Nowy Sącz

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Nowy Sącz
Image:POL Nowy Sącz flag.svg	Image:POL Nowy Sącz COA.svg
(Flag)	(Coat of arms)

Image:POL Nowy Sącz map.svg
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lesser Poland
Municipal government	Rada Miejska Nowego Sącza
Mayor	Ryszard Nowak
Area	57 km²
Population - city - urban - density	85,700(2001 est.) 1504/km²
Founded	1292
City rights	1292
Latitude Longitude	49°37´ N 20°43´ E
Area code	+48 18
Car plates	KN
Twin towns	Columbia County, Georgia US, Elbląg PL, Kiskunhalas HU, Netanya IL, Prešov (Preszów) SK, Molise IT, Schwerte DE, Stará Ľubovňa (Stara Lubowla) SK, Stryj UA, Tarnów PL, Troki LT, Narvik NO
Municipal Website

Nowy Sącz is a town in southern Poland; less often an administrative district (powiat) surrounding the town. Other Polish noun forms:Nowego Sącza: “of Nowy Sącz”, Nowym Sączu: “in Nowy Sącz”; adjective forms: nowosądeck-i/a/iego/iej/ie/ich and for the region sądeck-i/a/iego/iej/ie/ich. German:Neu-Sandez, Sandec, and other variants; Yiddish: סאנץ (Sanṭs) or נײ-סאנץ (Nay-Sants); Hungarian Újszandec.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Economy
4 Tourism
5 Education
6 People
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] Geography

Nowy Sącz is at the confluence of the river Kamienica(river) into the Dunajec, about 20 km north of the Slovakian border, in the Sądecka Valley (Kotlina Sądecka) at an altitude of 381m. It is surrounded by ranges of the eastern Outer Western Carpathian Mountains: Beskid Sądecki to the south, Beskid Wyspowy to the west, Beskid Niski to the southeast, and the foothills of Pogórze Rożnowskie to the north. The geological basis is Carpathian flysh – an undifferentiated grey-banded sandstone – with alluvial sediment from the Dunajec, Poprad, and Kamienica rivers in the valley basin. The climate is temperate, with an average annual rainfall of about 700 millimetres.

Nowy Sącz is the governmental seat of powiat nowosądecki (county or governmental district) part of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Województwo Małopolskie since 1999. Between 1975 and 1998 it was the provincial seat of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship. Before that and during the Second Polish Republic Nowy Sącz was a county seat in the Kraków Voivodeship. In 1951 it became a town with the rights of a county. It is the historic and tourist center of Sądecczyzna, the Sądecki district.

[edit] History

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Nowy Sącz was founded on November 8, 1292 by the Czech king Václav II (Wacław II), on the site of a village named Kamienica. An ancient trade route called the Amber Route passed through the town, connecting the Mediterranean with the Baltic. It benefited at that time from its proximity on the trade route to Hungary due to privileges granted by King Władysław the Short, and later his son, Kazimierz the Great, for supporting him during a rebellion in 1311. In the 15th century it produced steel and woolen products, and nearly rivaled Kraków in visual arts. In 1611 a great fire destroyed much of the town, and the 17th century the town declined in importance after the "The Deluge".

Nowy Sącz lay near the center of Austro-Hungarian Galicia from the First Partition of Poland, 1772, to Polish indepencence,1918. Nowy Sącz rose to a new prominence in the 19th century when the Austrian authorities built a railway connecting it with Vienna (then the Habsburg capital). The town is important in Hasidic Jewish history for the founding of the Sanz Hasidic dynasty in second half of the 19th century, the precursor to the Bobov dynasty founded in nearby Bobowa (with a synagogue with occasional services by Kraków congregation) and the Klausenberg dynasty.

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During World War I it was occupied by the Russians. Briefly after the end of the war, it was associated with the independence movement of the Lemko (a Ukrainian related group native to the Beskid Niski). The inter-war republic saw industrial expansion and the railroad factory expanded.

During World War II, the German occupation began on September 6, 1939. Because of its proximity to Slovakia, it lay on a major route for resistance fighters of the Polish Home Army. The Gestapo was active in capturing those trying to cross the border, including the murder of several Polish pilots. In June 1940, the resistance rescued Jan Karski from a hospital there, and a year later 32 people were shot in reprisal for the escape; several others were sent to concentration camps.

