Nowy Sącz

The beginnings of Nowy Sącz date back to the 13th century, when the village of Kamienica was established at the site of the present city. About the year 1280 it became the property of the Kraków Bishop Paweł of Przemanków. In 1292, owing to the efforts of King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia, the village received city privileges – the only city in Poland established during his reign. It was founded under German law, and the name was derived from the older neighbouring stronghold of Stary Sącz. The name, initially as “Nowy Sandacz” was used as early as 1329, while the current version became established in the late 18th century. From the very beginning, there was a close link between the two localities. The post of municipal administrator in Nowy Sącz was entrusted to the sons of Tylman, municipal administrator from Stary Sącz. The first settlers came from Stary Sącz; Poor Clare sisters from a convent in Stary Sącz established a monastery in the new city. Sącz was granted privileges to organize an annual week-long fair on St. Margaret's Day (13 July), mint its own coins and collect customs duties, as well as the right of the sword and a monopoly on the production and sales of beer in the area.

In the 14th and 15th centuries the city experienced its golden age as an important centre of economic and cultural life in Poland. Thanks to its advantageous location along an important trade route connecting Poland and Hungary, it became a major craft and trade hub. It was also situated on the amber route, the Košice–Kraków route and secondary routes of the road network of medieval Europe. In 1329, during the reign of King Władysław I Łokietek, Nowy Sącz entered into an agreement with Kraków, whereby trade between Kraków and Hungary could not bypass Nowy Sącz, while merchants from Nowy Sącz could not travel to Gdańsk without passing through Kraków.

The dynamic development of the city was facilitated by numerous privileges granted in particular by King Kazimierz Wielki, who built the royal castle and surrounded Sącz with defensive walls. The city became the seat of the castellan and alderman as well as an important stronghold in the defensive system of the southern border of Poland. A testament to its status is the fact that Nowy Sącz was frequently visited by monarchs, among others Louis I of Hungary, his mother Elizabeth of Poland, Kazimierz Wielki, Władysław Jagiełło, Duke Vytautas and Władysław of Varna. King Kazimierz IV sent his sons there to be educated under the guidance of Jan Długosz and Callimachus. The rank of the city rose even higher in 1448 as a consequence of the Church of St Margaret being raised to the status of collegiate church by Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki and the archdeaconry of Nowy Sącz being established.

The period of prosperity continued throughout the 16th century. At that time, Nowy Sącz contributed almost the largest amount of taxes in the Kraków Province, second only to Kraków itself. During the Reformation, the Arian religion thrived in the area. The leader of the Arian congregation, Stanisław Farnowski, was very popular with the local nobility.

The city's splendour declined in the 17th century, when its economic and political importance fell markedly. Natural disasters and epidemics sealed the city's fate and the ultimate fall came with the Swedish Invasion. The troops of King Karl Gustav briefly occupied the town, which was liberated on 13 December 1655 by the residents and a military unit under the command of the Wąsowicz brothers.

During the Saxon period, in an attempt to restore Sącz to its former splendour, the city was granted a number of economic privileges, but epidemics, a fire, and the march of Swedish, Saxon and Russian troops through the city during the Great Northern War and the War of the Polish Succession prevented peaceful economic development. More damage occurred during the period of the Bar Confederation. The royal castle burned down. In 1770, two years prior to the first partition of Poland, Austria seized the southern part of the Sądecki Region along with Nowy Sącz. In 1772, by the decision of the partitioning authorities, the city became the centre of a circle (administrative unit). Local convents were liquidated and church property was seized to be transferred to newly-arriving German colonists.

In the period of Galician autonomy (1867–1918) an administrative reform was implemented and Nowy Sącz became the seat of one of 74 new districts. It experienced considerable economic revival. Trade and industry began to develop, representative public buildings were erected and the city expanded. In 1876 a large railway workshop was built near the newly-launched Tarnów–Leluchów railway line. In 1884 a junction with the Transversal Railway Line was established (Nowy Sącz–Chabówka–Czadca). On 17 April 1894 a dangerous fire destroyed a large section of the city, including the old town hall and the most valuable town archives stored within, but that did not put a stop to the dynamic development. The damage was quickly repaired, improving urban infrastructure in the process. Nowy Sącz was an important cultural centre at the time. In the late 19th century numerous cultural and educational societies were active, such as the Casino Association, which ran a choir, a library and amateur theatre, the “Sokół” Gymnastic Society or the “Beskid” Tourist Society.

The outbreak of World War I halted the development of the city. Despite the lack of major material damage, the stay of the Russians and existence of the Command of the Imperial and Royal Army put a significant strain on the city budget. On 13 December 1914 the city welcomed Commander of the Legions Józef Piłsudski. In 1918 Nowy Sącz was one of the first cities in Poland to regain independence. As early as 31 October 1918 members of the Polish Military Organisation took their posts in strategic places in the city, and on 2 November 1918 at the City Hall representatives of the interim authorities gave an oath of allegiance to the Republic.

Nowy Sącz retained its status as the centre of the county throughout the interwar period. All through that time, the population gradually increased and the city expanded, to reach almost 34,000 residents in 1939. Many industrial plants and cultural and educational institutions were established. In 1936 the Museum of the Sądecki Region opened in the renovated royal castle.

Unfortunately, further growth of Nowy Sącz was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. The Germans entered the city on 6 September 1939. During the occupation, the Sądecki Region was part of the General Government with a capital in Kraków, and Nowy Sącz became the centre of the county. Right from the beginning, an apparatus of terror was established, led by Heinrich Hamann. It is estimated that nearly 1,000 people were murdered in Nowy Sącz and the surrounding area and 2,500 were deported to extermination camps. That, however, did not prevent the emergence of an efficient local resistance movement. Due to its closeness to the state border, the city became a major transit point for people and goods. The earliest transit routes to Slovakia and Hungary were established as early as October 1939. A guerilla unit of the Home Army was active within the framework of the Nowy Sącz Inspectorate. The historians estimate the number of Home Army soldiers in the Sądecki Region to be about 1,000. An important part of life in the city was underground education carried out by local teachers. On 19 January 1945 the city was seized by troops from the Soviet 4th Ukrainian Front. On the same day the royal castle was destroyed in a massive blast as explosives and ammunition collected by the Germans were detonated.

After the war, the reconstruction of the damage started. The population of the city steadily increased. However, the nationalization of industrial plants and elimination of the economic independence of craft and trade greatly limited the development potential of Nowy Sącz. It was not until the late 1950s that the so-called Sądecki Region experiment made economic revival possible in the city and the region. The importance of the city as a tourist destination also began to increase. All this accelerated the process of acquiring the status of capital of the province, granted to Nowy Sącz in 1975 and retained until the end of 1998. Since 1999 it has been the centre of the county in Małopolskie Province.

Bibliographic note