Szczucin

Coordinates: 50°18′N 21°4′E / 50.300°N 21.067°E / 50.300; 21.067
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Szczucin
Town
Main square with the Baroque Saint Mary Magdalene church on the right
Main square with the Baroque Saint Mary Magdalene church on the right
UTC+2 (CEST)
Vehicle registrationKDA
National roads
Websitehttp://www.szczucin.pl

Szczucin [ˈʂt͡ʂut͡ɕin] is a town in Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Szczucin. It lies approximately 16 kilometres (10 mi) north-east of Dąbrowa Tarnowska, 30 km (19 mi) north of Tarnów and 85 km (53 mi) east of the regional capital Kraków.[1] The town has a population of 4,069. It is located on the Vistula river.

History

First mention of Szczucin (then known as Sucin, later Sczucin) comes from 1326, and it refers to a local parish church, which means that it must have been built earlier. The name of the town probably comes from a 14th-century owner of the location, a man named Szczuka. Due to town's location on the Vistula, a river port was established here. Timber from the Sandomierz Forest was brought here, loaded on ships and hauled to Gdańsk, the biggest port of the Kingdom of Poland. Furthermore, Szczucin was a crossing point of the Vistula, along a north–south merchant trail. Administratively, Szczucin was located in the Sandomierz Voivodeship in the Lesser Poland Province. In 1780 the village obtained town rights, but in 1934 it lost them, as its population fell below the then required 3,000. Szczucin regained its town rights on 1 January 2009.[2]

Memorial to Poles massacred by the invading Germans on September 12, 1939

After the

Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive
). In 1918, Poland regained independence and control of the town.

During the German

Jędrusie resistance organization executed here an officer of the Blue Police
. In late 1944, Germans ordered evacuation of all Szczucin's inhabitants, because they prepared defensive positions along the Vistula.

Before Polish administrative reorganization (1999) Szczucin was part of Tarnów Voivodeship (1975–1998).

Transport

Bridge over the Vistula River

The town is placed along National Road No. 73 (

Warszawa - Kielce - Tarnów - Jasło), and here regional road No. 982 stems eastwards, to Mielec
, making Szczucin a local transportation hub.

Szczucin is the ending station of a secondary-importance, one track rail line Tarnów -

Busko Zdroj and Kielce, but so far, they have not been carried out. Current shape of the line is the result of Szczucin's having been located until 1918 on northern border of Austria-Hungary. The Vistula marked the border, beyond which stretched the Russian Empire, and the governments of both countries were not interested in completion of the line, which would otherwise have connected Austrian-controlled Tarnów with Russian-controlled Kielce
.

Culture

One of the main historic heritage sights of Szczucin is the Baroque Saint Mary Magdalene church, located at the Market Square in the town center.

Szczucin is home to Poland's only road museum (Muzeum Drogownictwa), which has the area of two hectares, displaying ancient road building machines, as well as road signs, road posts, documents and other items.

References

  1. ^ "Central Statistical Office (GUS) - TERYT (National Register of Territorial Land Apportionment Journal)" (in Polish). 2008-06-01.
  2. ^ Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland Archived 2009-03-03 at the Wayback Machine (in Polish)
  3. ISSN 1641-9561
    .

External links
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