pl/7,75399,27491606,skad-sie-wzieli-imigranci-na-granicy-z-bialorusia-lukaszenka.html?disableRedirects=true . 2021-08-31 . Where did the immigrants on the border with Belarus come from? Lukashenko agreed to Operation "Sluice" . Michał . Kokot . . 2021-08-25 . pl . 2021-09-06.
  11. Web site: https://archive.today/20211026100612/https://www.ft.com/content/1eb6c4da-73c3-45e5-b171-b7912e2325f4 . 2021-10-26 . Poland to boost troop numbers on Belarus border . 2021-10-25 . James . Shotter . .
  12. Web site: 2 Polish troops hurt as migrants try forcing Belarus border . 2021-10-25 . . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211030013754/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/polish-troops-hurt-migrants-forcing-belarus-border-80767237 . 2021-10-30 .
  13. Web site: Alice . Tidey . 2021-10-26 . . Two guards hurt during violence at Poland-Belarus border . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211030014347/https://www.euronews.com/2021/10/25/two-guards-hurt-during-violence-at-poland-belarus-border . 2021-10-30 .

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