Łowicz: Difference between revisions

Łowicz was a residence of Polish [[Primate (bishop)|primates]] in the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. They served as [[regent]]s when the town became a temporary "capital" of Poland during the [[interregnum]]. As a result, Łowicz has its own bishop and a basilica in spite of its considerably small size. The ruins of a former bishop's castle can be found on the outskirts of town. [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] is believed to have stayed in one of the houses on the main square. Also, the town was at the centre of the largest battle of the German [[invasion of Poland]], the [[Battle of the Bzura River]], in the opening campaign of World War II.

 

 

 

== History ==

The history of Lowicz dates back to the 12th century, when a [[Gord (archaeology)|gord]], which guarded the swampy [[Bzura]] river ford existed in the location of the castle. Lowicz, spelled as ''Loviche'', was first mentioned in a [[papal bull]] of [[Pope Innocent II]], on July 7, 1136. In this document, the pope confirmed the right of the Archbishops of [[Gniezno]] to own local land. In 1214 or 1215 at [[Wolborz]], [[Piast dynasty|Piast]] Dukes of four Polish provinces: [[Leszek I the White]] of [[Kraków]], [[Konrad I of Masovia]], [[Wladyslaw Odonic]] of [[Kalisz]] and [[Casimir I of Opole]] issued the so-called ''Immunity Privilege'', in which they confirmed the fact that Archbishops of Gniezno owned Lowicz. At that time, Lowicz was still called ''villa'' (village), even though the archbishops’ mansion already existed here.

 

 

In the late [[Middle Ages]] Lowicz was the seat of a [[castellany]]. Located on the border between the [[Kingdom of Poland]] and the [[Duchy of Masovia]], it remained under firm control of the Gniezno Archbishops. In the mid-14th century Lowicz, together with 111 adjacent villages, was the biggest church property in Poland. On May 17, 1359, [[Siemowit III, Duke of Masovia]] confirmed the ownership of Lowicz by the Gniezno Primates. Nevertheless, the dukes of Masovia on several occasions tried to place Lowicz under their authority, which resulted in conflicts with Polish kings, who supported the Archbishops. On April 8, 1382, [[Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia]] besieged Łowicz, and such conflicts occasionally returned until the incorporation of Mazovia into Poland.

===Modern era===

[[File:Braun and Hogenberg Łowicz.jpg|thumb|left|Early 17th-century view of Łowicz]]

 

[[File:Poczta w Łowiczu.JPG|thumb|right|Main post office]]

In 1940, during the Nazi [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|Occupation of Poland]], [[Nazi Germany|German authorities]] established a [[Jewish ghettos in German-occupied Poland|Jewish ghetto]] in Łowicz,<ref name="statistics">The statistical data compiled on the basis of [http://www.sztetl.org.pl/en/selectcity/ "Glossary of 2,077 Jewish towns in Poland"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208215116/http://www.sztetl.org.pl/en/selectcity/ |date=2016-02-08 }} by ''[[Virtual Shtetl]]'' [[Museum of the History of the Polish Jews]] &nbsp;{{in lang|en}}, as well as [http://www.izrael.badacz.org/historia/szoa_getto.html "Getta Żydowskie," by ''Gedeon''], &nbsp;{{in lang|pl}} and "Ghetto List" by Michael Peters at www.deathcamps.org/occupation/ghettolist.htm &nbsp;{{in lang|en}}. Accessed July 12, 2011.</ref> in order to confine its [[History of the Jews in Poland|Jewish population]] for the purpose of persecution and exploitation.<ref name="holocaustchronicle">[http://www.holocaustchronicle.org/staticpages/176.html "The War Against The Jews."] ''The Holocaust Chronicle,'' 2009. Chicago, Il. Accessed June 21, 2011.</ref> The ghetto was liquidated in March 1941, when all its 8,000–8,200 inhabitants were transported in cattle trucks to [[Warsaw Ghetto]],<ref name="sztetl.org">[http://www.sztetl.org.pl/pl/article/lowicz/13,miejsca-martyrologii/12946,getto-w-lowiczu/ "Getto w Łowiczu," at Miejsca martyrologii, ''Wirtualny Sztetl''.] [[Instytut Adama Mickiewicza]]. &nbsp;{{in lang|pl}}</ref> the largest ghetto in all of Nazi occupied Europe with over 400,000 Jews crammed into an area of {{convert|1.3|sqmi|km2}}. From there, most victims were sent to [[Treblinka extermination camp]].<ref name="ushmm-5069">[http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005069 Warsaw Ghetto], [[United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]] (USHMM), [[Washington, D.C.]]</ref><ref name="Lukas">[[Richard C. Lukas]], ''Out of the Inferno: Poles Remember the Holocaust'', University Press of Kentucky 1989 - 201 pages. Page 13; also in Richard C. Lukas, ''The Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles Under German Occupation, 1939-1944'', University Press of Kentucky, 1986, [https://books.google.ca/books?id=lz9obsxmuW4C&pg=PA13&dq=%22&sig=ACfU3U0SGgyvqSbL4bypepYoO_CbYc_N_w Google Print, p.13].</ref><ref name=GSP-JHEd>[[Gunnar S. Paulsson]], "The Rescue of Jews by Non-Jews in Nazi-Occupied Poland," ''Journal of Holocaust Education'', Vol.7, Nos.1&2, 1998, pp.19-44. Published by Frank Cass, London.</ref><ref name="ushmm-7445">Edward Victor, [http://www.edwardvictor.com/Holocaust/ghetto_home_main.htm "Ghettos and Other Jewish Communities."] ''Judaica Philatelic''. Accessed June 20, 2011.</ref>

 

 

===Recent period===