Sochaczew

Coordinates: 52°14′N 20°14′E / 52.233°N 20.233°E / 52.233; 20.233
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Sochatchov" redirects here. For the Hasidic dynasty, see Sochatchov (Hasidic dynasty).
Sochaczew
UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
96-500 to 96-503
Area code+48 46
Vehicle registration platesWSC
Websitewww.sochaczew.pl
Map

Sochaczew (Polish pronunciation: [sɔˈxat͡ʂɛf] ⓘ) is a town in central Poland, with 38,300 inhabitants (2004). In the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), formerly in Skierniewice Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Sochaczew County.

Sochaczew has a narrow-gauge railway museum with a line that runs as far as Wilcze Tułowskie. 750 mm-gauge steam trains run on the line on Saturdays from spring to the end of summer.

History

Sochaczew was first mentioned in documents from 1138, when the Duke of Poland

Benedictine monastery. By 1221 Sochaczew had already been an important center of administration, and a seat of a castellan, who lived in a defensive gord. The town prospered due to its location at the intersection of main merchant routes (from Kalisz to Ciechanów, and from Warsaw to Poznań). In the first half of the 13th century, construction of two churches began; both were completed and consecrated by the Bishop of Płock
in 1257.

Privilege of Polish King Casimir IV Jagiellon from 1477, which established an annual fair in Sochaczew

Some time in the mid-14th century, Duke

royal town of Poland, administratively located in the Rawa Voivodeship in the Greater Poland Province
.

In 1570, the population of Sochaczew was about 3,000, with 211 craftsmen, 17 merchants and shopkeepers, and 394 buildings. The town had a wooden defensive wall, and its wooden bridge over the Bzura was very busy: in 1564, the bridge was crossed by 1,900 merchant horses, on their way to Płock and Wyszogród. The end of prosperity was marked by the great fire of July 1590, in which one-third of all buildings burned to the ground. By 1618, the number of buildings shrank to 110. In the same year, another fire destroyed half of the town. Further destruction was brought by Swedish invasion of Poland. Sochaczew was captured by Swedes on September 5, 1655. After five years of fighting, only 13 inhabited houses remained in the town in 1661.

A route connecting Warsaw with Poznań and Dresden ran through the town in the 18th century and King Augustus III of Poland often traveled that route.[1] Sochaczew did not recover until the late 18th century, when several new houses were built. Following the Second Partition of Poland (1793), the town was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia. Its population at that time was about 1,100, including 990 Jews. The town had 148 inhabited houses, but most of them were neglected and dilapidated.

In 1807 Sochaczew became part of the newly formed

art silk
plant was opened by a Belgian investor in the district of Boryszew.

Early 20th-century view of the old monastery in Sochaczew

Rawka
rivers. The residents of Sochaczew fled from the destroyed town, returning in the summer of 1915, when Germans took control of it.

A Lubok popular print from this period illustrating the fighting bears the caption, "A brave detachment of Cossacks destroyed German hussars near Sochaczew."[2]

Following the war, in 1918, Poland regained independence as the Second Polish Republic, and Sochaczew belonged to Poland since. The town was completely destroyed, and its impoverished population built wooden houses. The Boryszew plant was rebuilt, together with rail stations and its facilities. In 1927, construction of a textile plant began in the district of Chodaków. The town was rebuilt and partly electrified. By 1931, its population grew to almost 11,000, also due to expansion of the town limits by including adjacent settlements, such as Boryszew and Rozlazłów. Roman Catholics made 71% of population.

World War II

Battle of Sochaczew during the German invasion of Poland (1939)

On September 3, 1939, at the very beginning of the German

prisoners of war (see also Nazi crimes against the Polish nation).[3]

13 Polish policemen from Sochaczew were murdered by the Soviets in Tver in April–May 1940 as part of the large Katyn massacre.[4]

German forces remained in Sochaczew until January 17, 1945, when the town was captured by the Red Army, and then restored to Poland. In the war, Sochaczew lost over 4,000 residents, including virtually all of its Jewish population, and 40% of its buildings were destroyed.

Museums

Muzeum Ziemi Sochaczewskiej (local museum)

Sochaczew has three museums.

  • Muzeum Ziemi Sochaczewskiej i Pola Bitwy nad Bzurą (historic museum which has militaria from the battle that was in Sochaczew by the river Bzura in 1939)
  • Muzeum Kolei Wąskotorowej w Sochaczewie ("
    passenger cars and draisines
    .
  • Fryderyk Chopin's Museum and House in Żelazowa Wola

Transport

Municipal public transport bus in Sochaczew

Sochaczew is located at the intersection of Polish National roads 50 and 92 and Voivodeship roads 580 and 705. The A2 motorway runs nearby, south of the town. There is also a train station in the town.

Sports

The town's most notable sports clubs are rugby union team Orkan Sochaczew [pl], which competes in the Ekstraliga (Poland's top division), and football team Bzura Chodaków [pl], which competes in the lower leagues.

Old palatial manor, now housing a music school

Notable people

References

  1. ^ "Informacja historyczna". Dresden-Warszawa (in Polish). Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  2. ^ The European War. World Digital Library. Accessed May 11, 2015.
  3. ISSN 1641-9561
    .
  4. ^ "Sochaczewskie obchody Dnia Pamięci Ofiar Zbrodni Katyńskiej". KPP w Sochaczewie (in Polish). Retrieved 21 February 2021.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sochaczew.
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