Local history

The first reference to the existence of the village of Rachów, Lubelskie Province, dates back to 1724. A settlement was founded at the site before 1740 by Castellan of Wiślica and Governor of Sieradz, Jan Tomasz Morsztyn. At that time, it was called Rachów. In 1761, Antoni Jabłonowski, the erstwhile owner of Rachów, was granted town privileges from King Augustus III. Jabłonowski gave the town the name Annopol in commemoration of his late wife – Anna. After the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, Annopol was annexed to Austria (New Galicia). In 1809, the town formed part of the Duchy of Warsaw (Lublin Department), and in 1815 was incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland (Lublin Province, then Lublin Governorate).

In the 18^th and the 19^th century, Annopol was an important centre of grain trade, with the goods floated down the Vistula River. At the beginning of the 19^th century, the town had over 400 inhabitants. The loss of municipal rights in 1869 did not thwart the locality’s development. Towards the end of the 19^th century, Annopol had a population of 1,400. During World War I, the area witnessed fierce battles between the armies of Russia and Austria.

During World War II, in September 1939, the area of Annopol was the site of battles of Polish units against the attacking German troops. The bridge over the Vistula was blown up. Ca. 2,000 Jews imprisoned by Germans in the local ghetto were transported to death camps.

After 1945, the town was reconstructed and it recovered from war damage. The 1950s saw its rapid development, partially prompted by the opening of a phosphorite mine in the area. In the years 1975–1998, the town formed part of Tarnobrzeskie Province. Annopol regained municipal rights in 1996.