The regional Jewish community numbered about 25,000 before the war, and nearly a third of the town's population had been Jewish; ninety percent of them died or did not return [1]. A ghetto of around 20,000 people was established near the Castle, and was liquidated to Belzec extermination camp on three days in August 1942. Across the river in the Jewish Cemetery, 300-500 people were executed for their part in sheltering Jews. The Red Army fought its way into the city on January 20, 1945, and at war’s end, about 60% of the city had been destroyed. Nowy Sącz was honored for its heroism with the Grunwald Cross, third class in 1946. In 1947 much of the Lemko population was deported in Action Vistula (mostly to land recently annexed from Germany) in reaction to anti-communist activity in the region.

[edit] Economy

During the Polish communist regime, Nowy Sącz was the capital of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship (1975–98). In the 1950s the Polish authorities applied a special economic programme for the town, called the "Nowosadecki Experiment". The plan was to provide improvement and acceleration of the region's economic development, but it was only partially completed. The town was an important centre of the railway industry, and now contains one of the biggest railway engineering works in Poland. Since the social and political changes in Poland that started in 1989, the industry has faced economic problems.

Nowy Sącz is also important in the food industry, specializing in processing fruits, especially apples. Most of the factories were in the Biegonice district. Now the local government is trying change the structure of the industry, restructuring old factories and encouraging new companies to start up. This initiative also includes a move to hi-tech industry. Nowy Sącz had one of the first computer companies in Poland, with the largest assembly plant in Europe, but this has closed due to ownership friction with the government. The building trade is also represented in the town, which has a major European window-manufacturer. Like all the biggest towns in Małopolskie, it has seen a significant influx of the largest European grocery chains.

A main economic problem now is the high level of unemployment which, officially about 20%, is one of the highest in the European Union. Recently the local government has tried to address the persistent economic and social problems of the Roma community including access to utilities and education.

[edit] Tourism

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The town has many historic features, including:

One of the largest marketplaces in Europe, after Kraków, the largest rynek in Poland. The late 19th century Ratusz (city hall) is centered in the square.
Saint Margaret's basilica, Bazylika kolegiacka Św. Małgorzaty (15th century). The coat of arms shows St. Margaret and a dragon; her name day is July 20
A 15th-century house Dom Gotycki containing a regional museum
A gothic Franciscan church.
The Great Synagogue, dating from 1746, now the Galeria Dawna Synagoga, a gallery with some historical displays. There is a memorial tablet on the front in Polish, Hebrew, and Yiddish. Across the Kamienica River is the Jewish cemetery.
Saint Roch, a church of wooden construction from the 15th century, in the Dąbrówka district. The old cemetery chapel St. Helen's Church is another example.
The partially restored ruins of a mediæval Royal Castle from the 14th century during the reign of Kazimierz the Great. It was destroyed in 1945 at the end of World War II when it was used as a German ammunition store and was the site of mass executions. There are also the remains of the city walls nearby.
The fine Skansen Museum (Sądecki Park Etnograficzny), containing a village of relocated authentic structures recreating indigenous architecture, customs, and folk culture from the region. Of particular note are the wooden churches, including an Orthodox church and the Roma (Gypsy) village.
Stary Sącz (Old Sącz) 10 km to the south, founded in 1163 but smaller than Nowy (New) Sącz, has a charming cobbled market square, with a convent of Poor Clares to the east.
There are also several routes emphasizing wooden churches in the region of note.

The mountainous country around Nowy Sącz is also popular with tourists, hikers and skiers, especially the Beskid Sądecki mountains (part of the Carpathians), of which the highest peak is Radziejowa (1,262 m above sea level). Nearby popular mountain resorts include Krynica-Zdrój and Piwniczna-Zdrój ("Zdrój" means "health spa"). 15 km north of Nowy Sącz is Jezioro Rożnowskie, a reservoir (22 km long, covering an area of 16 km², and a capacity of 193,000,000 m³), with many dachas and camping sites. Also to the north is Ciężkowicko-Rożnowski National Park. An annual festival of dance featuring children from highland regions from around the world in July Święto Dzieci Gór.